life
SPORT & LEISURE
Tennis
Island outdoors
By James Kerr
Tennis originated in the UK in the late
19th century as lawn tennis. It’s an
Olympic sport and is played around the
world by people of all ages and ability
levels; able-bodied players as well as
people who require a wheelchair for
mobility can play.
There are three main types of court
and each surface provides a difference in
the speed and bounce of the ball, which
affects the level of play of individual
players. Clay courts are slow surfaces
while hard courts are generally faster.
A typical hard-court is characterised by
low bounce and high ball speed, giving
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fast-serving players an advantage. Grass
courts, of which there are two at the Ryde
Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (RLTCC),
are considered to be very fast surfaces,
with low-bouncing or skidding balls that
keep rallies short and favour hard-serving,
hard-hitting players.
Make sure you’ve got the correct
footwear for the type of surface on which
you are playing. Tennis shoes must have
soles that grip the ground securely so that
players can start and stop quickly. Most
courts on the island are hard surfaces,
where shoes that provide grip, traction
and ankle support should be worn.
In addition to the RLTCC, there is one
other club in Ryde, as well as clubs at
Ventnor and Brighstone. The Gurnard
Pines Health Club has five courts,
year-round day- and night tennis and a
full coaching programme. According to
Jonathan Greenway at Ventnor, where
facilities have been recently upgraded with
lottery funding, there is a lovely tennis
scene on the island. The Ventnor club
was formed in 1927 and boasts nearly 300
members, many of whom are juniors.
Over at Brighstone, Secretary Chris
Goodman is very proud of the informal
nature of the club’s access to the general
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