Why Carpet Tennis Courts Were Permanently Banned

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Grass, Clay, Hard, and... Carpet?

Having once held the proud status throughout the late 20th century as one of the four main court types used at the professional level, why exactly did tennis' most predominant indoor playing surface wither away into obscurity?

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[Mitch_Crane]

Removing all the carpet in my house so Roger will want to come and visit

[deadfrg]

My personal theory about why carpet courts were abandoned is that they had to be vacuumed after every single event, and the vacuuming team consistently told their management about how much it sucked.

[atulganesh]

Lemme get this straight. Federer could not only control the surface, but also the type of surface at a Masters tournament? Damn these tournament directors are really after the money.

[sachinpaul]

Tennis has always been corrupt. The statement “the organizer wanted Federer to win the title once” is an absolute disgrace and is as bad as match fixing

[darj]

Interesting thing about Wimbledon changing it's grass surface composition a year after Goran Ivanisevic won it as a total outsider. He accepted a wildcard invitation to the tournament as his ranking had fallen to something like 127 in the world, but with his serve and volley style he goes and wins the entire thing beating Rafter in an epic 5 setter. I guess the organizers didn't like the idea of this happening again, as that style of play has all but seemingly disappeared from the game, at least among the elite.

[roter]

I freaking loved carpet. The sound of the ball hitting the surface was very distinct. I bet a lot of people assumed Nadal was the player who requested its removal. Not sure what Federer was thinking.

[Tan]

I feel like pro tennis would be a lot more interesting if the tours encouraged the roughly equal use of all different surfaces and court speeds. Would force players to adapt and give different playstyles more of a chance to shine. Though carpet in particular would have to be altered to give slightly better traction and held to higher standards for stability for it to ever return in force I think.

[kingdrummer]

They should consider bringing them back. It would be interesting to have 4 Grand Slams on 4 different surfaces. I really hate how all the surfaces are slowly beginning to feel the same. Clay courts are feeling faster, Grass is getting slower, and even though Hard courts are versatile with their speed and composition, they're all beginning to feel so bog-standard by comparison. If they are all going to be the same, than what is the point of even having the different surfaces?

[.]

who waited for 2 months for his new video eagerly

[ThatGuyRover]

The editing is so under-appreciated, it’s absurd. Love the videos, can’t wait for the next.

[WireBender]

I grew up on clay but there were (and still are a few surviving today) some carpet courts in our neighborhood. Quite frankly, looking back I see more upsides than downsides - virtually zero maintenance, consistent bounce, by definition never any line problems unlike on clay, as far as movement for me the surface didn't slip but didn't lock hard either, best of all balls last twice as long. What I disliked about the ones that were outdoor was how poorly they drained. Sometimes we would find them still soggy 48 hours after a rain storm.

[averagejoereactions]

I played on indoor carpet courts a lot in high school. Loved how much grip they had as the spin on your ball would greatly affect the bounce. A slice serve could jump several feet to one side after bouncing and really throw people off

[jackback]

I just realized now, that back when I was playing tennis, I actually mostly played on indoor carpet and I loved it more than clay, gras or hard surfaces. It was very cozy in a way and not as rough as clay for example. I also really liked that you have better grip on the carpet and don't slide around that much.

[lognathan]

I am amazed the quality of this video production - first the content and talking points, then the used to illustrate, music and voice over, then edits and transitions. All in all, a top tier studio quality production.

[levdiniho]

Me and my dad have always agreed that one of the w hard court slams should've been made to be carpet. It would make all 4 distinctly different and if you won all 4 it would show who is the best overall. I know AO and USO have different versions of hard court, but it's still hard court...

[Bmthighlights]

I always love how high quality these are! Keep up the Work Cult Tennis

[dhruvil]

Really like your videos.
Please make a big video on Roger Federer his whole timeline his ups and downs in one video .
Would love that

[kentayagi]

I really appreciate the content! Every time a video is posted, it's always at my "watch later" for when I'm free because watching this is a top priority. 😆 I've known that carpet surfaces exists because of Virtua Tennis (I just know that it exists and nothing else haha) but I absolutely love that your content delves into lesser known facts about the matter and tennis itself! Keep up the astounding work!

[brandonm]

I used to enjoy watching carpet tennis (and still play on it) but never really looked into why and how it was permanently removed. Great informational video.

[savaarnaiker]

Honestly, great vid!! Also that editing was very impressive