[Aloimeh]

Has anyone watched matches played on wooden courts? How does the surface behave? Is it unwaxed wood, or a thickly waxed wood? Are there any big matches (tournaments?) played on this surface and how difficult is it to maintain the surface?

 

[Action Jackson]

There are no more tournaments played on wood, though DC ties have been played on wooden boards.

Wood is very low bounce and very fast.

 

[Snowwy]

I played on wood once, its pretty amaizng.

 

[Action Jackson]

Huge servers and porn stars love wood.

 

[Caerula Sanguis]

When you sweat all over the floor, isn't that very dangerous?

 

[Farenhajt]

Off-topic (but somehow related): Did anyone ever try (even as a pure exho) to play tennis on ice? (Using the skates, of course.) Now THAT would be some speed - I expect ice would be even faster than wood, and the players' speed on skates would of course also increase.

 

[Branimir]

off topic: Hahahahahahahahahahhahahaa.
Playing tennis on ice, is impossible my friend. I mean I know if you are good skater you can stop quickly and also using short distance, but imagine just serving on ice... You would either fall every time, or you wouldn't even rich the net, or the serve would be so soft that opponent would wait for the ball on the net.

on topic: I used to play tennis in the gym on wooden floor, and I didn't feel much of the difference between hard court and woo. The only difference is that I was sliding way more more. And yeah... It wasn't really tennis court, just the net and two halves of basketball court.

 

[Farenhajt]

off topic: Hahahahahahahahahahhahahaa.
Playing tennis on ice, is impossible my friend. I mean I know if you are good skater you can stop quickly and also using short distance, but imagine just serving on ice... You would either fall every time, or you wouldn't even rich the net, or the serve would be so soft that opponent would wait for the ball on the net.

Not necessarily. Skates have "teeth" which are used to keep balance and prevent inertial/reactive sliding. The outer layer of the balls could also be adjusted for better grip on ice. (For that matter, if the soles of regular tennis shoes are made of some special composite material which has good grip, you don't even need skates.) Therefore it IS possible, but obviously you can't just move the whole Wimbledon to Alaska and pretend everything's still the same.

 

[Branimir]

You have wild imagination.

 

[Kolya]

Didn't Edberg grow up on wooden courts?

Hence why he served and volleyed, I read this on tennis.com's 60 greatest players list.

 

[trixtah]

Huge servers and porn stars love wood.

Is the wood slippery when wet? Is it hard or is it a bit soft?

 

[Action Jackson]

Is the wood slippery when wet? Is it hard or is it a bit soft?

Yes, it's very slippery. Try playing tennis on a basketball or volleyball court like surface and you will see.

 

[trixtah]

I was talking sexual innuendos :] But wow, I cannot imagine tennis on a wood court. Your coverage and anticipation would have to be top notch.

 

[VolandriFan]

Is the wood slippery when wet? Is it hard or is it a bit soft?

Generally speaking, it doesn't stay hard very long after it gets wet.

 

[Action Jackson]

Generally speaking, it doesn't stay hard very long after it gets wet.

Depends on how well you breathe.

 

[CmonAussie]

Didn't Edberg grow up on wooden courts?

Hence why he served and volleyed, I read this on tennis.com's 60 greatest players list.

:wavey:
apparently Jimmy Connors also learnt to play on wood
...
Jimmy said in an interview that the fast/low bouncing wood surface taught him to take the ball early & use an abbreviated backswing (not enough time to take a big Nadal like swipe at the ball).

 

[GuiroNl]

Is this the same kind of wood that they use on squash courts?

I play a lot of squash myself. This surface can get slippery when wet, but with the right shoes it's not that bad.

 

[Foxy]

I play during winter almost every week indoors on wood. It's super fast and I hate it. You can murder someone if you hit hard enough There are no long rallies. But my serve and my two-handed backhand are f*cking clicking. The drop shot doesn't work properly. It continues towards the opponent and doesn't stay low. The slice also doesn't have the desired effect. It acts as a normal flat shot. And the lob. It's a killer. If you let it pass you over there is no way you can run backwards and get it.

 

[BlueSwan]

I've played a ton of matches opn a local wood court. That particular court is INSANELY fast and the bounce is very low - the ball just skids off the court. So it definitely doesn't suit players who can't volley for shit, like myself. I'm a decent server though, so I still did okay. Angled sliced serves are extremely effective since the ball just skids away from the receiver. Kick serves are useless, though.

 

[Foxy]

Yes, I forgot to mention this sliced serve from deuce court - my favourite serve along with the serve down the middle at AD court. Both are unreturnable.
BlueSwan, it's true kick serves don't work but since I am not a good kick server I cannot say for sure.