News Release

Soil Science Society of America
5585 Guilford Road • Madison, WI 53711-5801 • 608-273-8080 • Fax 608-273-2021
www.soils.org
Twitter | Facebook | Soils Matter Blog

NEWS RELEASE
Contact: Hanna Jeske, Associate Director of Marketing and Brand Strategy, 608-268-3972, hjeske@sciencesocieties.org

Why use grass on tennis courts? Grass is fast!

Lower ball bounce, less friction make for fast paced play

July 1, 2021 – The Wimbledon tennis tournament is famous for its all-white dress code, strawberries and cream, and grass courts. The July 1st Soils Matter blog explores the different types of tennis courts and why grass courts are the hardest to play on.

Bloggers J. Scott Ebdon and Michelle DaCosta explain, “Compared to a rough surface (hard courts), a smooth surface like grass will have less friction. That means that after the tennis ball impacts a court surface, it will retain more of its inbound speed (velocity) than after impacting a court of low surface friction.”

Because grass surfaces are softer than other court surfaces, the tennis ball bounces lower therefore the pace of play is faster. Throughout the Wimbledon tournament, the grass wears down to foot traffic which makes the ball’s bounce and speed inconsistent. Learn more about grass courts including the types of turfgrass used by reading the entire blog: https://soilsmatter.wordpress.com/2021/07/01/why-use-grass-on-tennis-courts-grass-is-fast/

Follow SSSA on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/SSSA.soils, Twitter at SSSA_Soils. SSSA has soils information on www.soils.org/discover-soils, for teachers at www.soils4teachers.org, and for students through 12th grade, www.soils4kids.org.

The Soil Science Society of America is an international scientific and professional society with its headquarters in Madison, WI. Our members are dedicated to advancing the field of soil science in relation to food production, environmental quality, sustainability, waste management and wise land use. We work at universities, government research facilities and private businesses across the United States and the world.