Never Waste a Good Rubber

Written by: Staff on 25th July 2012

Never Waste a Good Rubber |

The daily dose of points, strokes and tactical variations can grow a little tiresome, so I spent the day reflecting on some of the more obscure things at professional tennis tournaments. The most illuminating observation involved the stadium court’s scuff marks. I think your average fan can learn a lot about the pro game from studying the top players’ movement patterns. Here at UCLA, we have a veritable tournament history written in worn rubber.

Ubiquitous, white, fingernail-clipping-shaped marks scatter across the dark blue courts. On the stadium cement, we see thick arrays about eight feet behind the ad- side baselines. The constellation-like arrangement even has a few distant stars outside the doubles sideline. Few of the marks are the long slides we see on clay courts, telling us the players are not running to this side so much as re-positioning themselves.

Conversely, the deuce side marks tend to be inside the doubles sideline, consist of three-five foot slides aimed diagonally backward, and travel up to twenty feet behind the baseline. These two groups of markings suggest the tournament’s players are emphasizing the backhand diagonal and waiting for their opponent to hit down the line before dropping back to retrieve the running forehand. In today’s game, most players use their inside-out forehand against the backhand corner and the footwork-remains here confirm it.

Additionally, we see the court’s unscathed blue surface shining brightly between the service line up to about three feet from the baseline on the deuce side. This suggests pro players will not hit anything remotely short to the forehand side for fear of being sent packing. Club and junior players can take note that the big boys won’t let you get away with ANYTHING weak to the forehand side.

Upon closer inspection, we also see several slide marks headed diagonally forward into the doubles alley and very close to the net. This indicates the frequent use of drop shots on these relatively slow courts. Cipolla and Sela are here so it’s not surprising.

By studying the scuff marks, a player missing the days matches can gain some insight into how the courts are playing. Deep-behind-the-baseline marks tell of a slow court, which rewards defense. An abundance of white scrapes just behind the service line suggests faster courts with more serve and volley plays. A plethora of marks that travel well outside the sidelines indicates slower courts, with long baseline rallies and players searching for quality angles, while courts with few marks outside the doubles sideline probably means faster courts where players emphasize depth and power over angles.

Getting close enough to see these illustrative relics is one of this tournament’s great charms. We aficionados can sit courtside and dig into the underlying information that online watchers don’t have access to.

Alas, Querrey is throwing down bombs and my ears are close to bleeding. Time to hit the pillow and prepare for tomorrow’s battles.