Tennis Fanitics - Training on Clay is needed for the game!

West Coast Expansion: As more people recognize that playing on clay is essential for the development of champions (note that the USTA has committed to getting more players on clay as part of its training strategy and last month announced the shift of its largest junior tournament, the Orange Bowl, from hard to Har-Tru), the west coast stands to have the most to gain. Junior tennis players in this huge tennis market simply do not have adequate exposure to clay court tennis, hence the drought of champions from the great state of California (hear what Vania King has to say about training on clay). That tide is beginning to turn. Napa Valley Country Club became the first club in NorCal to install ClayTech courts and other clubs are scrambling to see how they can add clay and avoid falling behind.

Har-Tru Sports is the largest manufacturer of clay tennis court surfaces in the world. We have courts in all 50 American states and approximately 23 countries worldwide. We want to help develop champions around the world and hope to do this through product innovation, scholarships and sponsorships. Let us know how we can help you.

A Short History of the US Clay Court Championships

Found this short history of the US Clay Court Championships on the Supernetters blog - http://supernetters-teejohn.blogspot.com/2009/12/14us-mens-clay-court-championships.html. Its amazing to me that this is the only men's ATP clay event in the US. If the governing body of our sport is truly committed to bringing clay into the mix and inspiring our young players to spend time on this surface that will have to change.

It seems to me that there is a clear opportunity in the schedule. After the Australian we have a mini hard court season in the US with San Jose, Memphis, Delray Beach, Indian Wells and Miami. Meanwhile the clay court players are getting entrenched on their favorite surface in places like Vina del Mar, Costa do Sauipe, Buenos Aires and Acapulco. Why not transition one or two more US events to clay and give our guys a chance to play at home? I can't believe Federer or Nadal or any of the Europeans or South Americans would complain if Miami went to clay. A few might even stay to play in Houston.