Tennis courts are referred to as “lawns” by many people, even though they are made of grass. Lawn refers to turfgrass that is mown short. Tennis courts are not lawns. Courts are made out of special materials that allow players to bounce balls off them or roll rackets over them without damaging them.

Turfgrass on tennis courts is maintained at a height of 1/2 inch (12mm). It’s always best to use a reel-type mower because it chops up the clippings and lets them fall back onto the surface where they can break down naturally and be absorbed easily into the lawn’s root zone. If clippings are left on the surface of a tennis court they can rot and bind to the surface, making it slippery. A reel mower will also give you more control than using one of those newfangled motorized ones because the blades don’t move very fast, so you’re less likely to catch your foot or hand in them.

The best time to cut your courts is very early in the morning just after dew has dried out of the grass, but before it gets too hot outside. The heat makes the grass blade wilt and lay over which provides an uneven playing surface, making ball bounce unpredictably off of it. You should never cut your courts at night because they’ll be wet and the cut blades will be exposed to dew and frost in the early morning which can cause disease. It’s important not to let your courts get too long, either; when grass gets tall it compacts and this makes it difficult for proper drainage to occur–something that you definitely want on a tennis court. In general, cutting your lawn at 3/4 of its mature height will improve the overall health of the turfgrass.

3/4 is ideal because you don’t want to remove all of the leaf blade since this is where the chlorophyll occurs which gives grass its color. Lastly, try to avoid using a reel mower if your dog runs around on your court afterwards. The clippings left over from a reel mower look like little spikes and if your dog runs around on it he’ll get grass burrs all over his feet (gross, but that’s why they make clippers).

The confusion between the terms “lawn” and “court” is due to the term lawn being used for many things that it shouldn’t be. Lawn refers to turfgrass that is mown short and tennis courts are not lawns. Lawns do not have any special qualities that allow them to bounce balls off of them or roll rackets over them without damaging them. The best time to cut your court would be early in the morning just after dew has dried out of the grass, but before it gets too hot outside. You should never cut your court at night because they’ll be wet and the cut blades will be exposed to dew and frost in the early morning which can cause disease. Lastly, try not to use a reel mower if your dog runs around on your court afterwards. The clippings left over from a reel mower look like little spikes and if your dog runs around on it he’ll get grass burrs all over his feet (gross, but that’s why they make clippers). In general, cutting your lawn at 3/4 of its mature height will improve the overall health of the turfgrass.