clay court

Nadal played the bulk of his 115 French Open matches on Court Philippe Chatrier and won each of his 14 titles on the most famous clay court in the world.

British Davis Cup captain Leon Smith has previously told BBC Radio 5 Live that maintaining a clay court can be expensive for clubs - and is not helped by the British weather.

That meant she did not begin her clay court swing until a month later in Madrid.

Emma Raducanu demonstrated her growing confidence on a clay court with a commanding Italian Open second-round win over Swiss lucky loser Jil Teichmann.

The 2021 US Open champion has spoken about using the European clay court season, which culminates with the upcoming French Open, to finetune her game with the help of coach Mark Petchey.