[wimbledonwinner]

This is gonna sound silly, but is there any difference between green clay that is used in Charleston and Amelia Island and that of the red clay used mostly elsewhere?

 

[FormalEducation]

green clay is only in USA?!

 

[ceiling_fan]

yep, red clay is made of crushed bricks and rubber and other materials, while green clay is made of crushed stones

 

[SpikeyAidanm]

Quote from Marlene Weingartner (2001):

"It`s because on green clay it is a little bit faster than
red clay, and I was thinking that I have to be very
patient, but you also have to be aggressive, I think,
because it`s a faster court than a red clay court,
so..."

 

[spiceboy]

green clay is only in USA?!

No, UK also has green clay

Jounieh $75K challenger is also played on green clay (at Lebanon)

 

[Steffica Greles]

Green clay is the slowest surface, except for red clay.

From what I can make out, having never played on the surface, the ball bounces ever so slightly faster and more notably, lower than on red clay.

But it hasn't stopped red clay specialists - Evert, Sabatini, Martinez - dominating those tournaments over the years. It's still slidey and slow.

 

[Bumsby]

Green Clay is more slippery than Red Clay. Some players (eg., Farina Elia) play with grass shoes on Green Clay.

 

[Darop.]

I've tried playing on green clay, and it's weird

When it's humid its impossible to slide, yet when its dry its like playing on grass...

 

[Orion]

It's got a very different feel when you play on it, and it's hard to describe. I've only played twice on green clay, and it changes based on weather conditions. Intelligent players who gauge all playing conditions succeed on it.

 

[vogus]

green clay is a great surface to play tennis on, very soft on the body, slower than most hardcourts but faster than most red clay courts. Also it is not as tricky to move on as red clay, you don't need to be as good at sliding.

 

[Shonami Slam]

thanks! intresting stuff said here.

 

[mishar]

I've played a lot on both surfaces. The ball bounces lower on green clay, it skids sometimes, a good slice can be very effective, especially when the court is dry. It plays faster than the red clay.

 

[Fantastic]

It explains why Lindsay Davenport does particularly well on green clay.

 

[alexusjonesfan]

Haven't there been a lot of ankle injuries on hartru? I don't remember when it was, but I remember reading about that here.

Apparently it has a truer bounce than red clay and all-around closer to hard courts.

 

[mishar]

I've heard about a lot of ankle injuries on rebound ace -- I don't remember a lot on hartru.

In my experience red clay has a more reliable bounce -- the bounce on green clay is less predictable. It doesn't have as much bounce as the red clay.

 

[alexusjonesfan]

I've heard about a lot of ankle injuries on rebound ace -- I don't remember a lot on hartru.

In my experience red clay has a more reliable bounce -- the bounce on green clay is less predictable. It doesn't have as much bounce as the red clay.

I guess I was wrong on both counts

Seriously though, I do remember reading something about Har-tru causing injuries...guess I'll have to find it

 

[mboyle]

I play on green clay all the time. I've played on red only once. What people have said, however, has been the story, basically.

1. The ball bounces much lower on Green clay.
2. The bounce is far more unpredictable (especially off the lines.)
3. Green clay is faster than Red Clay, though still not as fast as the slower hardcourts like Ace.
4. Sliding on Green Clay is very very hard.
5. Slices just downright die on the stuff. Soooooooo annoying for me....

 

[rightous]

Mboyle said everything I was going to say, I personally love both but green clay takes pace alot more but man try to slide on the stuff and your legs will just die.

 

[Shonami Slam]

this all brought a question about something i don't know much about - sliding.
what does it actually mean (yeah, you slide - but why should you slide in the first place, and what does it give you ) any nice responce will be hugely thanked!

 

[jonny84]

:lol: Didn't realise there was a technical difference! I just thought that it was dyed with green dye! :lol: