Frick Park Clay Court Tennis Club

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

• Ball travels slower and rallies last longer: tennis on clay courts provides a "higher aerobic benefit" (Nigg 2003, p3).

• Injury frequencies for tennis players are 4 to 8 times smaller for clay than for other surfaces that do not allow sliding (Nigg 2003, p4).

• Lower body injuries in tennis are mostly surface related (Nigg 2003, p3).

• With the fitness and health of their Baby Boomer population in mind, city officials in Highland Park, Illinois, converted their public hard courts to softer clay courts. "We're excited about providing the soft courts to the public," says Park District Tennis Manager Tom Soens. "The clay courts offer a different playing experience for tennis players. Compared to typical asphalt courts, soft courts provide a softer surface that result in slower play, easier movement on the body and a cooler playing surface."

Sources: 

• Nigg, Benno M..  "Injury & Performance on Tennis Surfaces: The Effect of Tennis Surfaces on the Game of Tennis", Human Performance Laboratory, University of Calgary, Canada, November, 2003.

• Woods, Ron, "Holding court: bringing baby boomers back to public tennis courts could be as easy as changing your surfacing", Parks and Recreation, Nov 2004. Web: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1145/is_11_39/ai_n9483509/print
   

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