The red clay that is used as the surface on a tennis court originated right back to the origins of the game. If you play tennis yourself, you have been privileged to have a game on this famous surface. The history of the red clay court is particularly prevalent in Spain and the home of the only major played on clay; France.
This is a unique surface and makes the style of play completely different from other surfaces. To actually play on clay is an exhilarating experience.
Whether or not you have yet to experience playing on a red clay court, I have a few fascinating facts about this unique surface to share with you.
The serve and volley players who regularly record wins on other surfaces will often struggle on the red clay. To win on this surface you will be playing from the baseline with punishing ground strokes.
Those players who reign supreme on this difficult surface play most effectively from the baseline. They also rely on the strength in their ground strokes to win matches.
There are a lot of players these days who class their serve as their strongest weapon; unfortunately, it will not win them matches on the clay courts. The same goes for those who prefer to volley.
Where as on other surfaces such as hard courts the ball skids along the surface at speed, on clay courts it is slowed right down by the thickness of the surface.
So the ball is slower and as a result bounces a lot higher. This means your opponent has longer to reach the ball and return it, thus making the game go on for longer. Some matches on clay have literally gone for hours.
The matches are made so much longer by the length of the rallies, where the spectators frequently begin to count the strokes out loud after they have gone over 10.
Although the ball is easier to reach, the faster player will always have the advantage over their slower opponents.
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