Clay courts reduce risk of injury: A recent survey by the United States Tennis Association shows amateur tennis players play for life. They start when they are very young and continue to play well into their retirement years. They play for a variety of reasons, ranging from mere relaxation to maintaining a lifetime of enjoyable health. However, they do not play tennis to receive or aggravate back injuries, strained muscles, or broken bones.
A study on the physical injuries resulting from tennis play was conducted by the University of Calgary, Canada. It was found that one out of every two tennis players was likely to suffer a tennis injury during one 6 month season of playing. This study clearly connects tennis injuries of the lower extremities, back and groin, with two factors: the court surface and the shoe. Surfaces that allow sliding resulted in approximately 75% fewer injuries than surfaces which did not.
