Why clay is the best surface to develop your game

Clay is your best coach and training partner!

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Are you an elite junior player, coach or parent and do you have access to a quality clay court? If yes, you should be training on that clay court AS OFTEN AS POSSIBLE!!

Every time I have done training blocks with my athletes over the past 20 years on clay, the improvement in these players has been significant – and significantly more than on other surfaces.

I have been lucky enough in Canberra to have access to high quality clay courts at the Canberra Tennis Centre. Unfortunately in Australia this kind of venue is incredibly rare, however there are clay courts around, and I urge you to seek them out if you can.  

Over the past 30 years or so of professional tennis, Europe has dominated both the mens and womens tours (although in recent times the USA is matching Europe in the womens game). 

 It is no secret that European junior players train and compete on clay, for approximately 6 MONTHS OF EVERY YEAR!  And this is not just a token couple of days a week training on clay and then go and play tournaments on synthetic grass, hard court, en-tous-cas, gravel, grass and indoors – like we do in Australia!! Our tournament schedule has little coherence and we do not have a “clay court season” – nor is there much effort from TA to get more junior events played on clay – something that they need to urgently address to help our junior players compete with the best in the world.  

In Europe they literally play on clay EVERY DAY and compete in tournaments on clay EVERY SINGLE EVENT for about a 6 month period in a row, each and every year!!!!

For the 7 year period I coached Nick Kyrgios and the other 6 players in that training group, we trained on clay as often as we could. The clay in Canberra back then wasn’t nearly as good as it is now, but it was clay (not en-tous-cas or gravel/loam). Yes the bounces were dodgy and without water it was a little slippery, but when looked after and watered regularly it played ok. You could slide and change directions (NOT SLIP AND CONSTANTLY GET WRONG FOOTED LIKE EN-TOUS-CAS!) and it was slow surface, the same speed as European clay. Whilst Nick or that group of players didn’t play like a “clay courters”, it did play a significant role in developing their games. Roger Federer grew up on clay and he played a very aggressive all round game style more suited to faster surfaces. There are hundreds of examples of this – players who grow up playing on clay but in the end are better on other surfaces. This is because CLAY MAKES YOU A BETTER ALL ROUND PLAYER.  In fact, as a coach, I have no better assistant coach to help me develop players, than a good quality clay court. 

Here are all the benefits of training and competing on clay:

• Improves endurance and consistency because the average rally in junior tennis on clay is significantly longer.  You see massive long rallies and matches in juniors on clay, some of which would never happen on hard court. Also, drilling on clay is way more beneficial.  It is not unusual for junior players to have 50-60 ball rallies when drilling, something that is very unusual on any other surface

• It significantly improves the tactical awareness of junior players. Because rallies are longer and it is harder to finish the point, players start to understand different ways to win points (rather than just hit it hard and rush the opponent into an error). Drop shots are used far more and are way more effective on clay. A high topspin shot is way more effective. Sneaking to the net is easier. Drop volleys become a real tactic, as do angles, change of pace and just “out-grinding” your opponent with depth and consistency.

• You can’t hide technical deficiencies on clay. Because you have to create pace and spin and deal with high, quick, low and slow balls on clay, flaws in technique are exposed and this in turn helps to develop sound technique. 

• Players who train AND compete on clay for long periods of time develop far more variety and range of shots. You can’t just “hit the ball” really well and win. You need more such as the ability to finish at net (as the ball is harder to put away from the baseline), spin and angles, drop shots, the ability to change pace, plus a kick serve is a real asset. Also, players can return deep in the court both on 1st and 2ndserves and it is a very effective tactic – which is far more difficult to execute on a faster surface. A tactic we see a lot of male players use on the ATP tour today.

• You need to slide well to play well on clay. When you learn to slide, you use it a lot in every training session on clay. This develops the muscles in your legs like no other surface or no exercise in the gym can do. With stronger legs you have more strength, power and balance – all really important aspects in good technique. Strong leg muscles also prevent injury. 

• ATTACK AND DEFENCE IS FAR MORE PREVALENT THAN ON HARD COURT!  Attack and defence is what tennis is all about! You develop these skills better by training and competing on clay – particularly your end range defensive skills. 

• It is no secret that clay is better for your body. It is a softer surface and you slide into your shots (as opposed to decelerating all the time on a hard court, putting major stress through your leg/hip joints).

• Mental toughness improves! Longer rallies and points, longer matches, tougher physically (not injury wise, but you have to work harder to win points) – all these things build mental toughness – without a sports psychologist!

My observations is that when junior players get a long period of training and competing on clay, some amazing things start to happen. Their consistency improves. The variety of shot improves. Their endurance improves. Their tactical awareness improves. Their ability to finish at net improves. They are more patient and consistent players.

And WHEN THEY STEP BACK ON ANOTHER SURFACE – it feels easy and they strike the ball way better. On clay the bounces are not always consistent, you have to adjust, take high balls and short balls, spinny and flat balls etc. So when you step back on a hard court, it SEEMS REALLY EASY!!

SO COMPETE AND TRAIN ON A CLAY COURT AS OFTEN AS YOU CAN!!

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DID YOU KNOW THAT 50% OF ALL PROFESSIONAL EVENTS ON THE MENS TOUR ARE HELD ON CLAY?  So if you can’t play well on clay, then that makes it a lot more difficult for scheduling when you hit the pro tour. Also, almost all European team tennis events are held on clay. This can be a valuable source of income as a pro player, however if your results are poor on clay, it is unlikely you will ever get a spot in one of these competitions. 

GOING TO EUROPE TO COMPETE

Going to Europe to compete as a junior player is highly beneficial. However, before committing to such a trip (and the huge expense) your child should be able to SLIDE and have had some experience on clay before leaving. Moving well on clay (ie sliding,balancing, changing direction) is critical to success on clay. Without this, any player will really struggle to beat any quality opponents

SO HOW DO YOU LEARN TO SLIDE IF YOU DON’T HAVE A CLAY COURT??  The answer is SYNTHETIC GRASS!  Whilst i hate this surface (it provides no other benefits for developing junior players) – it does allow you to slide. I grew up playing on this surface in Canberra in the 80s and 90s and I barely set foot on a clay court, and occasionally I played on a hard court. It wasn’t good for my game, but it had one benefit – I could slide!! So when I hit the clay courts of Spain on my first trip to Europe at age 17, sliding was totally natural and normal. In fact, sliding on Spanish clay courts was easy compared to the slippery synthetic grass I grew up on!  It meant I could at least move well on clay and therefore be competitive.

YOU CAN ALSO LEARN TO SLIDE WELL ON AN EN-TOUS-CAS OR LOAM/GRAVEL SURFACE

SO GET OUT THERE AND LEARN TO SLIDE – AND IF YOU ACCESS TO A CLAY COURT THEN YOU SHOULD BE TRAINING ON IT AS OFTEN AS YOU CAN!!