Tennis

Rain stopping play and intense tennis duels in almost oven hot temperatures are regular of tennis matches. Play can be stopped by rain and sometimes even heat. But the way the game itself is played is also affected by weather and atmospheric conditions.

The worlds major tennis tournaments are timed according to the weather conditions throughout the year. Tennis is a summer game. Play starts in the dry Australian and Asian summer in January, later it moves to Europe and America as spring and summer approaches in the north.

Grass is the most sensitive of all playing surfaces to the weather. Even a fine drizzle makes a grass court slippery and dangerous. Playing on wet grass would also damage the surface too. The weather or atmosphere influences a grass court even on days when it does not actually rain. A generally damp, overcast or humid day would mean the grass is slightly damper. All surfaces get slower as they get wetter. Wet grass means the ball also has less bounce, even slightly less bounce would mean more tiring bending of the knees.

The heat and tennis
Temperature can affect the balls and rackets. Balls expand and shrink in the heat, which makes them react differently. The heat can also affect the players in a tennis match. There are international guidelines about the maximum temperature allowed in a court.

If the weather makes tennis unpredictable, the obvious question is 'why not shut it out?'. Indoor tournaments eliminate both the risks of bad weather and general atmospheric influence on the game. Indoor courts allow for a ‘true’ game of tennis. There is a constant temperature, no wind, sun or rain.

If all tennis were to be played indoors we would have a more standardised game. Every tournament on the world circuit would be similar; the weather conditions give tennis its character. A compromise would seem to be courts which have roofs which can be closed. Unfortunately a match which has started in a court with an open roof is not allowed to close it half way through. Closing the roof changes the atmosphere and playing conditions too much. Players would have to adjust to balls rising at different speed in the new atmosphere.

In Britain we have matches which are played on grass in the summer and indoors for the rest of the year. Our notorious weather means the British outdoor tennis season is the shortest of any sport played here. All the major competitions are held in June and July.

Maintaining grass courts

Wimbledon is of course the country's premier tennis event. Its grass courts make for the particular type of fast tennis played there. And the weather plays a crucial role in the cultivation of the surface.

Eddie Seaward, the Head Groundsman at Wimbledon says "the weather is one of the biggest assets we’ve got or one of the biggest hindrances we’ve got." The weather is vital for grass to grow properly.

Growing grass inside is difficult. The tennis championship in Halle, Germany converted from outdoor grass courts to indoor grass courts. It took them 10 years to get the weather-free grass to grow well and their tournament lasts half as long as Wimbledon. Indoor football stadiums have problems growing grass and it often has to be replaced. A tennis court has a finer playing surface which is difficult to replace. The Japanese football stadium in Sapporo grows its grass outside, but it is difficult to imagine numerous tennis courts being dragged inside like a pack of dogs on leashes

So we can see that the weather influences the quality of the tennis played and can even stop play altogether. Taking tennis away from the weather would give us advantages but might influence the atmosphere for the worse. The weather and the way it interacts with the surfaces of play is what gives us the great variety of international tournaments.