After today, the description 'centre court' of the Vignal assumes a new significance: a day's work of two men extremely well-versed in all aspects of 'terre-battue', construction, maintenance, & repair, have transformed our first-made(1) playing surface (2).
Let me elaborate; as external appearances do not do justice to the word 'transformed'. I was able to watch carefully the first watering & scraping to remove the outer surface. This was followed by the removal of a base-line, & the continued use of a remarkably well-conceived machine to churn-up a measured depth of the over-hardened surface material(3). This yielded a sizeable patch of reddish earth apparently ready for the sowing of some suitable crop! Such a future was not to be of course; the chosen area was that over-worn portion we all use too much, & which has contributed to the large puddles after rain.
The repairs consisted of a layer of terre-granitique covered with a layer of brique-pilée (3) assiduously rolled-in. The same procedure at the other end of the court; new base-lines hammered down, the whole court spread with nearly a tonne of this agreeable red surfacing, has resulted in a centre court worthy of the best tennis clubs of France! When your time comes, use it with respect!
A portion of the final result:
Notes:
(1) This is the court made by the family, after the purchase of the land by Suzanne Gardet in 1975.
(2) The firm chosen for this work is well-known in other tennis clubs, Monaco & Roland Garros included.
(3) The american term 'claycourt' is justified in that roasting of clay is used to make bricks; these are crushed to give the material used for the surface layer. The colour comes incidentally from the presence of iron(III) oxide.
