Indian tennis has generally loved the smell of grass. According to the AITA (All India Tennis Association), when the game was first imported into the country in the 1880s by the British Army and civilian officers, it was played on grass. India has had more success on the pristine lawns of Wimbledon — the only grass court major — than in the other Grand Slam tournaments. For the yesteryear tennis fans, who would have watched many a Wimbledon final on the Doordarshan, the major is likely to be their most cherished tennis tournament.
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Though the cost of laying grass courts is less, they are very expensive to maintain, according to Ameet Malhotra, the founder of Sports Turf and Golf enterprises, a sports turf construction and maintenance company. Tending a grass court is more complex than clay or hard courts. “Growing grass is a technical thing,” he says. “It’s difficult if you are not a good agronomist (an expert in soil management and field-crop production), as grass involves insecticides and can cause some disease to the players.”
According to Ameet, grass courts (used for training) can only be used for three to four hours a day after which, maintenance work should be carried out. But clay and synthetic courts, he says, can be used for eight to ten hours.
