Knowing the mechanics of the clay-court game: What makes it so special, and different?

Clay is slower, and tougher, compared with other playing surfaces in tennis. And it is synonymous with Rafael Nadal. These are the three metrics upon which the modern-day clay-court game is interpreted in non-technical terms.

These descriptions are easy enough to grasp, too. But it isn’t until one starts to watch the game more closely that these defining parameters seem to be superficial, turning the ease of understanding of the clay-court game into an unnecessary complication.

The fictional character of Dr Sheldon Cooper in the American sitcom The Big Bang Theory states that physics governs the very existence of the universe. While that remains a different topic of discussion altogether, with regard to tennis – most specifically, pertaining to the dynamics of playing on clay – it is, indeed, physics that determines the chain of action.

It’s using each of the three aforementioned aspects that the singularity of clay as a playing surface can be elaborated.

Playing on clay is slow: But, how does the slowness come about?

Simply put, clay is the crushed and powdered form of bricks, which is laid as the top-most layer of the tennis court. A naturally occurring surface as it then is, the inherent component of mud also makes clay into an extremely soft surface to play on.

“What happens on clay is that when the ball lands back on the ground after it’s hit by a player’s racquet, it sinks a little in the ground before bouncing back up,” said Akshay Kohli, a former top-five ranked Indian junior. “That’s the basic difference between clay and other playing surfaces, let’s say, grass. The ball skids through on grass after landing, while it slightly sticks to the surface on clay.”

The point of contact being extended between the ball and the surface as the ball lands, invariably, reduces the speed of the ball. At the same time, the softness of the surface also means that it is susceptible to the slightest movement a player makes during a match, which dislodges the evenness of the surface across the playing area.

This, in turn, delves into the aspect of unpredictable bounce on clay and the usage of topspin, which is an intrinsic part of a clay-courter’s game. For, using topspin-heavy shots ensure that a player is able to compensate for the lessening of the speed of the ball after its point of contact with the surface, by leveraging the bounce to make the ball stay higher and longer in the air as it travels through.

According to tennis analyst Karthik Swaminathan, “Given the gritty nature of the surface, imparting topspin on a ball will cause it bite further into the clay and, in so doing, enhance the effect of the spin. Do note, however, that the effect of top spin varies with the court. Reactions are different on clay [where the ball will bounce sharper and higher] as opposed to hard courts.”

Toughness of the game: An offshoot of the slowness of the surface?

To sum it up then, the slow nature of clay manifests itself in the way the game plays out in a given match, with players getting time to get to the ball and sending it back across the net. This also means that the players have to commit themselves to stay in the points – and in the match itself – for a longer duration.

So, when compared to other surfaces like hard courts or grass, where players find it easier to finish points early, either by hitting winners outright or by finishing the point at the net, the same cannot be done on clay.

Prakash Potukuchi, a tennis enthusiast, points out this factor as the underlying toughness players face during the three-month span of the clay season. “The biggest thing is: [clay] puts emphasis on physicality and stamina as opposed to reflexes,” said the former alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. “So, in that sense you can say clay is a leveller. [As], it takes out your skills and reflexes that generally people associate with genius in tennis. And, puts the onus on stamina and grinding.”

Kohli, however, explained it slightly differently. “Counterpunching is the style most suited on clay as it gives the players time to retrieve the shots, along with topspin,” he shared. Alternatively, he also opined, players driving their shots with power instead of topspin also benefited on the surface.

“If you don’t have a game that uses topspin, you can put more power in your game. So, you can balance your game that way to compensate for the uneven bounce. Depending upon a player’s style of play, he could either use more power and less spin, or opt for more spin and less power in his shots.”

The Rafael Nadal factor

There’s no doubt that the former world No 1 is quite unlike his fellow competitors when it comes to playing on clay. Of the 72 titles, he’s won up to this point in his career, 52 have come on clay, with nine coming at the French Open alone.

However, Nadal’s dominance on the surface can also be attributed – alongside his inherent trait as a Spaniard to do well on clay – to his being able to not only exploit the advantage the surface offers to his playing style, but also evolve constantly as a player in all these years at the peak of his game on clay.

Swaminathan put it all together, stating, “One of the challenges clay courts impose is the dynamic conditions that are likely to be on offer.” Going on to add Chris Evert as a clay-court legend and a parallel to Nadal, he also pointed out how the two had translated their success on clay to the other surfaces as well, negating any upper-hand their rivals may have had against them on those.

“Clay is inimitable and the challenge remains for all and sundry,” he added. “However, only two people have actually mastered the surface in the last, say, 50 years – Evert and Nadal. This could be put down to a few lessons which are amplified when one practises on clay – patience, toughness, endurance, shot variety, and improved decision making.”