Tennis after Wet weather

Playing after wet weather?


All of us have been through it. At least, in rainy Singapore...


You are all ready for the game, then one or two hour before the game, it starts to pour.
And it stops ... 30 minutes before the game is supposed to start.


In Singapore, you get two kinds of weather - dry or wet.
Playing tennis in Singapore means you got to get use to dealing with a wet court.


The folks I play with have two general attitudes to wet courts, one will like to work the court rollers til the court is nice and dry. The others start playing in the puddles after some cursory rolling cos, after all, it could start raining again during play, right?


So ... what are things to expect when you play on wet/semi-dry courts?
1) The Balls will Skid.
Initially, if the court is really full of puddles, balls may skid easily and add a very unpredictable  bounce.


This happens commonly on serve or off strokes that have underspin.


Dealing with it requires some adjustment. Such as backing a half step to a full step while preparing for a return.


Mentally allow yourself more time to adjust after the bounce. 


If it really skids bad and you can't reach the ball, it's ok, your opponent needs to deal with it too. So here's how to use it to your benefit.


Think more slice serve, especially on the second serve, and the occasional underspin on the ground strokes.


Aim at the puddles. haha. I mean, if you really can, wow, I'm impressed with your technique.


2) Bounce, or lack of.
The water absorbed by the wet balls (for lack of a better word) will make them travel slower, bounce lower, heavier to hit and service tosses lower.


I don't really like to warm up my serve on wet balls. 
I feel that my regular service motion may get spoilt. I'm finicky that way.


Ground strokes that you hit that should be landing deep will not.
Hit harder. 


Or hit higher, aim for a higher clearance above the net to get a deeper ball in.


Btw, in my experience topspin somehow does not work well on wet balls.


On the serve, be prepared to get your face wet when your racket hits the fuzzy green thing and squeezes out the water onto you. 


You should get it more when you go for the slice serve as you swipe across the ball. 
Just think of the crazy spin your serve will get when it skids off the puddles to comfort yourself ... and just wipe off the dirty court water off with your sleeve or dry towel during changeovers. No pain no gain.


Playing against big hitters?
Think pusher tennis ... but with a variation.


As a pusher on a wet court, I like to hit soft and aim at the "T".


Big hitters aren't usually used to hitting wet balls.


They will try to put away the short ball and ... based on their own adjustments while hitting the wet balls before attempting the put away, will usually overhit. Point to you.



3) Wet equipment.
Be prepared for your socks to get soak thru. You could be running for most of the game in wet shoes. Having an intact outsole i.e. one without worn out holes will delay the onset of this.


Having a spare pair of socks could help? I dunno, probably.


Do remember to let the balls dry off after the game.
Always a nasty experience to discover that all the balls you have are wet when you are just ready to start playing the next time.


Before serving, I sometimes like to hit the wet balls on the court to speed up the drying process. Sometimes hitting a dry ball especially on the first serve just feels right...