hard court

A tennis player serves the ball on a hard court.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • A type of tennis court surface: "hard court" refers to a tennis court made from a rigid, solid material such as concrete, asphalt, or acrylic, as opposed to softer surfaces like grass or clay.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The Australian Open is played on a hard court, which provides a fast and consistent bounce. (A tennis court surface made of concrete or asphalt.)
  • Many professional players prefer hard courts because they allow for a more predictable game. (The rigid surface offers reliability in ball behaviour.)

Advanced Usage

• "Hard court season": the period in the tennis calendar when tournaments are held on hard courts.

  • The US Open is the final major event of the hard court season. (The time of year focused on hard-court tournaments.)

• "Hard court specialist": a player who performs particularly well on hard court surfaces.

  • Novak Djokovic is considered a hard court specialist due to his many titles on that surface. (A player skilled on rigid tennis surfaces.)

Variants and Related Words

• Hard-court (adj): relating to or characteristic of a hard court.

  • The hard-court bounce is faster than on clay. (Pertaining to the surface type.)

• Hard court tennis (n): tennis played on a hard court.

  • Hard court tennis requires different footwear than grass court tennis. (The sport on rigid surfaces.)

Synonyms

• Plexicushion: a specific brand of acrylic hard court surface used at the Australian Open.
• DecoTurf: a specific brand of acrylic hard court surface used at the US Open.

Phrasal Verbs

(Not applicable — "hard court" is a noun phrase and does not form phrasal verbs.)

Related Idioms

(Not applicable — "hard court" is a technical term and does not appear in common idioms.)