Why and how should a tennis court be maintained?

Here are the reasons and ways to maintain a tennis court, depending on the type of surface

Why is it important to maintain a tennis court?

Whatever its surface (porous concrete, resin, clay, porous asphalt, synthetic turf...) a tennis court requires special care. This maintenance simply helps toextend its lifespan.
Lack of maintenance over the long term can lead to premature or even irreversible wear of a tennis court surface.

This wear and tear can take many forms: cracks, shifting of the slab, peeling surface grains, blistering, whitening paint that no longer clings...
If this wear is irreversible, the only solution is to pour a new slab on top of the old one.

(The cost of a new slab is around €22-25,000).

Regular maintenance can extend the life of your tennis court by several years.
Ideally, maintenance should be carried out once a year, depending on the court's environment and use. The wetter and shadier the court, the more regular the maintenance (every year or more).
For example: over a 10-year period, with regular maintenance, a tennis court's lifespan can be extended by 5 years, compared with a court that has had no maintenance for those 10 years.

How do I maintain a tennis court?

Tennis courts are maintained by specialized companies.
Special equipment and know-how are required to keep a court in good condition.
Maintenance varies according to the surface of the court, but generally speaking, it should be carried out once a year on average:

Porous concrete/asphalt courts

For this type of court, deep high-pressure cleaning is required on average once a year.
The cleaning process consists of 3 stages:

• Step 1: a bell is passed over the court, injecting high-pressure water to remove any dirt embedded in the concrete or asphalt.
• Step 2: High-pressuregun to remove all remaining dirt.
• Step 3: Apply anti-foaming agent to the entire surface. The anti-foaming agent should be applied after cleaning, so that it penetrates deep into the surface of your property. In this way, the anti-moss product will delay the appearance of moss on the surface for as long as possible. If applied before the high-pressure bell, the product will have little effect, as it will be completely diluted by the water injected into the soil.

Caution: High-pressure cleaning alone, which is useful for simple surface cleaning, is not sufficient for in-depth cleaning. Moreover, if used improperly, it can lead to the appearance of debris on the pitch (grains of porphyry that detach from the surface and form hollow minis that cause false bounces and sometimes players to fall! )

It is strongly recommended to apply the anti-foam product a second time during the year, to optimize maintenance and the chances of improving the life of the court.
All you need is a 2.5 l can of anti-foaming agent. Mixed with 250 l of water, it can be applied to the court using a watering can, which, with its special boom, makes spreading the product easier, faster and more precise.
Sweeping the court from time to time with a broom is also a good idea. This prevents the dead leaves that attract moss and the seeds that will grow roots from remaining on the court, speeding up the return of the moss.

Resin court

For resin or greenset courts, high-pressure surface cleaning is required. Ideally, this should be done at the beginning of winter (October-November) or before the summer season (February-March).
This prevents moss on the court from damaging the resin surface.
If maintenance is not carried out, the resin may deteriorate very quickly. The risk of moisture-related deterioration (cracks, blisters) is greatly increased.

Clay court / terbal

These courts are more special and require very regular maintenance.
This maintenance is fairly simple to carry out with a few suitable tools, but you need to be meticulous.
First of all, sweep the surface of the court with a drag to remove all branches, dead leaves, cigarette butts, plastic, etc.
Once you've swept the surface, you'll need to add more clay as the need arises.

The lines need to be repainted on average once a year.
To paint the lines, once the 2 operations above have been carried out, sweep your tennis lines, then brush a coat of baked linseed oil over the 140 meters of lines and leave to dry for 24 hours (1 5-l can is sufficient).
Once the coat of linseed oil is dry, brush on 1 coat of special white tennis paint and leave to dry for a further 24 h. (1 x 5 l can of paint is required).
Once the paint is dry, you're ready to play!

Deep decompaction of a clay pitch should be carried out every 12 to 15 years or so.
This operation consists in decompacting all the clay on top of the clinker to allow the pitch to breathe, and then replacing it with new clay.
Note that 10 tons of clay are about 1cm thick on a standard 648m2 tennis court (18m x 36m).
This complex and time-consuming operation should only be carried out by professionals!