Research leads towards new standard tests for tennis courts

Tennis players can adapt their movement/playing style in response to subtle differences in court constructions, according to new research by engineers at the University of Sheffield. The findings - published online in the Journal of Sports Engineering and Technology - are the first steps towards setting international standards to characterise the interaction between shoes and surfaces. Working with the International Tennis Federation and colleagues at the University of Exeter, the Sheffield team developed a test machine which applies large forces to a surface to mimic the impact of elite tennis players on tennis courts. This impact can be up to four times the bodyweight of a player. They used the machine to measure the friction on an acrylic (hard) court in dry conditions and two artificial clay court surfaces in both wet and dry conditions. The team found that on clay surfaces the size of the sand particles in the clay affect the friction, particularly when the surface is wet. With smaller particles, the surface becomes more slippery as it gets wetter, as would be expected.