Why the Surfaces Feel Closer Than They Once Did
Several changes have compressed the differences. Racket and string technology allow players to generate heavy topspin from almost anywhere on the court, which makes the baseline exchange workable even where the bounce is low, and reduces the necessity of coming forward on grass. Grass court preparation has also changed, with denser turf and firmer, more heavily rolled surfaces that produce a slightly higher and more consistent bounce than the softer, patchier courts of earlier eras.
Court and ball specifications are now deliberately chosen by tournaments, which can tune conditions toward the middle rather than accepting whatever the surface naturally gives. Above all, the incentives changed. The grass segment of the calendar is short, so building a game that only works on grass is a poor career strategy, and modern development produces all-court players trained to adapt. The convergence people notice is mostly a convergence of playing styles, arrived at because one adaptable style is the rational answer to a calendar dominated by hard courts.
