The tennis court should not be inclosed by trees on all sides. That is a mistake commonly made. The trees should be planted only on the west side of the courts, and not on the north and south side. The foliage of the trees hampers the players in seeing the ball, especially towards night. The ball stands out more clearly against a background of blue sky than a background of green foliage. The trees on the west furnish shade without thus interfering with the players.
If trees crowd too closely to the court they make the surface damp, and in wet weather it may be impossible to play for days at a time. If the court is free from shade on the east side, the morning sun will dry up the surface after a rain, so that playing can be resumed in the afternoon.
All of these points in laying out a tennis court may seem simple and plain to any one when consideration is given to them, but failure to observe them often causes an endless amount of annoyance. For instance, one of the best tennis clubs in the country had its courts laid out running east and west, and the difficulty of playing with the sun in the eyes caused so much trouble that the courts had to be rebuilt. There was no reason, except oversight, why they were laid out wrongly in the first place.
Another club which had its grass courts laid out with a dense growth of trees a few yards back from the courts, on the east side, finally came to the conclusion that they either had to rearrange the courts or chop down some of the trees. The morning shade of the trees kept the courts from drying up quickly so often that the players became disgusted. Beautiful mornings would dawn after a rainstorm, and the players would anticipate fine afternoons of tennis; but the courts were too wet until very late in the day.
Like everything else, there is a right and wrong way of laying out courts, and if one is doing it as a permanent fixture of the grounds a little care and attention to these details will add a hundred per cent. to the value and increase the comfort of players and spectators.
KINDS OF COURTS
TENNIS can be played on almost any smooth, even surface, either indoors or outdoors, and the question of securing in the best way the most desirable surface for the courts is one that has attracted a good deal of expert attention. While a lawn is considered the ideal place for playing the game on home courts, tennis clubs and associations have more generally adopted the clay or dirt court. One reason for this is that the surface is not so easily scarred by the feet of the players, and its maintenance in perfect condition is easier where its use is almost continuous throughout the season.
But conditions vary in every country and in parts of our own land, and ideal turf and clay courts are not always so easy of construction where needed. Consequently we find many attempts made to build courts of other materials. In Australia, for instance, they have for years built courts of cracked bluestone. The great abundance of this material in that country is responsible for its general use. The foundation of the court is made of bluestone of considerable size, and the surface was finished off with very finely cracked bluestone. Such a court is hard and durable, but it has the disadvantage of being hard on the feet and upon balls. In fact, many tennis experts refuse to play in tournaments held on courts constructed of such material.
In England many of the tennis courts were made of brick rubble, which is really a cheaper substitute for the Australian material of bluestone. An English court made of this material has the further disadvantage of being very dirty, and the players dislike it very much. Cinder is another material that has been used both in England and in this country for tennis courts, but it has never been popular. It makes such a gritty surface that the feet of the players become sore after a few sets.
Along the Jersey shore, tennis is popular, but conditions are unfavorable for the construction of either a turf or clay court. The soil consists chiefly of a heavy muck underneath, with a surface of fine beach sand, or it is composed almost entirely of sand. The building of clay courts in such localities necessitated the complete removal of the soil to a depth of nearly two feet, and the importation of clay from some distance. The fine seashore sand was used as a top-dressing. This sort of court has rarely proved satisfactory. The fine seashore sand works loose too easily under the action of the feet of the players, and the court soon showed unevenness. In order to use the seashore sand for surfacing, it is necessary to mix it with a large proportion of clay for a binder. If the proper mixture is obtained the surface is rendered fairly durable. Usually this proportion must be as high as two or three parts of clay to one of sand. Any larger proportion than two to one makes the drainage bad. There is not sufficient sand to make the surface porous, and water collects, making the court useless for some time after every rainstorm.
A good dirt court is perhaps more expensive to build in the first place, but it is more easily kept in first-class condition
Nevertheless, some very fair courts have been made by using a foundation of cinders, and top-dressing with three inches of seashore sand and clay. In selecting the sand for this purpose, the coarsest found on the seashore should be chosen. The finest sand mixes with the clay without making it porous.
We have also concrete, cement, and asphalt tennis courts, but few of them are really satisfactory. They all have the disadvantage of being hard on the feet and the balls. The concrete and cement courts are, furthermore, very hard on the eyes. The white glare of the surface on sunny days frequently causes players to desist after a few games. Asphalt is not so hard on the eyes, but it is not an ideal material for tennis courts. It is very expensive, to begin with, and it is too easily affected by heat and cold. On hot days it sometimes gets too soft, and even sticky to the feet, for expert playing. In winter it is liable to crack with the frost, although this may be obviated if it is properly laid with a foundation of stones and cinders.
There is one other material that has been tried for tennis courts that is receiving considerable attention. This is wood. Indoor tennis in the winter season has long been popular among lovers of the game, and armories and other large buildings have been utilized as shelter. The courts here are naturally laid out on wooden floors. Fairly good tennis can be played on these, as there is more give and resiliency to wood than to concrete or cement, and it is not nearly so hard on the feet or balls.
The popularity of indoor tennis on wooden floors has led to the construction of wooden courts outdoors for winter playing. A properly constructed wooden court can be used all through the cold weather. Mud and water cannot interfere with the players. Snow can be removed, and the courts are immediately ready for playing.
An outdoor wooden court for winter use is rather an expensive work, for a solid foundation must be made of broken stones and small pebbles, topped off with a layer of concrete. Then the wooden floor is laid on top of this. The wooden courts are in process of evolution for outdoor use, and the most satisfactory way of building them is still disputed. One way is to use wooden blocks or squares set up on end, so that the grain of the wood runs up and down. Wooden pavements have long been made in this way, and they stand heavy traffic and constant use. There is no danger then from splinters, and they are very durable. The blocks are set close together, and the surface smoothed off with a floor scraper. If the court is worn in places, the surface can be scraped off at no great cost by a modern floor scraper. But the wooden surface must be laid on a solid foundation that will not be affected by the frost, or the wooden blocks will be thrown out of line. Also, the surface must be raised above the surrounding land so that water will not settle on the courts. The wooden tennis courts will undoubtedly become more and more popular for clubs as the demand for winter outdoor playing increases. Improvements will then be gradually made as experience teaches.