Ranking the Best Grass-Court Players in Tennis History | Bleacher Report Ranking the Best Grass-Court Players in Tennis History By Jake Curtis , Featured Columnist Jun 15, 2013 Use your ← → (arrow) keys to browse the slideshow Clive Brunskill/Getty Images Roger Federer and Pete Sampras in 2001 Wimbledon 17.5K 19 Comments Before 1975, when three of the four Grand Slam events were played on grass, proficiency on grass courts was necessary to achieve tennis stardom. The U.S. Pro Championships, a major event for professionals before the Open Era began in 1968, was also contested on grass sometimes. Today, Wimbledon is the only major tournament played on grass, with the few other grass-court tournaments serving primarily as Wimbledon tuneups. In ranking our top 10 grass-court players of all time, we considered how dominant the player was in the major grass-court tournaments of his or her era. We gave more weight to success in the Open Era because the depth of talent was much greater.

Nonetheless, only one current player made our list, although a similar list compiled five or 10 years from now might include several of today's stars. We start with eight players who barely missed making our top 10. We then list the top 10 in descending order, although we hedged at the outset by having two players tie for the 10th spot. We noted three categories for each listed player: Why He or She Is Here, Wimbledon Highlights and Best Asset. Eight Just Outside the Top 10 Tony Duffy/Getty Images John McEnroe Venus Williams : With five Wimbledon titles and three runner-up finishes, Williams would probably be next on our list, and a strong case could be made that she belongs in the top 10. Serena Williams : A few more productive years would push her into the top 10. With five Wimbledon titles, you could argue she should be there already. Ken Rosewall: Rosewall won six Grand Slam events on grass (the first at age 18, the last at age 37), despite being banned from those events as a professional for 11 of his prime years.

Margaret Court: Court won 19 Grand Slam events on grass at a time when more such opportunities existed and when many top players avoided the Australian Open. Jimmy Connors: Connors won four majors on grass, including two Wimbledons. Boris Becker: Becker won three Wimbledon titles, including his first at age 17, and was runner-up four times. John McEnroe: With a serve-and-volley game perfectly suited to grass, McEnroe won three Wimbledon titles and reached the finals two other times when the presence of Jimmy Connors and Bjorn Borg made that difficult. Roy Emerson: Emerson won 10 Grand Slam titles on grass, but all were before the Open Era, when pros were prevented from playing in those majors. 10. (tie) Bjorn Borg Getty Images/Getty Images Why He's Here: Borg was the first male since 1906 to win five straight Wimbledon titles. ( Roger Federer later matched that feat.) Borg did it when the men's game was filled with stars, as he beat the likes of Jimmy Connors, Ilie Nastase and John McEnroe in the finals.

Borg was a Wimbledon finalist in 1981, shortly after his 25th birthday, seeking a sixth straight title. He lost to McEnroe and never played at Wimbledon again. Wimbledon Highlights: Borg won the 1975 title one month past his 20th birthday and did not lose a set in the process. He won 41 consecutive matches at Wimbledon, the last being a 1981 semifinal victory over Jimmy Connors after Borg had dropped the first two sets. Borg's most memorable match was his 1-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-7 (16-18), 8-6 victory over McEnroe in the 1980 finals. It featured a 22-minute fourth-set tiebreaker, and is rated the second-best match in tennis history by both an ESPN.com article and Business Insider. Best Asset: His ability and willingness to adapt his game to grass made him a star. Though his basic game as a baseliner did not seem suited to grass, Borg developed a big serve and a decent volley that enabled him to be competitive on grass.

His best weapon was his forehand, and he was one the first to impart extreme topspin on the shot. 10. (tie) Billie Jean King Bob Martin/Getty Images Why She's Here: Billie Jean King won 11 Grand Slam titles on grass and was a runner-up six other times. Although she had more opportunities to win majors on grass than today's players, she also faced stiff competition in her era, including Margaret Court, Evonne Goolagong and Chris Evert. She won Wimbledon six times and got to the finals three other times. Wimbledon Highlights: Her six Wimbledon titles are tied for the fourth most among women since 1915. She got to the semifinals of her final Wimbledon in 1983 when she was a few months shy of her 40th birthday. That was 19 years after she reached the Wimbledon semifinals for the first time. After claiming her final Wimbledon title in 1975, she did not compete in the Wimbledon singles event in 1976. She returned from singles "retirement" to play singles at Wimbledon six more times after that, however.

Best Asset: An excellent serve-and-volley player, King possessed one of the finest backhand volleys in tennis history. 9. Suzanne Lenglen Getty Images/Getty Images Why She's Here: Suzanne Lenglen never lost a match on the court at Wimbledon. She won six Wimbledon titles from 1919 to 1925 and did not lose more than four games in any of her last five Wimbledon finals. She had two official losses at Wimbledon, both by default. The first came in 1924, when she withdrew following her quarterfinal win because of jaundice, according to an item in the Milwaukee Sentinel. The other was a default in the third round in 1926 because she was late for the match, according to an excerpt from the book Myths and Milestones in the History of Sport. Wimbledon Highlights: Lenglen saved two match points against seven-time champion Dorthea Douglass Chambers to win her first Wimbledon title, 10-8, 4-6, 9-7.

It was the first time Lenglen had played on grass, and she served overhand, like the men, instead of underhand, like Chambers, according to a CNN article. In the 1922 final, Lenglen beat Molla Mallory in 26 minutes, the shortest Grand Slam final in history, according to the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Best Asset: Lenglen combined athleticism, grace and power into a game few women in the era could handle. "Her opponents were afraid of her because she was like a lion on the court, it was not usual for a woman to hit the ball so hard," said Patrick Clastres, a sports historian at Sorbonne University in Paris, in a CNN article. 8. Bill Tilden Photo by Brown Brothers Why He's Here: Bill Tilden won 10 Grand Slam events on grass, including three at Wimbledon and seven at the U.S. Championships. He played at Wimbledon only twice before the age of 34 and won both times. He also won the U.S. Pro Championships on grass in 1931, beating talented grass-court player Vinny Richards in straight sets in the finals when Tilden was 38.

Wimbledon Highlights: Tilden's final Wimbledon match also garnered him his final Wimbledon title in 1930 at the age of 37. He lost only two sets in that tournament, both to Jean Borotra in the semifinals. Tilden lost the first set to Borotra at love, but, according to an excerpt from the book Big Bill Tilden: The Triumphs and the Tragedy, Tilden used lobs in the first set to tire Borotra out. Tilden eventually won, 0-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-0, 7-5. Best Asset: Tilden had virtually every shot available to him, but he was best known for his cannonball serve and outstanding forehand. Jack Kramer recalled facing Tilden when Tilden was in his late 40s. “He had a tremendous forehand, even then, and an awfully good serve,” Kramer told the New York Times. “He could do anything he wanted with the ball. He could put it any place he liked.” Next » 7. Maureen Connolly Why She's Here: Maureen Connolly entered nine Grand Slam tournaments played on grass. She won seven of them.

After losing in the second round of the U.S, Championships in 1950 at age 15, Connolly never lost another grass-court match in a major, winning seven straight grass-court Grand Slam events. She won her first Grand Slam event on grass at the U.S. Championships in 1951 at the age of 16 and won her final one at Wimbledon in 1954. Two weeks after winning the latter, she suffered a horseback-riding accident that crushed her leg and ended her tennis career at age 19, according to her New York Times obituary. She died at the age of 34. Wimbledon Highlights: Connolly never lost a match at Wimbledon, going 18-0 the three times she participated. In her final Wimbledon tournament, in 1954, Connolly did not lose a set and lost just 17 games. Only one player got more than five games in a match against her that year. The previous year, she had lost just 19 games and did not lose a set while winning the title.

Best Asset: Though she was a natural left-hander who played tennis right-handed, Connolly's forehand was rated as the second-best forehand in women's tennis history by World Tennis. 6. Helen Wills Moody Getty Images/Getty Images Why She's Here: Helen Wills Moody won 15 Grand Slam singles events played on grass, including eight Wimbledon titles and seven U.S. Championships. From 1927 until 1938, when she played her final Grand Slam event at Wimbledon, Moody did not lose a single completed match in a Grand Slam event played on grass. Moody's only official loss in the 13 grass-court majors she played in that span came in the final of the 1933 U.S. Championship when she retired in the third set against Helen Hull Jacobs. The back injury that caused her to retire from that match sidelined her for all of 1934. Moody also won the 1924 Olympic gold medal in a tournament played on grass. Wimbledon Highlights: Starting in 1927, Moody won her final 50 matches she played at Wimbledon, covering eight tournaments.

She lost only four sets while winning those eight titles, and she did not lose any sets in a four-tournament span from 1928 to 1932. (She did not play Wimbledon in 1931). Her eight Wimbledon singles titles rank second all-time to Martina Navratilova's nine. Best Asset: Moody had a complete game, but was best known for her ferocity and lack of expressed emotion on the court, earning her the nickname "Little Miss Poker Face." 5. Rod Laver Getty Images/Getty Images Why He's Here: Rod Laver is the only player to win all four majors in the same year twice. And both times, three of the four Grand Slam events were played on grass. Laver won nine Grand Slam titles on grass despite being robbed of five years of Grand Slam opportunities during his prime because he was a professional before the Open Era. Laver also won the U.S. Pro Championship four times on grass between 1964 and 1968. Wimbledon Highlights: Laver participated in Wimbledon four times between 1961 and 1969, and he won the tournament all four of those times.

(As a professional, he was ineligible to compete from 1963 through 1967.) Laver dropped a total of one set in the finals of the four Wimbledon tournaments he won. His 1962 and 1969 Wimbledon victories were part of his Grand Slams those years. Best Asset: Laver had a well-rounded game, but his strengths were his speed and toughness in the clutch. "Laver's greatest asset," C. M. Jones, editor of Lawn Tennis Magazine, said in a Sports Illustrated article, "is his very, very rapid speed of reaction and movement and his excellent personal attitude toward tennis. When he is in a tough spot, Laver doesn't in any way retreat. He gets bolder and bolder and uses his wide range of shots without fear. He has sheer bravery and a beautiful sense of play." 4. Pete Sampras Gary M. Prior/Getty Images Why He's Here: Pete Sampras won seven men's singles Wimbledon titles, tied for the most in history. He never lost in a Wimbledon finals and was pushed to a fifth set in only one of them.

Sampras had a 57-1 record at Wimbledon in a nine-year span from 1993 until his loss to Roger Federer in 2001. The Tennis Channel ranked him as the third-best male player in history in large part because of his success on the grass at Wimbledon, where he captured half of his 14 Grand Slam titles. Wimbledon Highlights: Sampras won his first Wimbledon title in 1993 at age 21, three years after he won his first Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open. Between 1992, when he lost to Goran Ivanisevic in the semifinals, and 2001, when he lost to Federer in the fourth round, Sampras' only loss at Wimbledon was against Richard Krajicek in the 1996 quarterfinals. Sampras lost only one set while winning Wimbledon in 1994 and dropped just two sets in 1999. Best Asset: Sampras' serve was rated the best in tennis history by Geoff MacDonald of the New York Times.

Steve Flink, in his book The Greatest Tennis Matches of All Time, rated Sampras' first serve as the best first serve in history and ranked his second serve as the best second serve of all time, according to a World Tennis article. 3. Steffi Graf Paul Gilham/Getty Images Why He's Here: Steffi Graf won Wimbledon seven times. Only Martina Navratilova has won more Wimbledon women's singles titles since World War II. Graf had fewer chances than many of her predecessors to win Grand Slam titles on grass, and she did so in era that featured outstanding competition, including Navratilova, Evert and Monica Seles. Wimbledon Highlights: Graf won her seven Wimbledon titles in a span of nine years. Three times she beat Navratilova at that event, including the finals in 1988. Navratilova had won six straight Wimbledon titles and led Graf 7-5, 2-0 in that 1988 final. Graf then won 12 of the next 13 games to claim her first Wimbledon title on her way to winning the Grand Slam of tennis that year.

Best Asset: World Tennis ranked Graf's forehand as the best forehand in women's tennis history. Tennis writer and historian Bud Collins nicknamed her Fraulein Forehand. 2. Roger Federer Paul Gilham/Getty Images Why He's Here: Roger Federer has won seven Wimbledon titles, tied for the most in history among the men, and he did it over a 10-year span. Between 2004 and 2008, he won Wimbledon five straight times, matching Bjorn Borg's Open Era record, and won 40 consecutive matches. He has reached the Wimbledon finals eight times and won seven of them. Currently ranked No. 3 in the world, Federer remains a contender for future Wimbledon titles. Wimbledon Highlights: At age 19, Federer ended Pete Sampras' run of four straight Wimbledon championships and seven in eight years by beating Sampras in five sets in the fourth round in 2001. Federer's five-set loss to Rafael Nadal in their 2008 Wimbledon final is "widely believed to be the greatest tennis match ever played," tennis historian Steve Flink was quoted as saying in an SI.com article. .

After failing to get past the quarterfinals in 2010 and 2011, Federer won his seventh Wimbledon title in 2012 at the age of 30. Best Asset: Federer's greatest strength is that he has no glaring weakness. An all-court player, Federer can volley proficiently and can serve-and-volley with success when needed. 1. Martina Navratilova Steve Powell/Getty Images Why She's Here: Martina Navratilova won nine Wimbledon singles titles, the most in history by either a man or woman. No one else in the Open Era has won more than seven. The competition Navratilova faced in her era included Chris Evert and Steffi Graf, both of whom are ranked among the top four female players of all time by the Tennis Channel. In 2002, in her first tour singles match in eight years, the 45-year-old Navratilova won a first-round match on the grass in Eastbourne, England. Wimbledon Highlights: Navratilova got to the Wimbledon finals nine years in a row.

She won six consecutive Wimbledon championships from 1982 through 1987 and had a 47-match winning streak at the event from 1982 until 1988. She won her first Wimbledon title at age 21 in 1978, beating Evert in the finals. She got to the finals for the last time in 1994 at age 37, losing in three sets to Conchita Martinez. Best Asset: Navratilova had an excellent serve and was one of the best volleyers in women's tennis history. It combined to give her a serve-and-volley game few could handle. 2017 Wimbledon Championships | The Roar Submit to Reddit 2017 Wimbledon Championships Wimbledon commences each June, and represents the the third in four annual Grand Slam tennis tournaments, along with the Australian Open, French Open and US Open. Wimbledon is the only Grand Slam tournament still played on grass courts. All the players, even the clay courters, speak reverently of the tradition and “special” atmosphere of SW19.

WATCH THE LATEST TENNIS VIDEOS Played at the All England Club in the London suburb of Wimbledon, it is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, having begun in 1877. Taking place over two weeks in late June and early July, Wimbledon culminates with the gentlemen’s singles final, scheduled for the second Sunday. In addition to being the oldest tennis tournament, Wimbledon is also seen as the most prestigious. Looking for another Grand Slam? Wimbledon 2017 commences on Monday July 3 with the final to be played on Sunday July 16. Current Champions: Andy Murray reigns at Wimbledon again by mastermind5991 , 12 Jul 2016 Three years after ending one of world sport’s most famous hoodoos by becoming the first British man since Fred Perry in 1936 to win the Wimbledon men’s singles title, Andy Murray has once again won tennis’ holy grail. by David Lord , 11 Jul 2016 When Andy Murray won his second Wimbledon and third Slam overnight, his implacable and poker-faced coach Ivan Lendl burst into tears.

by Josh Elliott , 11 Jul 2016 Andy Murray is champion of Wimbledon 2016, after defeating Milos Raonic in straight sets on Sunday night (AEST). Sweet revenge for Serena as she finally draws level with Steffi Graf by mastermind5991 , 11 Jul 2016 After nearly twelve months, world number one Serena Williams has finally returned to the Grand Slam winner’s list, exacting some revenge on Angelique Kerber to win her seventh Wimbledon title and 22nd Grand Slam title overall. by Ritesh Misra , 11 Jul 2016 Nick Kyrgios is one of the most talented players in world tennis. by Scott Pryde , 10 Jul 2016 Match result: Andy Murray has won his second Wimbledon Championships with a hard-fought straight sets victory over Milos Raonic that took nearly three hours. by Darren Walton , 10 Jul 2016 He’s inspired by Roger Federer and idolises Lleyton Hewitt and now Australian teenager Alex De Minaur has the chance to join the two tennis greats on the Wimbledon honour roll.

by Josh Elliott , 10 Jul 2016 For the eighth time in her long and illustrious career, Serena Williams is leaving a grand slam tournament with both the singles and doubles titles in hand. by David Lord , 10 Jul 2016 Serena Williams has world record-holder Margaret Court’s 24 grand slam singles titles in her sights after winning her 22nd at Wimbledon overnight. Wimbledon 2016: Men’s final preview by mastermind5991 , 10 Jul 2016 A second Wimbledon title and third Grand Slam title is on offer for Andy Murray if he can overcome Canadian sixth seed Milos Raonic in tonight’s men’s final. Do you have what it takes to become a sports writer? Write for the roar The Pulse by Nicholas Mirarchi , 20 Jan 2017 Fourth-seeded Stan Wawrinka kicks off round three at Melbourne Park against 29th seed Viktor Troicki of Serbia. Join The Roar for live scores from 2:30pm (AEDT).

by Scott Pryde , 20 Jan 2017 World No.1 and now outright favourite to take out his first Australian Open Andy Murray faces a tricky challenge in the third round, taking on big-serving American Sam Querrey. Join The Roar for live scores of the match from around 2pm (AEDT). by Alan Nicolea , 20 Jan 2017 Reigning Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber has been unconvincing thus far and needs to improve her game if she is to progress past Kristyna Pliskova. Join The Roar for live scores from 12.30pm (AEDT). by Ben Pobjie , 20 Jan 2017 I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I love Nick Kyrgios. by Josh Elliott , 20 Jan 2017 Ah, the Australian Open. It’s one of the best times of the year – wall-to-wall tennis action. It really is my favourite individual sport. There’s only one downside, and that’s the inevitable slew of hot takes, which my boy Nick Kyrgios is usually stuck in the middle of.

by David Lord , 20 Jan 2017 Nobody thought Denis Istomin could beat defending Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic in the second round of the at Melbourne Park – and that included the bespectacled 30-year-old from Uzbekistan. by Gene Efron , 20 Jan 2017 Nick Kyrgios’ defeat on Wednesday evening was such a great calamity that it made Mike Baird’s sudden resignation the following day almost predictable. It was as if the whole country woke up and said ‘I give up too’. by Josh Nicholson , 20 Jan 2017 Moments after Nick Kyrgios’ implosion was complete, as the 21-year-old was booed out of Hisense Arena by his home crowd, he smirked. Huge shock at Australian Open as Djokovic crashes out by mastermind5991 , 20 Jan 2017 For just the second time since 2010, someone other than Novak Djokovic will win this year’s Australian Open men’s singles title, following one of the biggest upsets in the tournament’s history.

by Brin Paulsen , 20 Jan 2017 ‘Athlete as role model’ sounds more like a painting by Monet than a cultural catch-cry. Differences Between Types of Tennis Court Surfaces | Healthy Living - azcentral.com Differences Between Types of Tennis Court Surfaces by Lisa Bigelow Share on Facebook From the All England Club to your neighborhood high school, tennis courts come in a variety of surfaces. Professional Grand Slam tournaments -- Wimbledon, the US Open, the Australian Open and the French Open -- feature grass, hardcourt and clay surfaces. While the dimensions of each court remain consistent between surfaces, playing styles and ball speed do not. Hardcourt The US and Australian Grand Slam tournaments feature hardcourt surfaces. Typically constructed from plastic or cement, this "fast" surface results in short rallies that favor hard serves, although many professionals consider hardcourt the most democratic of surfaces in terms of playing style. The amount of sand in the topcoat and the type of substrate underneath affect ball speed, and its gripping, sticky surface can increase the likelihood of player injury. Grass The courts at the All England Tennis Club -- the host of Wimbledon and perhaps the best known professional Grand Slam tennis tournament -- feature grass.

Similar in complexion to the golf putting green, the grass surface moves the ball the fastest of every Grand Slam surface because it lets the ball slide. Grass surfaces favor serve-and-volley players who rush the net following serve to take advantage of an opponent's slower foot speed following return. Constant mowing and frequent watering make grass courts expensive to maintain; as a result, they are unusual. Clay The French Open features red clay courts. Comprised of crushed natural materials such as shale or brick, the clay court moves the ball the slowest of all surfaces. Baseline players who shoot with consistency and use heavy spin appreciate the longer points and higher bounces that clay courts accommodate. "American" clay courts -- commonly called Har-Tru -- move the ball more quickly than the traditional red clay courts, but still permit slower volleys. Indoor Courts While every Grand Slam tournament is held outdoors, many players enjoy indoor tennis. Indoor tennis facilities most commonly use carpet surfaces -- such as rubber -- and these surfaces vary greatly in terms of texture and material. Indoor courts also use suspended surfaces, which appear outdoors as well. The suspended surface helps players avoid knee and ankle stress because of its shock-absorbing qualities, and tennis professionals regard it as a medium-speed surface.

Finally, some indoor tennis surfaces use wood. Faster even than grass, wood is the most unusual of all surfaces. References On Tennis: Tennis Courts About the Author Lisa Bigelow is an independent writer with prior professional experience in the finance and fitness industries. She also writes a well-regarded political commentary column published in Fairfield, New Haven and Westchester counties in the New York City metro area. Photo Credits Worlds Most Famous Tennis Tournaments Worlds Most Famous Tennis Tournaments The four most famous tennis tournaments in the world are known as the Grand Slam tournaments or simply as the Majors. They are the the Wimbledon Championships, the French Open, the Australian Open and the US Open. These tournaments are the most significant in the world in relationship to tradition, world ranking, public attention and prize money. The Australian Open takes place at Melbourne Park during the Australian summer in January, making it the first of the Grand Slam tournaments to be held each year. The Australian Open was first held in 1905, and it was held on grass courts until 1987. Beginning in 1988, the tournament has been contested on hard courts.

Its current champions are Roger Federer (men's singles), Serena Williams (women's singles), Bob and Mike Bryan (men's doubles), Serena and Venus Williams (women's doubles), and Cara Black and Leander Paes (mixed doubles). The next Grand Slam tournament to be held on the annual tennis calendar is the French Open. The tournament, takes place over the course of two weeks in the spring, from late May to early June. The French Open, held in Paris, is the only tournament of the Majors that is held on a clay court, as it has been since it began in 1891. Because clay is a slow-moving surface, the French Open is often regarded as the most physically difficult of the Grand Slam tournaments. Its current champions are Rafael Nadal (men's singles), Francesca Schiavone (women's singles), Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic (men's doubles), Serena and Venus Williams (women's doubles), and Katarina Srebotnik and Nenad Zimonjic (mixed doubles). The third Grand Slam tournament is perhaps the most well-known tennis tournament in the world, and it also has the distinction of being the oldest.

The Wimbledon Championships has been held since 1877 in the London suburb of Wimbledon, from late June to early July. Wimbledon places a strong emphasis on tradition: it is the only one of the Majors still held on grass, and spectators eat strawberries and cream, a traditional English dessert, while watching the games. Wimbledon's current champions are Rafael Nadal (men's singles), Serena Williams (women's singles), Jürgen Melzer and Philipp Petzschner (men's doubles), Vania King and Yaroslava Shvedova (women's doubles), and Leander Paes and Cara Black (mixed doubles). The final Grand Slam tournament of the annual tennis calendar is the most recent addition to the Majors. The US Open began as the U.S. National Championship in 1881, but it did not join the Grand Slam tournaments until 1987. The US Open is held during the weeks before and after Labor Day weekend, from late August to early September. The tournament has changed its courts several times over the years, beginning with grass, then moving to clay in 1975, and finally to hard courts in 1978.

The current champions are Juan Martin del Potro (men's singles), Kim Clijsters (women's singles), Lukáš Dlouhý and Leander Paes (men's doubles), Serena and Venus Williams (women's doubles), and Carly Gullickson and Travis Parrott (mixed doubles). Hangout - Tennis Grand Slams June 2003 Four major tournaments make up the Grand Slam of tennis: the Australian Open, the French Open (Roland Garros), Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open. The events are the most cherished prizes in the sport. Winning one of these titles puts a player in a special class; winning all four grand slams in the same year earns a competitor the ultimate Grand Slam title. The Australian Open takes place in Melbourne, Australia, and is the first grand slam event of the tennis season. The tournament is played on a surface called rebound ace, which is a soft variety of a hard court. Because the competition is held in the southern hemisphere during the month of January, players are subject to the blistering-hot temperatures of the Australian summer. The French Open is played in Paris, France, and is the second grand slam tournament of the year.

It takes place in May on the red clay courts of Roland Garros Stadium, a surface that slows the ball down and makes the points last longer than points played on faster court surfaces such as grass or hard courts. Wimbledon is held at The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, England. This tournament takes place in July and is the only grand slam event that is played on grass. Unlike clay, grass is very fast and the surface starts to die as the tournament progresses, making it even more difficult to play on and creating short points. Players also have to combat frequent rain, which often suspends matches. The U.S. Open is held every September at the United States Tennis Association (USTA) National Tennis Center in Flushing, New York. This tournament is unique because players are subjected to raucous crowds and noise from planes that fly overhead from nearby airports. The U.S. Open is played on acrylic cement, which, like the Australian Open courts, is a hard tennis court that is very fast. What Is a Grand Slam Tennis Tournament? - Woman What Is a Grand Slam Tennis Tournament? by M.L. Rose Serena Williams on her way to victory at Wimbledon in 2012.

If you’re an aspiring tennis pro who thinks big, your goal may be to win one of the Grand Slam tournaments: The French Open, Australian Open, U.S. Open or the queen of them all, Wimbledon. Winning a grand slam event brings you immediate fame and a nice payday, and perhaps more importantly, etches your name in the tennis history books forever. French Open The French Open is the only Grand Slam tournament played on a clay court, which is a slower surface than the synthetic or grass courts of the other Grand Slam events. French Open winners require stamina and must be accurate shotmakers to survive long rallies because the clay court limits the effectiveness of a power game. The French Open dates from 1891 -- 1897 for women. It was originally called the French Championships and was not open to foreigners. Non-French citizens began playing in 1925. The event moved to its current home, Roland Garros Stadium in Paris, in 1928. Women received less prize money than men until 2007, making the French Open the last Grand Slam event to equalize the men’s and women’s prizes.

Australian Open Traditionally held in January -- in the Southern Hemisphere’s summer -- the Australian Open is the first Grand Slam tournament played each year. The event dates from 1905, although women first played in 1922. The tournament moved around Australia before settling in Melbourne in 1972. Margaret Court Arena, named for the 11-time Australian Open singles champion, is the event’s current home. The Australian Open was played on grass until 1987, then on synthetic courts. In 2008 the tournament switched to a Plexicushion surface, which is similar to the U.S. Open’s courts but plays a bit slower. U.S. Open The U.S. Open began as the U.S. National Singles Championship, for men only, held in Rhode Island in 1881. The first U.S. women’s championships were held in Philadelphia in 1887. Both events moved to Forest Hills, New York, in 1915. The U.S. Open moved a few miles down the road to Flushing Meadows in 1978.

It’s now played in Arthur Ashe Stadium, which is part of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, named for the four-time U.S. Open singles champion. The U.S. Open was a grass court event through 1974, was played on clay for three years, then moved to DecoTurf -- a relatively fast synthetic surface -- in 1978. Wimbledon Officially called “The Championships, Wimbledon,” tennis’ most prestigious event has been held at Wimbledon’s All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club since 1877. A women’s event, still referred to as the “ladies’ singles,” was added in 1884. The tournament is played on fast grass courts rhat reward a power game. Although baseliners such as three-time Wimbledon singles champion Chris Evert can succeed, Wimbledon champions more often feature a strong serve and play an attacking style. The two main courts, where the championship matches are held, are only used during the Wimbledon tournament. Members of the British royal family often attend Wimbledon matches. Scoring All four Grand Slam women’s events employ a best-of-three-set format.

If one of the first two sets is tied at 6-6, the set is determined by a tiebreaker in which the first player to reach 7 points, with at least a 2-point margin, wins the set. The U.S. Open also uses a third-set tiebreaker. If the score reaches 6-6 in the third set of the other Grand Slam tournaments, competitors continue playing until one woman achieves a two-game margin. America's Public Grass Courts America's Public Grass Courts comments, called-out During the Wimbledon fortnight (June 22 through July 5), the sporting world turns its attention to what has become an anachronism in tennis: a tournament played on grass courts. Grass, of course, was the original surface for the game, which was invented, as “lawn tennis,” in the U.K. in the late 19th century. At one point, three of the four Grand Slam tennis events were played on grass. (The U.S. Open switched to Har-Tru clay in 1975 and is now played on hard courts; the Australian Open switched to hard courts in 1988).

In the U.S., grass surfaces make up less than 1% of the nation’s tennis courts. Most are found at chi-chi private clubs, like the West Side Tennis Club at Forest Hills in Queens, N.Y., Merion Cricket Club outside of Philadelphia and Longwood Cricket Club in Chestnut Hill, Mass. These courts are costly: Merion reportedly has a $12,000 initiation fee and $3,000 in annual dues. In Pictures: America’s Public Grass Courts But there are still a few places where the tennis-playing public can pay as little as $20 an hour to experience the game as it was played in the 19th century. The most famous grass courts are at the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, R.I., where the first U.S. National Tennis Championships (now the U.S. Open) were held in 1881. The 13 grass courts now host the Campbell’s Hall of Fame Tennis Championships right after Wimbledon, the only grass-court Association of Tennis Professionals tournament in North America. The public can play for $90 an hour. In Long Island’s chic East Hampton, the Buckskill Tennis Club has three grass courts.

The pro shop, with a fireplace and dark wooden beams, has the feel of a laid-back ski lodge–fitting since the facility is used as a skating rink in the winter. Florida is home to two grass court facilities that are open to the public. Saddlebrook Resort , 30 miles north of Tampa, was founded in 1986 under the direction of Harry Hopman, an Aussie tennis great who captained the Australian Davis Cup team to 16 titles. U.S. players James Blake and Mardy Fish train at the resort, which has two Wimbledon-style grass courts. Fisher Island Club , located in Biscayne Bay south of Miami, is a private resort, but its two grass courts are made available to guests of the Fisher Island Hotel. The most unlikely public grass courts have to be the Wimble-Don Grass Courts in Baker City, Ore., five hours east of Portland and two hours west of Boise, Idaho. The four courts–the only natural grass courts in the Pacific Northwest–are owned by a local jeweler named Don McLure and are maintained by nonprofit group SAGA (Save the Grass Courts Association). The court cost per hour is a nominal $20.

The atmosphere is casual–some folks play barefoot. The original owners, who sold to McLure in 2006, built the courts because they believed grass was a more forgiving surface on knees and hips. If not for the gravitas and tradition of Wimbledon, grass might have already gone the way of the Dodo bird. The men’s pro tour only plays five out of 61 tournaments on grass (excluding the Grand Slams). The women play three out of 51 (excluding the Grand Slam events). By contrast, the men play 23 clay-court tournaments, and the women play 19. Some reasons: Grass, faster than clay and hard courts, is expensive and time-consuming to maintain. They must be mowed and watered with care. Not to mention protected: Wimbledon has guard dogs whose primary job is keeping foxes–whose females’ urine proves deadly to grass–off the grounds. Grass courts visibly wear out during a two-week championship, going from emerald green to dusty brown. Also, the bounces on grass courts can be dodgy: Balls naturally skid below knee height, and bumps, which are commonplace, send shots awry. But even Wimbledon has succumbed to modernity.

In 2001 officials installed 100% perennial rye grass, which has turned out to be a slightly slower surface, more akin to hard courts.

Question: Which of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments is played on grass courts?
Answer: Wimbledon