How to play on a hard court

  • August 24th, 2017
  • Camilla Chapman

The final Tennis major of the season gets underway in New York on Monday, with the best in Tennis battling out to be crowned US Open champion. With a number of big names missing in the men's draw through injury - including Novak Djokovic - it's wide open for anyone to take the title, including the great Roger Federer. In the women's draw, can world number 1 Karolina Pliskova hold off Wimbledon champion Gabrine Muguruza?

The US Open is played on a hard court and with plenty of exciting tennis expected, you may be inspired to dust off your racket and get playing. With it now out of season for both grass and clay, you'll be most likely finding a hard surface to play on this autumn, so here are our top tips on how best to play on a hard court!

Stay sharp


A hard surface will affect the ball in a number of ways, such as the speed, the amount of spin and the height. It'll also offer the truest bounce as the surface is always even but it is tough on the body, so make sure that you are properly warmed up and stretched before you play. Physical conditioning is crucial to maintaining a high level of performance so stay hydrated and eat the right nutrition, providing you with an edge against the opponent.

Play big


Big groundstrokes and serves are often the way to play as if you hit the ball with more top-spin, it'll kick up and make the opposition return the ball at a difficult height. By flattening the groundstrokes, it'll make the ball travel faster and give you the winning shot. When it comes to serving, try with the body serve to start, as it'll give your opponent less time to react and if you have a second serve, use more kick and ensure that the returner is having to hit at an uncomfortable height.

Inside in? Or inside out?


You'll see plenty of inside-out and inside-in forehands being used at the US Open, particularly from world number 1 Rafael Nadal, for which the inside-out forehand is his speciality. On a hard court, players have time to run around their backhand and often the height of the bounce is perfect to attack with the inside in or inside out forehand. Often in rallies, players will try dominate with their forehand so if this is the case for you, attack with the forehand!

Get ready for your next game on the hard courts with these top tips and enjoy some top quality tennis in Flushing Meadows over the next couple of weeks.

For more information, take a look at this great fact-sheet from Judy Murray, Andy Murray's mum!