this post was submitted on 04 Jul 2026
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Mildly Interesting

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Today's players finish their points from way back

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[–] papalonian@lemmy.world 12 points 19 hours ago (4 children)

I never knew tennis was played on grass anywhere, let alone an actual stadium. Is this normal?

[–] merc@sh.itjust.works 1 points 6 hours ago

Tennis apparently used to be grass everywhere, but when tennis players in southern France tried to maintain grass courts the climate made it too difficult. So, instead they switched to clay.

What's interesting to me is the length of the grass. Apparently Wimbledon grass is 8mm long, whereas the Premier League uses grass that's up to 30mm long, but typically 20-22mm.

I would guess short grass probably plays similarly to clay and "hard surface". It would be interesting to see tennis on long grass.

[–] CannedYeet@lemmy.world 25 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

Of the four big tournaments, Wimbledon is the only one on grass. The French open is played on clay. The US and Australian Open are played on your typical hard court.

[–] papalonian@lemmy.world 3 points 16 hours ago (2 children)

I see, is there a big learning curve or difference when it comes to playing on grass vs a hard court? Like if a professional athlete has a tournament at Wimbledon, and they've only ever played on hard courts, would they be at a significant disadvantage to someone who played on grass? Or is it likely that both players will either have no experience with grass, or decent training in both?

[–] SkunkWorkz@lemmy.world 5 points 16 hours ago* (last edited 16 hours ago)

Yes some players play better on a specific surface. Like Nadal was a clay expert, since he is from Spain and Spain doesn't have many grass courts, most outdoor courts there are clay courts. He has won 14 French Open titles while only 2 Wimbledon titles.

Though to be fair grass courts are rare everywhere since they are expensive to maintain but they are even rarer in warm and dry countries like Spain

[–] plyth@feddit.org 1 points 16 hours ago

There are differences that lead to advantages. If I remember correctly then Nadal was especially good in Paris while Murray was good in Wimbledon.

[–] TropicalDingdong@lemmy.world 9 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

No, tennis players are never normal

[–] papalonian@lemmy.world 1 points 18 hours ago

never normal

So it's normal, then?

[–] Tacky4092@feddit.org 1 points 17 hours ago (2 children)

General Knowledge wants to have a word with you

[–] Mulligrubs@lemmy.world 2 points 14 hours ago

Everyone generally knows about tennis courts?

Learn something new every day.

[–] papalonian@lemmy.world 2 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

Tell him to shove it, I already talked to Captain Obvious.

[–] WhiskyTangoFoxtrot@lemmy.world 1 points 2 hours ago

But General Knowledge outranks Captain Obvious.