What to Know
- Tennis players competing on the kind of red clay courts being used at the Paris Olympics this week know that it's pretty much impossible to keep clothes — especially white socks — and footwear clean while running around on what’s really dust from crushed red bricks.
- Some will just throw away stuff. Others are resigned to never being able to get the dirt out completely. Some actually enjoy it.
- “It’s just part of the game," American tennis player Tommy Paul said. "As long as you’re not wiping out in the middle of a match when you’re all sweaty — then it’s all over you. That sucks. But I’ve only had one wipeout on the clay so far this year, so I'm pretty happy with that."
It's the dirty little secret of tennis players who compete on the kind of red clay being used at the Paris Olympics: Keeping clothes — especially white socks — and footwear clean while running around on what’s really dust from crushed red bricks is absolutely impossible.
“The socks are the worst. The clothing is fine. But shoes and socks are the worst. You have to change a lot," said Elina Svitolina, a bronze medalist for Ukraine at the Tokyo Games three years ago. "After the clay-court season, everything goes into the (trash), and you need fresh ones.”
Svitolina travels with 40 pairs of socks when the tour takes players through a European clay circuit that generally runs from April through the end of the French Open in June. This year, there is a chance for even more lamenting about laundry and white outfits that turn rust-colored: The Summer Games tennis competition wraps up Sunday at Roland- Garros, the same facility in the southwest section of the City of Light that hosts the annual Grand Slam tournament.
Voorhees, New Jersey' resident Tommy Paul -- a two-time Olympian -- has been winning his way through the men's singles and doubles brackets.
“I used to think it was cool, the first couple of times I played on red clay — you get your socks all dirty, Paul said with a laugh. "I was out there trying to get them extra dirty.”
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Paul defeated France's Correntin Moutet in the third round in Paris on Wednesday. Next up in the singles tourney is a showdown with one of the top players in the world -- Spain's Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals.
“It’s just part of the game. As long as you’re not wiping out in the middle of a match when you’re all sweaty — then it’s all over you. That sucks. But I’ve only had one wipeout on the clay so far this year, so I'm pretty happy with that.”
Paul -- along with fellow American Taylor Fritz -- play the Dutch duo of Robin Haase and Jean-Julien Rojer on Wednesday.
There are plenty of players who, for other reasons, prefer competing on grass courts, like those used at Wimbledon, or hard courts, such as at the U.S. Open or Australian Open.
Clay courts — sometimes referred to by players simply as “the dirt” — can be tricky. The slowness and grit can dull the speediest serves and most powerful groundstrokes. That can create lengthier points and extended matches, upping the stamina needed to succeed. Also problematic for some is the slipperiness of the surface, which demands precise footwork and requires sliding into shots.
