Latest news with #claycourts
Daily Mail
09-06-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE I had a clay court tennis lesson with Serena Williams' old coach who helped her win 10 Grand Slams - here's what the surface is REALLY like to play on
The world of tennis served up more than a treat this weekend with two spectacular singles finals in the men's and women's game of the French Open. On Saturday, Coco Gauff prevailed in a three-set thriller against Aryna Sabalenka to win her maiden Roland Garros title. Twenty four hours later saw one of the greatest-ever Grand Slam finals in history unfold as Carlos Alcaraz battled back from two sets down, as well as save three championship points, to defeat Jannik Sinner in five sets. Clay courts are widely considered the toughest surface to play on but in the UK they are a rarity with hard and grass courts more common. But what is it really like to play on clay? Mail Sport gained an insight by enjoying a rare one-on-one coaching session with world-renowned tennis coach Patrick Mouratoglou. Courtesy of ASICS, the session took part at the historic Tennis Club de Paris - a mere 1.2 miles from Roland Garros itself. But before the session could commence, the marginal gains to get the best out of the session had to be decided: what footwear to choose that best matched our style of play? Regardless of your level, to make it easier for players to find the right tennis shoes for them, ASICS has developed their Playing Style philosophy. In doing so, the Japanese-based brand has created three different type of tennis footwear - an essential for those who wish to try and recreate the sliding ability of semi-finalist Lorenzo Musetti or wildcard sensation Lois Boisson, who also reached the final four. Greeted by ASICS Senior Product Manager Rene Zandbergen, who has worked extremely closely with Novak Djokovic on designing the ideal tennis shoe, Mail Sport was given a run through of the options available. The first type of footwear on offer was a Gel Resolution shoe, ideal for a baseline player due to its strong and stable design. The second was the Solution Speed FF - moulded for all-court players who need a lightweight and nimble shoe to allow them to buzz around the baseline and net. And finally the Court FF - a shoe that Zandbergen has been working in tandem with Djokovic on. A best of both shoe that encapsulates both of the aforementioned choices. The choice Mail Sport picked? The Gel Resolution shoe. The reasons why? For the stability and sturdiness of it on an unfamiliar surface for this player. With the shoe picked, next came the tennis. Playing with friends and having had lessons before is one thing, but to have a one-on-one session with Mouratoglou was a privilege and also nerve-wracking due to his illustrious CV. View this post on Instagram A post shared by THE COACH (@patrickmouratoglou) The Gel Resolution shoe (top row) is ideal for players looking to play from the baseline, the Solution Speed FF (middle row) is for those agile players, while the Court FF (bottom row) is an all-around shoe that Novak Djokovic has helped develop Lorenzo Musetti and Lois Boisson had impressive French Opens where they reached the semis The lesson initially began with a small rally in the service box so Mouratoglou can test my skills Working on groundstrokes, Augustus chose the Gel Resolution shoe for its stability on clay The 54-year-old is synonymous with aiding Serena Williams reign of dominance - helping the tennis icon win 10 Grand Slams as well as 2012 Olympic gold during their 10-year working relationship. So it is safe to say, the Frenchman knows what he is talking about. Undertaking a rally in the confines of both service box, Mouratoglou wanted to see my ability before expanding on the session. With Mouratoglou making me feel more at ease, the session was focused around improving the groundstrokes - hitting through the ball more with added depth and power. To do so we kept going further back towards the bassline, and then beyond it, as forehands and backhands were exchanged across the net - to varying degrees of success at times, from yours truly as I got to grips with the height and bounce generated from the surface. After the lesson Mouratoglou asked if Augustus based his forehand mannerisms on Rafael Nadal, which was quickly rebuffed - as this Mail Sport reporter can only wish! Mouratoglou's patience and politeness were on show throughout the session, while the choice of shoes did as they stated by providing a stable platform for me to hit from. Mouratoglou even remarked during the session if I base my forehand action on claycourt king Rafael Nadal due to having a similar flick of the wrist to the 14-time French Open champion. As much as I wish I could replicate just one per cent of the Spaniard's class, I had to say that was very much not the case! With the lesson over and new ASICS footwear obtained, Mail Sport will be taking the learnings of that session and the marginal gains gained back to the UK ahead of the grass court season and beyond. Anybody fancy a match? Alcaraz, Sinner and Musetti need not worry though.
Yahoo
01-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Michael Chandler breaks silence on Paddy Pimblett loss, explains Conor McGregor callout
The hallowed clay courts of Roland Garros There are few images in tennis more iconic than the red clay of Roland Garros. The arena in Paris hosts the French Open, the second grand slam of the year and one of the sport's most prestigious titles. The courts of Philippe Chatrier and Suzanne Lenglen have played host to some of the most memorable matches in the sport's history. 2:39 Now Playing Paused Ad Playing
The Guardian
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Jack Draper and Cameron Norrie win to move into French Open second round
Jack Draper and Cameron Norrie led the way on another impressive day for British tennis players on the clay courts of Paris as Britain's two most successful active male players moved into the second round of the French Open. Norrie took a significant step in his attempts to re-establish himself at the highest level of the ATP tour as he toppled the former world No 1 Daniil Medvedev, seeded 11th, 7-5, 6-3, 4-6, 1-6, 7-5 after trailing 3-5 in the final set. Later, Draper maintained his composure to secure his first career win at the French Open by defeating Mattia Bellucci 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-2. Sonay Kartal, meanwhile, continued her steady, assured rise by dominating Erika Andreeva 6-0, 6-2 to win on her main-draw debut. After victories for Katie Boulter, Emma Raducanu and Jacob Fearnley on Monday, this is the first time in the open era that three British men and three British women have won first-round matches at Roland Garros and the most British players into the second round since 1973. Draper returned to Paris for his third career appearance in a curious position. He continued his incredible rise this year by finally breaking through on clay and he entered Court Suzanne Lenglen as a top-five player at a grand slam tournament for the first time. At the same time, he was still seeking his first French Open victory. Under those circumstances, the early nerves he displayed were not surprising. He struggled with his serve from the start, double faults piling up, and he was tentative behind his usually destructive forehand. Across the net from Draper stood a familiar foe in Bellucci, also a 23-year-old left-hander, who he first faced in doubles alongside Jacob Fearnley when they were only 12 years old. Despite being only 5ft 9in tall, Bellucci is an explosive, dynamic and wildly entertaining player. His fast left arm propels his wicked yet inconsistent forehand and he is a great athlete with ample variation in his game, which he demonstrated throughout a strong start as he quickly led 5-1 before taking the first set at 6-3 with a sweet underarm serve. Draper remained calm after conceding the first set and his slow start eventually gave way to a dominant performance. 'He came out, played really aggressive from the start, some amazing shots, caught me a little bit off guard,' Draper said. 'I'm really proud of the way I was able to turn it around.' Norrie's victory against Medvedev is the joint best win at a grand slam tournament of his career. It also marked his first victory against Medvedev after losing all four of their previous meetings in straight sets. Norrie had started the match extremely well, pairing his typical discipline, durability and consistency with greater aggression on his forehand. As the Russian forced himself inside the baseline and began to dictate, however, Norrie lost control and the match flipped dramatically. Down 3-5 in the fifth set, though, Norrie locked down his game and found his way to an incredible escape, reeling off the final four games of the match to win. Afterwards, Norrie described the victory as one of the top wins of his career. Sign up to The Recap The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend's action after newsletter promotion 'Outside of Alcaraz, Sinner and Novak, would be probably the fourth toughest draw for me in terms of matchups and players,' he said. 'Extremely good win, especially my record with him. What's his ranking, 12 or 11 in the world? In a slam, best-of-five, beating him in five sets is impressive for me.' It is difficult to overstate the significance of this victory for the former British No 1. After the highs of winning the Indian Wells Masters 1000 event in 2021, facing Novak Djokovic in the 2022 Wimbledon semi-finals and climbing to No 8 in the ATP rankings, the past few years have been extremely difficult. Although injuries have played a part, he has struggled even when he has been healthy on court. Two weeks ago, the 29-year-old fell to No 91 in the rankings, his lowest since 2018. Norrie is an extremely ambitious individual but in order to find his way again, he had to take a step back and detach himself from his intense expectations and simply enjoy the game of tennis again. A turning point came after another easy first round loss at the Miami Open in March. 'After Miami, I felt I was trying too hard and forcing things too much,' Norrie said. 'I took some time, thought about everything in my career and my personal life and I think I was setting expectations too high. I talked to my team, a long meeting, just to try to enjoy the tennis a bit more and look for good moments. I started winning straight after that and started watching matches back, and I looked a lot more like myself on the court. 'Why not go and enjoy it, go and play and compete. Looking back after my career, you're gonna miss competing and miss the tough moments, and I don't want to regret that.'
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
French Open 2025: Taylor Fritz upset by Daniel Altmaier, eliminating top American men's seed
The top American seed at the 2025 French Open was eliminated with No. 4 Taylor Fritz losing his first-round match to Daniel Altmaier on Monday. Fritz's defeat continues his struggles playing on clay courts, recently demonstrated by a first-round loss to Marcus Giron at the Italian Open and a fourth-round exit versus Casper Ruud at the Madrid Open. Monday has not been kind to American seeds at Roland-Garros with women's No. 9 seed Emma Navarro falling to Jessica Bouzas Maneiro earlier in the day. This story will be updated.
New York Times
25-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
French Open 2025: How to watch the men's and women's singles opening rounds at Roland Garros
The second Grand Slam of the year begins on Paris' clay courts Sunday morning, with the first round of French Open action across men's and women's singles. Sunday also marks the debut of a massive new U.S. broadcast deal for the tournament with TNT, but the defending champions aren't in action until the following day. Carlos Alcaraz begins his singles title defense on the men's side Monday; Iga Świątek starts her pursuit of a fourth Roland Garros triumph in a row, which would be unprecedented in women's tennis in the Open Era, on the same day. Here's what you need to know for the tournament's opening three days. Alcaraz arrives at No. 2 in the world rankings, up one spot after his victory at Rome's Italian Open earlier this month. He defeated rival and top-ranked player Jannik Sinner, 7-6(5), 6-1. But it was Sinner that claimed the first Grand Slam of 2025, winning the Australian Open final 6-3, 7-6(5), 6-3 against No. 3 Alexander Zverev, before being sidelined for three months during an anti-doping ban. Advertisement The Italian now goes for his maiden French Open title. He'll face France's Arthur Rinderknech, with two more Frenchman, Terence Atmane or Richard Gasquet, vying to be his potential second-round draw. Alcaraz had been slated to take on former world No. 4 Kei Nishikori in the first round, but he withdrew at the last minute. Italian qualifier Giulio Zeppieri instead gets the daunting task of facing the Spaniard. Those two are tournament favorites, understandable considering that this duo has shared the past five Grand Slams. The highest-ranked Frenchman coming into this French Open run is 20-year-old Arthur Fils at No. 14. He was a first-round exit in both 2023 and 2024, but has much loftier aims for this year. Novak Djokovic is aiming for his fourth French Open title, after triumphs in 2016, 2021 and 2023. On the women's side, Świątek goes for a record fourth-straight tournament win. She hits the weekend fifth in the WTA rankings, trailing Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula and Jasmine Paolini. Sabalenka lost to Madison Keys in the Australian Open final (6-3, 2-6, 7-5), but she has since won in Miami and Madrid. She is listed as the betting favorite to start the event. The first round will run from Sunday through Tuesday, with singles second-round action on Wednesday and Thursday. Sunday's programming is set to honor Rafael Nadal, the all-time great who retired last year. The Athletic's Matthew Futterman on forthcoming TNT broadcast updates: 'Change rarely comes quickly to tennis media. Coverage of a Grand Slam tournament today doesn't look all that different from 10, 20 or in some cases 30 years ago, despite huge technological advances. The camera angle slanting down from above, which can flatten the real shape of the players' shots. Two familiar voices, likely stars from decades past, reciting the most entrenched ideas about the people on court. Post-match analysis from different voices in the same demographic, mostly looking ahead to the next match and divining what, if anything, the result means for the grand narrative of the tournament… TNT's promise to tennis fans is something different. Interviews with coaches mid-match, some of whom will be mic'd up. Interviews with players at practice sessions. New camera angles. And whip-around coverage reminiscent of the NFL's Red Zone, which spends game days hopscotching from one game to another when teams have scoring opportunities. In Paris, where tension and drama arise, TNT says, the cameras will go.' Streaming and betting links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication. (Photo of Carlos Alcaraz: Dan Istitene / Getty Images)
