Wood court

A wood court[1] is one of the types of tennis courts on which the modern sport of tennis, originally known as "lawn tennis", is played. Wood courts are generally a form of hardwood flooring. These courts were once used for indoor "covered court" tennis tournaments in the early 20th century, and occasionally were used to stage outdoor tournaments. They were largely supplanted by the development of indoor carpet courts in professional play.

An indoor wood tennis court.

History

The surface was first introduced in competitive tournaments in 1878 at the Scottish Championships in Edinburgh, which was held on indoor wood courts until 1883. They were also used beginning in 1881 in England at the Cheltenham Covered Court Championships and Gore Court Championships both indoor events. In 1885 the Seventh Regiment Championship was established and played on indoor wood courts at the Seventh Regiment Armory in New York City.

Wooden tennis courts are regarded as the fastest of all indoor courts, as they have a very short and low bounce.[2][3] The player's speed is the tactical deciding advantage on wood courts.[4] Wooden surface courts were better suited to players with the most highly honed reflexes.[5] Also there is more resiliency to wood tennis courts compared to concrete or asphalt courts; wood tennis courts are not as hard on the players' feet, or the tennis ball itself.[6]

Players

A wood court specialist is a tennis player who excels on wood courts, usually more than on any other surface, but not always. Pre-open era players played on multiple surfaces, including wood courts.

Male tennis players who were particularly successful on this surface (titles won in brackets); French player Jean Borotra (23), Australian players Ken Rosewall (20), and Rod Laver (18), American player Bill Tilden II (15), British players George Caridia (9), Laurence Doherty (8), Ernest Wool Lewis (7), New Zealander Anthony Wilding (7), Frenchman Andre Gobert (5), Czech player Jaroslav Drobny (4) and British player Bobby Wilson (8)

Notable tournaments
  1. Bavarian International Covered Court Championships
  2. Berlin International Covered Courts
  3. British Covered Court Championships
  4. Canadian Covered Court Championships
  5. Cheltenham Covered Court Championships
  6. French Covered Court Championships
  7. German International Covered Court Championships
  8. London Covered Courts Championships
  9. Lyon Covered Court Championships (from 1948 called Coupe Georges Cozon)
  10. Queen's Club Covered Court Championships
  11. Seventh Regiment Championship
  12. Scottish Championships
  13. Scandinavian Indoor Championships
  14. Swedish International Covered Courts Championships
  15. Welsh Covered Court Championships
  16. World Covered Court Championships

References
  1. Dwight, James (1893). Practical Lawn-tennis. New York: Harper & brothers. p. 20.
  2. "Wood Tennis Courts". American Lumberman. Chicago, Illinois, United States: American Lumberman Publishing. 1935. p. 30.
  3. LLC, New York Media (5 January 1970). "New York Magazine: Indoor Tennis Anyone". New York Media, LLC. p. 53. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
  4. Starbuck, C., Damm, L., Clarke, J. et al. (5 more authors) (2015) The influence of tennis court surfaces on player perceptions and biomechanical response. Journal of Sports Sciences, 34 (17). pp. 1627-1636. ISSN 0264-0414
  5. Starbuck, C., Damm, L., Clarke, J. et al. (5 more authors) (2015)
  6. American Lumberman
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