RAIN REPORT FROM ROLAND GARROS FROM TENNIS 10SBALLS SENIOR COACHING EDITOR

Written by: Staff on 31st May 2016

French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros

RAIN REPORT FROM ROLAND GARROS FROM TENNIS 10SBALLS SENIOR COACHING EDITOR

epa05338327 Staff waits for the first match of day 10 at Court Suzanne Lenglen as rain delays start during the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 31 May 2016. EPA/ROBERT GHEMENT |

Editors Note: Sorry for the structure of this. It’s basically two long sentences…. We will just call this an expert expounding on the nuances of rain delays.

I am sure many tennis fans are very frustrated to wait for tennis to be on tv and for those in the stands it is even worse but those that have the patience and perseverance to hang in there and wait for play to get on the way will be in for a nice surprise and will speak about in years to come. Rain in Paris makes it a whole different tournament. The fact that it is now starting to eat into the alternate day of play and of day it will get into the mind of the players. especially with the men having to play best of 5 matches it becomes no longer a way to battle but it becomes a real grind. The element of having wet courts and a low temperature is an interesting combination to which players are not used to the entire year. we will see a lot longer rallies and will find that matches tend to last longer with less winners. Those players with a little bit more muscle will have the advantage as they will be able to maintain the amount of speed on the ball the lighter in weight will find it a struggle to generate the same pace and will tend to muscle the ball and hit shorter than usual. The serve will not do any damage so the return will become an important weapon to set up the point and structure to stay close to the baseline. Those players that will move back and do not stay close to the baseline will start feeling their legs getting heavier and find themselves not able to get back for the drop shots that will be a very effective play. As you can see that with the variety of the weather we will see the beauty of the game of tennis and we should look at ways to add more variety in our game of tennis in order add value to our game. Expect the unexpected.

Rain Addition

In addition to the condition changes we can not forget the equipment. string tention is key to maintain the right and same feeling is very hard to do and those placers with syntathic string have in general an advantage has the weather has less of an impact on the string playability however the ball weight and its rotation is effected by the weather conditions. one other element players do not adapt to is with the racket weight but those players with a light racket are in a disadvantage as to those with a heavier racket which will help in keeping the weight and depth off the ball. Lets see what the day will bring but I anticipate some unpredictabilities entering into the tournament.

A man puts a tennis ball on the covert court Suzanne Lenglen for a tv camera as rain delays the matches on day 10 during the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 31 May 2016. EPA/ROBERT GHEMENT

Empty player seats at Court 1 as the start of day 9 is delayed due to rain at the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 31 May 2016. EPA/Caroline Blumberg

Staff prepare the court for the first match of day 10 at Court Suzanne Lenglen during the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 31 May 2016. EPA/ROBERT GHEMENT

The covered court of Suzanne Lenglen with a reflection of a part of the stands as rain delays the matches on day 10 during the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 31 May 2016. EPA/ROBERT GHEMENT

Staff covers the Court Philippe Chatrier as rain interrupts the match of Novak Djokovic of Serbia in against Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain during their men’s single round of 16 match at the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 31 May 2016. EPA/YOAN VALAT

Topics: 10sballs, 2016 French Open, Clay tennis, French Open Tennis, RG16, Roland Garros, Sports, Tennis News