How tennis players fare on different surfaces

Most professional tennis players favour one of the three surfaces –grass, clay or hardcourt – and their success has much to do with individual playing style and how the ball reacts to the surface
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COMPARISON OF PERFORMANCE ON DIFFERENT SURFACES

Percentage of points won when returning

Reigning Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic

60 62 64 66 68 70 72

Percentage of points won when serving

Averages represent serve/return abilities of all male players finishing in year-end top 100 since 1991

34 36 38 40 42 44 46

Clay average

Hard average

Grass average

Novak Djokovic (SRB)

Roger Federer (SUI)

Andy Murray (GBR)

Rafael Nadal (ESP)
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GRASS COURT

Speed Fast

Bounce Low

Play: Returning player has little time to react to serve, boosting chances of server winning point.Top player wins about65 percent of service points and 36 percent when returning

CLAY COURT

Speed Slow

Bounce High

Play: Ball loses speed on contact with surface,favouring receiver.Relative to grass, player gains 4.3 percentage points when returning and loses same amount when serving

HARD COURT

Speed Medium-fast

Bounce Medium

Play: Courts vary in speed but typically dampen serving and returning advantages offered by grass and clay. However, playing style is closer to that of grass than clay
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Sources: Financial Times, wire agencies

Picture: Associated Press

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