How to Stop the Skids at Wimbedon
Walking onto a grass tennis court feels like walking on a soft, cushy carpet in bare feet. It’s an experience that every tennis player should have at some point. During the first couple days of Wimbledon on the grass courts at The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, there were numerous players falling as they chased the tennis balls during the first round. The movement on grass tennis courts is quite unlike on clay and hard courts because tennis
players need to bend even more than on the other surfaces and then there is the sliding, often looking more like uncontrolled skids. Tennis players slide all the time on clay courts and many these days such as Novak Djokovic even slide across hard courts. However, there are always more tumbles during the first couple days at Wimbledon compared to the semis and finals because the pristine, green grass is definitely more slippery than the grass and dirt courts at the end of the tournament. Recreational players who have the chance to play on grass courts can play with traditional tennis shoes. However, for a couple of decades, the major tennis manufacturers have produced specialized tennis sneakers featuring a tiny dimpled tread that definitely provides better traction on the grass courts. These dimpled sneakers also chew up the grass courts causing a lot of the brown patches seen in the second week. These special tennis shoes may not be perfect for the tennis courts or eliminate “the skids”, but there would be many more dangerous tumbles without them.
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