Go Slow

GO SLOW!

Peter Farrell.

Federer, Murray, Nadal. What do the world’s top three players have in common? At least two things:

·         Each spent much of his formative years as a player being coached, practicing and competing on the world’s slowest surface – clay courts.

·         Each has been able to translate the skills learnt on the slowest surface into success on the world’s fastest surface – grass. Specifically the manicured grass of the All England Club, London SW19. At Wimbledon Federer has reigned for the last seven years with the exception of Nadal`s 2008 triumph. Meanwhile Murray reached the semifinals this year, and is frequently touted as a future champion.

Why does developing ones game on slow courts set the seed for future success on a variety of surfaces? The key fact is that slow courts force a player to fully develop all aspects of his or her game. There are four areas in tennis that must be mastered in order to become a complete player, and the speed of the surface that you learn the game on effects each of them:

TECHNIQUE: Because the rallies on slow courts tend to last longer, players develop sound technique that allows them to be consistent. Consistency is the fundamental building block of winning tennis.

TACTICS: Because it is harder to hit a winning shot on slow courts, players are forced to learn how to `construct` a point. They become expert at moving the opponent around, finding and hitting to a weakness, and knowing when to be patient and when to go for broke.

PHYSICAL: Longer points mean more physical exertion, so players who develop their game on slow courts tend to be fitter than their `fast court` counterparts.

MENTAL: Long points `pressurize` a player mentally, so they learn to cope well with the psychological challenges of match play on any surface. Who wants to lose a point that has gone on for 20 shots? The more time and effort invested in a point, the more a player wants to win it. Slow courts make for more `pressure points`, so pressure points become not such a big deal.

Lets focus on club tennis. What are the benefits of installing slower courts at your club? A recent survey by Tennis Australia found that one of the main factors causing people to drop out of tennis was that “the game is too difficult”. The ITF`s Play and Stay campaign (which introduced smaller courts and slower balls for less skilled players), has helped enormously with this stumbling block. The final piece of the jigsaw here in Ireland is for clubs to think in terms of laying the type of courts that give players more time to get to the ball and play their shot. This will lead to longer rallies, which equates to more success, more fun and more motivation to continue playing.

Clay courts may not be ideal for the Irish climate, due to the fact that crushed house brick absorbs a lot of water and takes quite a while to dry out (members of the marvellous Tipperary LTC may beg to differ!). But there are other types of tennis court on the market that are well suited to our climate, and provide the sort of slow to medium paced bounce that gives players of all ages a little more time to respond to their opponents shot. If your club is considering resurfacing some or all of the courts, I have two simple requests – put some thought into whether you should change to a slower surface, then put some research into which type of slower court would work best at your club.