Courts

There are four main types of courts depending on the materials used for the court surface: clay courts, hard courts, grass courts and indoor courts.

Clay courts
Clay courts are made of crushed shale, stone or brick, and can be either red or green. Clay courts are considered "slow", meaning that the balls bounce relatively high and more slowly, making it more difficult for a player to hit an unreturnable shot. The red clay is slower than the green, or Har-Thru(c) "American" clay. The French Open uses clay courts.

Hard courts
Hard courts, or cement courts, are considered "fast" surfaces, where fast, low bounces keep rallies short, and powerful, hard-serving players have an advantage. The US Open is played on hard courts, while the Australian Open is played on Rebound-Ace which is a type of hardcourt.

Grass courts
Grass courts are the fastest tennis courts. Grass courts consist of grass grown on very hard-packed soil, similar to golf greens. Grass courts add an additional variable, with bounces depending on how healthy the grass is and how recently it has been mowed. The most famous grass tennis court in the world is undoubtedly Centre Court at Wimbledon. Grass courts tend to favor serve and volley tennis players, such as John McEnroe or Martina Navratilova. Due to high maintenance costs however, grass courts are now rare as they must be watered and mowed often.

Indoor courts
Indoor courts can be made of wood, cement, or 'carpet' also known as astro-turf.

Others
Other types of courts exist as well, and there is no consistent definition of what qualifies as a "hardcourt". Non traditional surfaces are rarely used in competitive tennis.