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A carpet court is a type of tennis court. The International Tennis Federation defines carpet courts as a "textile surface of woven or non-woven nylon, or a polymeric or rubber material, typically supplied in rolls or sheets" and as a removable surface. It is one of the fastest court types second only to grass courts. The use of carpet courts in professional competitions ended in 2009 to unify the surfaces used within ATP tour matches and to reduce injuries.
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Types
There are two types of carpet court. The predominantly outdoor version consists of artificial turf infilled with sand. This type of carpet court became popular in the 1980s in British and Asian tennis clubs for recreational play as they were easier and cheaper to maintain than grass courts.
The other type used predominantly for indoor tennis was a textile surface of nylon or rubber matting laid out on a concrete base. These would often be used in venues which are not normally used for tennis or other sports, such as the Royal Albert Hall in London. Playing on carpet courts, players usually approach it as they would a grass court due to both being similarly fast surfaces.
Professional tournaments
In years past, professional tournaments used carpet courts. The WCT Finals, U.S. Pro Indoor, Antwerp Open, Kremlin Cup, Paris Masters and Zagreb Indoors tournaments were all once played on carpet. In 2009, the ATP and WTA decided to end the use of carpet courts in professional tournaments as part of a drive to standardise competitions to hard courts as well as to prevent injuries to players. A number of players including Mario Ančić and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga criticised the move stating that professional tennis needed carpet courts for players to develop their ability for playing on fast courts and that having four surfaces created variety for spectators.