A hard-court specialist is a tennis player who excels on hard courts, but does not perform to the same standard on clay courts, grass courts, or other surfaces. The term is most frequently applied to professional players on the ATP or WTA tours rather than to average players. Many players from the United States are considered to be hard-court specialists due to the prevalence of hard courts there. They are thus accustomed to the unique skills the surface requires.
For example, a common feature of hard-court specialists is their ability to run extraordinarily quickly, a skill that is needed on this surface because the hard courts do not permit sliding to get to the ball as clay courts do. Many hard-court specialists are also very adept at hitting the ball hard and flat, without imparting too much spin on the ball, an especially effective shot on the surface because the ball tends to bounce much more quickly than on clay courts or most other surfaces, so it reduces the chances of the opponent getting a clean shot, or even any shot, on the ball.
The term "hard-court specialist" is not pejorative, but can be considered insulting to players who are described as such because the term implies a lack of comparable skill on other surfaces.
Some examples of prominent players who are frequently referred to as hard court specialists include: James Blake, Robby Ginepri, Andy Roddick, Joachim Johansson, Marin Čilić, Tommy Haas, Victoria Azarenka and Ivan Ljubičić.