Olympic tennis players return to the red clay of Paris’ Roland Garros after Wimbledon’s grass
Olympic tennis players return to the red clay of Paris’ Roland Garros after Wimbledon’s grass
FILE - Germany’s Alexander Zverev, right, serves against Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz during the men’s final match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, June 9, 2024. For the first time in more than 30 years, the tennis competition at an Olympics will be held on red clay, which means players who just made the adjustment from that surface at the French Open in early June to grass at Wimbledon in early July now will need to reverse course again in short order. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard, File)
FILE - Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz plays a shot against Germany’s Alexander Zverev during the men’s final of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, France, June 9, 2024. For the first time in more than 30 years, the tennis competition at an Olympics will be held on red clay, which means players who just made the adjustment from that surface at the French Open in early June to grass at Wimbledon in early July now will need to reverse course again in short order. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias, File)
FILE - Jessica Pegula, of the United States, plays a forehand return to Xinyu Wang, of China, during their second-round match at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, July 4, 2024. For the first time in more than 30 years, the tennis competition at an Olympics will be held on red clay, which means players who just made the adjustment from that surface at the French Open in early June to grass at Wimbledon in early July now will need to reverse course again in short order. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali, File)
FILE - Coco Gauff, right, of the United States, plays Anca Todoni ,of Romania, under the roof on court one on Day 3 at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, July 3, 2024. For the first time in more than 30 years, the tennis competition at an Olympics will be held on red clay, which means players who just made the adjustment from that surface at the French Open in early June to grass at Wimbledon in early July now will need to reverse course again in short order. (AP Photo/Mosa’ab Elshamy, File)
FILE - Serbia’s Novak Djokovic plays a shot against Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo during their fourth-round match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, June 3, 2024. For the first time in more than 30 years, the tennis competition at an Olympics will be held on red clay, which means players who just made the adjustment from that surface at the French Open in early June to grass at Wimbledon in early July now will need to reverse course again in short order. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)
FILE - Poland’s Iga Swiatek plays a shot against Italy’s Jasmine Paolini during the women’s final of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, France, June 8, 2024. For the first time in more than 30 years, the tennis competition at an Olympics will be held on red clay, which means players who just made the adjustment from that surface at the French Open in early June to grass at Wimbledon in early July now will need to reverse course again in short order. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard, File)
FILE - Spain’s Rafael Nadal plays a shot against Germany’s Alexander Zverev during their first-round match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, May 27, 2024. For the first time in more than 30 years, the tennis competition at an Olympics will be held on red clay, which means players who just made the adjustment from the dirt at the French Open in early June to grass at Wimbledon in early July now will need to reverse course again in short order. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)
FILE - Cameron Norrie, of Britain, plays a backhand return to Alexander Zverev, of Germany, during their third-round match at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, July 6, 2024. For the first time in more than 30 years, the tennis competition at an Olympics will be held on red clay, which means players who just made the adjustment from the dirt at the French Open in early June to grass at Wimbledon in early July now will need to reverse course again in short order. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)
FILE - Elena Rybakina, of Kazakhstan, plays a forehand return to Barbora Krejcikova, of the Czech Republic, during their semifinal match at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, July 11, 2024. For the first time in more than 30 years, the tennis competition at an Olympics will be held on red clay, which means players who just made the adjustment from that surface at the French Open in early June to grass at Wimbledon in early July now will need to reverse course again in short order. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)
FILE - Coco Gauff, of the United States, plays a backhand return to Anca Todoni, of Romania, during their match on Day 3 at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, July 3, 2024. For the first time in more than 30 years, the tennis competition at an Olympics will be held on red clay, which means players who just made the adjustment from that surface at the French Open in early June to grass at Wimbledon in early July now will need to reverse course again in short order. (AP Photo/Mosa’ab Elshamy, File)
FILE - Germany’s Alexander Zverev, right, serves against Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz during the men’s final match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, June 9, 2024. For the first time in more than 30 years, the tennis competition at an Olympics will be held on red clay, which means players who just made the adjustment from that surface at the French Open in early June to grass at Wimbledon in early July now will need to reverse course again in short order. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard, File)
FILE - Germany’s Alexander Zverev, right, serves against Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz during the men’s final match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, June 9, 2024. For the first time in more than 30 years, the tennis competition at an Olympics will be held on red clay, which means players who just made the adjustment from that surface at the French Open in early June to grass at Wimbledon in early July now will need to reverse course again in short order. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard, File)
FILE - Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz plays a shot against Germany’s Alexander Zverev during the men’s final of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, France, June 9, 2024. For the first time in more than 30 years, the tennis competition at an Olympics will be held on red clay, which means players who just made the adjustment from that surface at the French Open in early June to grass at Wimbledon in early July now will need to reverse course again in short order. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias, File)
FILE - Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz plays a shot against Germany’s Alexander Zverev during the men’s final of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, France, June 9, 2024. For the first time in more than 30 years, the tennis competition at an Olympics will be held on red clay, which means players who just made the adjustment from that surface at the French Open in early June to grass at Wimbledon in early July now will need to reverse course again in short order. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias, File)
FILE - Jessica Pegula, of the United States, plays a forehand return to Xinyu Wang, of China, during their second-round match at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, July 4, 2024. For the first time in more than 30 years, the tennis competition at an Olympics will be held on red clay, which means players who just made the adjustment from that surface at the French Open in early June to grass at Wimbledon in early July now will need to reverse course again in short order. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali, File)
FILE - Jessica Pegula, of the United States, plays a forehand return to Xinyu Wang, of China, during their second-round match at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, July 4, 2024. For the first time in more than 30 years, the tennis competition at an Olympics will be held on red clay, which means players who just made the adjustment from that surface at the French Open in early June to grass at Wimbledon in early July now will need to reverse course again in short order. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali, File)
FILE - Coco Gauff, right, of the United States, plays Anca Todoni ,of Romania, under the roof on court one on Day 3 at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, July 3, 2024. For the first time in more than 30 years, the tennis competition at an Olympics will be held on red clay, which means players who just made the adjustment from that surface at the French Open in early June to grass at Wimbledon in early July now will need to reverse course again in short order. (AP Photo/Mosa’ab Elshamy, File)
FILE - Coco Gauff, right, of the United States, plays Anca Todoni ,of Romania, under the roof on court one on Day 3 at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, July 3, 2024. For the first time in more than 30 years, the tennis competition at an Olympics will be held on red clay, which means players who just made the adjustment from that surface at the French Open in early June to grass at Wimbledon in early July now will need to reverse course again in short order. (AP Photo/Mosa’ab Elshamy, File)
FILE - Serbia’s Novak Djokovic plays a shot against Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo during their fourth-round match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, June 3, 2024. For the first time in more than 30 years, the tennis competition at an Olympics will be held on red clay, which means players who just made the adjustment from that surface at the French Open in early June to grass at Wimbledon in early July now will need to reverse course again in short order. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)
FILE - Serbia’s Novak Djokovic plays a shot against Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo during their fourth-round match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, June 3, 2024. For the first time in more than 30 years, the tennis competition at an Olympics will be held on red clay, which means players who just made the adjustment from that surface at the French Open in early June to grass at Wimbledon in early July now will need to reverse course again in short order. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)
FILE - Poland’s Iga Swiatek plays a shot against Italy’s Jasmine Paolini during the women’s final of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, France, June 8, 2024. For the first time in more than 30 years, the tennis competition at an Olympics will be held on red clay, which means players who just made the adjustment from that surface at the French Open in early June to grass at Wimbledon in early July now will need to reverse course again in short order. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard, File)
FILE - Poland’s Iga Swiatek plays a shot against Italy’s Jasmine Paolini during the women’s final of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, France, June 8, 2024. For the first time in more than 30 years, the tennis competition at an Olympics will be held on red clay, which means players who just made the adjustment from that surface at the French Open in early June to grass at Wimbledon in early July now will need to reverse course again in short order. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard, File)
FILE - Spain’s Rafael Nadal plays a shot against Germany’s Alexander Zverev during their first-round match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, May 27, 2024. For the first time in more than 30 years, the tennis competition at an Olympics will be held on red clay, which means players who just made the adjustment from the dirt at the French Open in early June to grass at Wimbledon in early July now will need to reverse course again in short order. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)
FILE - Spain’s Rafael Nadal plays a shot against Germany’s Alexander Zverev during their first-round match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, May 27, 2024. For the first time in more than 30 years, the tennis competition at an Olympics will be held on red clay, which means players who just made the adjustment from the dirt at the French Open in early June to grass at Wimbledon in early July now will need to reverse course again in short order. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)
FILE - Cameron Norrie, of Britain, plays a backhand return to Alexander Zverev, of Germany, during their third-round match at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, July 6, 2024. For the first time in more than 30 years, the tennis competition at an Olympics will be held on red clay, which means players who just made the adjustment from the dirt at the French Open in early June to grass at Wimbledon in early July now will need to reverse course again in short order. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)
FILE - Cameron Norrie, of Britain, plays a backhand return to Alexander Zverev, of Germany, during their third-round match at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, July 6, 2024. For the first time in more than 30 years, the tennis competition at an Olympics will be held on red clay, which means players who just made the adjustment from the dirt at the French Open in early June to grass at Wimbledon in early July now will need to reverse course again in short order. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)
FILE - Elena Rybakina, of Kazakhstan, plays a forehand return to Barbora Krejcikova, of the Czech Republic, during their semifinal match at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, July 11, 2024. For the first time in more than 30 years, the tennis competition at an Olympics will be held on red clay, which means players who just made the adjustment from that surface at the French Open in early June to grass at Wimbledon in early July now will need to reverse course again in short order. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)
FILE - Elena Rybakina, of Kazakhstan, plays a forehand return to Barbora Krejcikova, of the Czech Republic, during their semifinal match at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, July 11, 2024. For the first time in more than 30 years, the tennis competition at an Olympics will be held on red clay, which means players who just made the adjustment from that surface at the French Open in early June to grass at Wimbledon in early July now will need to reverse course again in short order. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)
FILE - Coco Gauff, of the United States, plays a backhand return to Anca Todoni, of Romania, during their match on Day 3 at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, July 3, 2024. For the first time in more than 30 years, the tennis competition at an Olympics will be held on red clay, which means players who just made the adjustment from that surface at the French Open in early June to grass at Wimbledon in early July now will need to reverse course again in short order. (AP Photo/Mosa’ab Elshamy, File)
FILE - Coco Gauff, of the United States, plays a backhand return to Anca Todoni, of Romania, during their match on Day 3 at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, July 3, 2024. For the first time in more than 30 years, the tennis competition at an Olympics will be held on red clay, which means players who just made the adjustment from that surface at the French Open in early June to grass at Wimbledon in early July now will need to reverse course again in short order. (AP Photo/Mosa’ab Elshamy, File)
PARIS (AP) — The competition surface doesn’t change for most Olympic sports. A pool’s a pool. A track’s a track. A wrestling mat’s a mat. And so on. Tennis? That’s a whole other story, with tournaments contested on clay, hard or grass courts — and now there’s a shift for the Paris Games.
For the first time in more than 30 years, the tennis competition at an Olympics will be held on red clay, which means players who recently made the adjustment from the dirt at the French Open in early June to grass at Wimbledon in early July will need to reverse course again in short order.
The “terre battue” at Roland Garros used for the French Open hosts Olympic matches starting on July 27 — two weeks after Wimbledon wrapped up with singles titles for Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic and Carlos Alcaraz of Spain — and the transition back to that site is more concerning to some athletes than others.
“That’ll definitely be interesting. But everyone’s kind of doing it. We’ll all be in the same boat,” said Jessica Pegula, an American ranked in the top 10 who is expected to play singles, women’s doubles with U.S. Open champion Coco Gauff and perhaps mixed doubles, too. “I usually don’t struggle too much with switching. And I like how the courts play there. It might be easier than some other places we play on clay. When the weather is warm in Paris, it plays pretty true. There’s a good speed. There’s not a lot to get used to.”
For her, maybe.
Paris Olympics
- The Olympics are more than fun and games. They’re a billion-dollar business with political overtones.
- Breakdance will make it’s debut as an Olympic sport in Paris.. Here’s what else will be different at this year’s games.
- Follow all of AP’s coverage of the Summer Games.
“It’s going to be the first time for me, going from grass to clay,” said Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, the 2022 Wimbledon champion and a semifinalist there this month. “It’s not easy. Physically, it’s not easy, (or) mentally.”
One additional factor on some players’ minds: There will be another brief turnaround after the Olympics to prepare for the move to the hard courts ahead of the U.S. Open, which starts in late August. That’s less than a month after the medals are awarded in France.
“It’s awful for the schedule,” said Taylor Fritz, Pegula’s teammate for the United States and someone who just reached the quarterfinals at the All England Club. “It makes absolutely no sense. It screws everything up, for sure.”
Tennis becomes a different sport, in some key ways, depending on where it’s being played.
“You have to adapt to it. ... It’s going to be weird, obviously, going back on the clay quickly,” said Cam Norrie, who will represent Britain at the Olympics, “but we’re changing surface and changing variables all the time.”
Clay is softer and slower, which can dull the power on serves and groundstrokes and create longer exchanges, putting a premium on stamina, while the grittiness can magnify the effect of heavy topspin. Grass is speedier and balls bounce lower. Hard courts tend to produce truer, midrange bounces and generally will reward those who go for point-ending shots.
The biggest difference among them might be the footwork. Clay requires sliding. Grass is more about choppy steps, to avoid slipping. Hard courts generally do not cause as many falls as either of the others.
“For a clay-court player, the adjustment’s not that hard,” 1989 French Open champion Michael Chang said. “For (people) that have grown up playing on the surface, you just know the surface so well.”
So someone like Iga Swiatek, who has won four of the past five French Opens, should feel comfortable and confident on clay, by far her best surface.
The same goes, of course, for Rafael Nadal, a 14-time champion at Roland Garros. Novak Djokovic has won at least three Grand Slam titles at each of the sport’s biggest events, the only man to do so, and the adjustments required come rather naturally to him.
Then again, Alcaraz, whose title at Roland Garros this year made him, at 21, the youngest man to win a major trophy on clay, hard and grass courts, had this to say about going from London to Paris: “It’s not easy to change surfaces in just a week.”
___
AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games