Latest Posts

A Tennis Life: Stories from a Lifetime of Growing the Game The Code, Principle 18: When Can You Call a Let for a Stray Ball? Inflatable Penguins: My New Favorite Tennis Training Targets Tennis Beyond the Headlines: October 19, 2026 Craig Tiley, the USTA, and the Future of Senior Tennis An Offer Refused: Tennis Australia’s Senior Tennis Proposal Craig Tiley and Senior Tennis: Lessons from Australia

The US Open: It’s a Hard Court Life

Throughout the history of the US Open tennis championships, the tournament was traditionally conducted on grass courts. That all changed in 1975 when the court surface was switched over to clay. Three years later, the event changed once again to a hard court surface. The original transition from grass to clay was prompted by player complaints about uneven and soft grass courts previously used for the tournament. The subsequent change to hard court was most likely driven by economics.