Most players just learning tennis in the modern era probably know the three main court surfaces: grass, hard, and clay. However, there was a fourth surface that was a legitimate court in the 1980s and beyond before meeting near extinction in the 21st century: carpet.
Major tournaments, such as the ATP Finals, Paris Masters, and Kremlin Cup were all once played on carpet.
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On the Carpet ! Very rare to play the game on the textile-covered court, but it brings the unique feelings like the speedy service and return. Notably ATP Paris Masters at Bercy once chose the carpet as their surface. #tennis #court #carpet pic.twitter.com/ab4PTsIsG8 — t.rex (@24preludes) December 6, 2020
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It's a shame that the surface is no longer used because it was once one of the fastest surfaces to play on, next to grass, and was made of nylon or rubber matting on top of concrete.
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???? in ????????.First tennis game in more than a year (maybe two?). It was hella fun though on that carpet court. And my lungs were like ????????????. pic.twitter.com/gSP7w1HwMR — Ezra Zaid????️ (@EzraZaid) September 9, 2017
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It may seem like a surface that only old, retired players competed on, but even Roger Federer was playing on the surface as recently as 2007 when he defeated Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek on carpet in the Davis Cup. In fact, the ATP Tour did not stop using carpet until 2009 in a bid to "standardize indoor competitions."
For the WTA, it would take almost another 10 years for the surface to finally meet its end. The last WTA tournament to use carpet was the Tournoi de Quebec in Canada in 2018, the last year of the tournament. Pauline Parmentier defeated Jessica Pegula in the finals, becoming the last player, male or female, to win an ATP or WTA Tour-level title on the surface.
However, the story of carpet courts is not quite over. While the surface is nearly extinct, some ATP Challenger Tour tournaments still use carpet. Maybe one day, this once beloved surface will make a comeback.
Until then, let's toast to the iconic surface of yesterday.
