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.
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]
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)
A tennis court is the venue where the sport of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the centre. The same surface can be used to play both doubles and singles matches. A variety of surfaces can be used to create a tennis court, each with its own characteristics which affect the playing style of the game.
The Grand Slam in tennis is the achievement of winning all four major championships in one discipline in a calendar year. In doubles, a team may accomplish the Grand Slam playing together or a player may achieve it with different partners. Winning all four major championships consecutively but not within the same calendar year is referred to as a "non-calendar-year Grand Slam", while winning the four majors at any point during the course of a career is known as a "Career Grand Slam".
A hardcourt is a surface or floor on which a sport is played, most usually in reference to tennis courts. It is typically made of rigid materials such as asphalt or concrete, and covered with acrylic resins to seal the surface and mark the playing lines, while providing some cushioning. Historically, hardwood surfaces were also in use in indoor settings, similar to an indoor basketball court, but these surfaces are rare now.
The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) is the national governing body of tennis in Great Britain, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.
William Donald McNeill was an American tennis player. He was born in Chickasha, Oklahoma, and died in Vero Beach, Florida.
André Henri Gobert was a tennis player from France. Gobert is a double Olympic tennis champion of 1912. At the Stockholm Games, he won both the men's singles and doubles indoor gold medals.
Arthur William Charles Wentworth Gore was a British tennis player.
Herbert L. Bowman was an American tennis player in the early 20th century. In grand slam tournaments his best result came at the 1922 U.S. National Championships where he reached the fourth round before losing to Vinnie Richards. He played in over 100 tournaments, and 225 matches in singles between 1915 and 1946, and won 40 career titles.
The U.S. National Indoor Championships was a tennis tournament that was last held at the Racquet Club of Memphis in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. The event was played on indoor hard courts and usually took place in February. For much of its more than 100-year history it was a combined men's and women's tournament but in 2014, its final year, only a men's tournament was held. The event was previously known under various sponsored names including the Memphis Open, the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships, the Kroger St. Jude Championship, and the Volvo Championships. It was called throughout most of its history the National Indoor Championships.
The U.S. Women's Indoor Championships, was a national tennis championship for women that was sanctioned by the United States Tennis Association and held 79 times from 1907 through 2001 at various locations and on various surfaces. The event was affiliated with the WTA Tour from 1971 through 2001.
Tennis Wales (Welsh: Tennis Cymru) is the national governing body for tennis in Wales. It is part of the British tennis governing body, the Lawn Tennis Association. It was founded as the Welsh Lawn Tennis Association (WLTA) in 1887.
William Laurentz was a French tennis player of the early 20th century whose main achievements were winning the singles title at the World Hard Court Championships and World Covered Court Championships.
Wylie Cameron Grant was an American tennis champion.
Charles Hoadley Ashe Ross was an English sportsman who played both cricket and tennis, the latter of which was more extensive. Ross was a quarter finalist in singles at the 1886 Wimbledon Championships, and a two time semi finalist in men's doubles in 1885 and 1886. He played competitive tennis from 1884 to 1891, and reached fifteen finals, and won seven titles.
The East Gloucestershire Championships also called the Cheltenham Lawn Tennis Championships was a combined men's and women's tennis tournament held from 1879 through 1969.
The Cheltenham Covered Court Championships also called the Cheltenham Covered Courts was a men's and women's indoor wood court tennis tournament staged from the 19th to 23 April 1881 only at the Imperial Winter Gardens, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. It was one of the earliest locations in England to stage an indoor wood court tennis event.
The Seventh Regiment Championship also known as the Seventh Regiment Indoor Championship was a tennis tournament first established in 1885 at Manhattan, New York City, United States and played on indoor hard courts at the Seventh Regiment Armory. It was part of the worldwide lawn tennis tennis circuit until 1960 when the event was known as the Seventh Regiment Invitation.
The 1881 Women's tennis season was a tennis circuit composed of 39 national, regional, county, and regular tournaments. The season began in April in Cheltenham, England, and ended in October in Queen's Park, Brighton, England.