Clay Courts and the French Open Avail Themselves to the Young and Adults

Learning and growing up on clay courts maybe be one of the best assertions the USTA has made, getting their protégés to spend quality time thinking and playing on the crushed Red Brick or Har-Tru surface.

Lying above a layer of stone, the clay court uses its own natural irrigation system, allowing sprinkler water to seep down below the earth making it a functional and exciting prospect for mess free enthusiasts.

As a matter of fact, the bedrock is made of several layers of rock supporting the gravity gradient. Playing on the dirt gives you a joint and stress free factor in comparison to say hard courts. It has the potential if played on, of giving you a longer tennis career.

Making money on the clay has been a hallmark for eight men and seven women who have been successive champion since 1968, otherwise known as the Open era.

The clay court season can be your home base, and stretching out from there you may play on the harder surfaces which demand equal attention.

Softer surface = possibly longer playing career.

In the Open era, guys like 30-year-old Andres Gomez, who won the French Open in 1990, spring new life to one's game having moved on in years. Players who compete on Clay have a resultant bell shaped curve associated to their age and Championships.

Most Champions secure their clay court titles at very young ages, not exclusively to those of majority. When Rafael Nadal was 19 years old, he won eight tournaments on the red stuff. When Björn Borg was 18, he won four titles on clay.

When Ivan Lendl was 22 years old, he won five titles on clay. So you get the idea, as younger and younger players avail themselves to the red and green, or even blue clay surface, more championships continue to bloom. It can be said that at older ages in tennis terms, the clay might be the elixir in bringing about more championships for players.

At age 33, Ivan Lendl won a tournament on clay. Same goes with Guillermo Vilas, who won two tournaments at the age of 31. Thomas Muster won seven tournaments on clay, the last one at age 29. Now 33, Muster looks to win another.

Manuel Orantes won clay court championships at 32 and 33 respectively. Not only does the clay allow for early career championships, but it also favors the longevity of career professionals in their 30s.