By Bill Nichols

Court surfaces are as important to tennis players as the racquet and ball.

 Big, strong hitters such as Clark Graebner and Arthur Ashe prefer a hard, fast surface while baseline players such as Nancy Richey lean toward a slower surface. And tournament performances usually prove that top ranking players usually fare better on surfaces likened to their particular style.

For generations many of the installations were of a clay type with some of asphalt or concrete.

CONCRETE AND ASPHALT have been unpopular because of their extreme hardness and complete lack of resiliency.

Clay, on the other hand, has been popular through the years. It's a slower surface, more suitable to club and public park players. Clay usually has a good playing qualities when properly reconditioned and construction is economical.

However, the clay court does not always give constant good playing qualities. It is extremely soft and unplayable during rainy weather. And during dry spells it's hard and often dusty.

TENNIS COURTS constructed today are as modern as the steel and aluminum racquets. Many of the new surfaces have the same fast drying qualities of the all-weather running tracks going up around the country at high schools and colleges.

Grass, of course, has been popular for years, but grass surfaces are normally found at the posh country clubs or at world championship sites such as the famed Wimbledon in London.

Of the many new surfaces on the market today, three are the most widely used. They are Teniko Royal, Teniflew and Corkturf, all by the F.C. Feise Co. of Narberth, PA.

TENIKO ROYAL is a porous composition and closely resembles a clay surface. It is considered a slow surface.

Teniflex is a rubberized, hard, fast surface more suitable for the "big hitters".

Corkturf, naturally is a cork substance and it has a strong resemblance to turf.

"These new surfaces are compositions of materials affording quick drying surfaces with low or no maintenance through the development of certain binders and surface finishers," Frank Feise explains.

THERE HAS BEEN an upsurge locally in recent years for the new, modern court surfaces. Eight Teniko Royal courts have been constructed at the Cleveland Skating Club, eight more at Racquet Club West and three at Kirtland Country Club.

Teniflex courts have been installed at Harold T. Clark Stadium, site of the Davis Cup matches between the United States and Spain, Aug. 16-18. Others have gone up at Beechmont and Hawthorne Valley Country Clubs, Hawken School, Hathaway Brown School and in the Orange school district. And Racquet Club West has added four corkturf courts to its complex.

THERE ARE OTHER new surfaces on the market today, such as Plexipave, Laykold, Grasstex and the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court, a trade name of the J.P. Stevens & Co., Inc., is the most intriguing of the new surfaces. Actually it's little more than a green carpet. It has the qualities of grass, however, it does not dry fast like some others, but is considered ideal of indoor play.

Tennis has come a long way since ball first met racquet and it's going to go a lot further.