Of purple clay and French existentialism

The most distinguished characteristic of the French Open is that this Grand Slam match takes place on the rusty purple clay of Roland Garros, a beloved element that’s as a lot part of native tradition and custom because the bouquinistes that promote artwork and used books alongside the Seine.

And but, because it so usually is within the nation that claims Albert Camus and Simone de Beauvoir, the connection between France and its “terre bateau” is a bit more difficult.

This purple clay that comes from a small brick manufacturing unit in Oise, north of Paris, elicits a lot love.

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“My favorite surface,” stated Stephane Levy, a lifelong member of the Tennis Club of Paris, a favourite hang-out of a number of the nation’s prime gamers, together with Gilles Simon and Corentin Moutet, the place eight of the 18 courts are constructed from the identical clay as these at Roland Garros.

“There is no feeling like playing on it,” Levy stated. “The sliding, the clay on your body when you sweat.”

Serbia’s Novak Djokovic performs a shot in opposition to Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman throughout their fourth spherical match on the French Open tennis match in Roland Garros stadium in Paris, France, Sunday, May 29, 2022. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

But the clay has additionally develop into a logo of deep frustration. A Frenchwoman has not received the singles championship that this nation so treasures, the one which requires extra grit but in addition extra thought than every other, since Mary Pierce in 2000. A Frenchman has not received it in 39 years, since Yannick Noah in 1983. The final of the French women and men had been eradicated from the singles tournaments Saturday.

Why?

The reply probably has loads to do with a central contradiction within the house of purple clay’s largest stage. Just 11.5% of the tennis courts in France are product of the normal purple clay and most of these are in personal golf equipment. Another 16.5% of courts are product of an imitation clay floor that’s much like the terre bateau however performs tougher and quicker than the softer conventional clay.

Maintaining purple clay in chilly, moist climate, which is frequent in France for a lot of the 12 months, is virtually inconceivable, and constructing indoor complexes for them is dear. So most French tennis gamers develop up taking part in on onerous courts, in contrast to their counterparts in Spain, the place temperate climate and purple clay dominate the way in which Rafael Nadal (who received Sunday in 5 units) and so many Spaniards earlier than him have dominated Roland Garros.

Spain’s Rafael Nadal celebrates successful in opposition to Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime in 5 units, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, throughout their fourth spherical match on the French Open tennis match in Roland Garros stadium in Paris, France, Sunday, May 29, 2022. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

That tennis on the highest stage is contested on completely different surfaces is as regular to tennis followers as fuzzy yellow balls and grunting forehands, nevertheless it is without doubt one of the nice quirks of the game. Imagine for a second if the NBA performed 70% of its video games on hardwood, 20% on rubber and 10% on rag wool carpeting. That is actually what skilled tennis gamers do, spending the primary three months on onerous courts, the following two on clay, roughly six weeks on grass, after which many of the remainder of the 12 months again on onerous courts.

While the surfaces have develop into extra comparable in recent times, every requires a novel set of expertise and produces a really completely different model of play.

Grass and clay are on the extremes, with grass being the quickest of the three surfaces.

Clay is the slowest. The ball pops off the filth and hangs within the air for a cut up second longer, permitting gamers to meet up with it and prolong rallies, and forcing them to play a extra tactical model, grinding from the baseline.

Watch an hour of professional tennis on every floor. If you narrow out on a regular basis between factors, precise tennis taking part in on clay accounts for about 13 minutes, in accordance with a number of research of vitality and energy within the sport. That is considerably greater than on different surfaces, the place the participant returning serve is at a extra extreme drawback and may wrestle to place the ball again in play.

Hard courts are at roughly the midway level, and require an all-around sport.

Among the professionals, the purple clay is each beloved and loathed.

“I don’t like it much,” stated Daniil Medvedev of Russia, the world’s second-ranked male participant, who struggled for years to win a match on the French Open and reached the fourth spherical Saturday.

Nick Kyrgios of Australia has no use for the floor and skips the clay-court season altogether. Iga Swiatek of Poland, the world’s top-ranked girl, would spend her entire profession sliding round on it if she may.

Winning on clay requires a Ph.D. in what coaches and gamers name level building, which is shorthand for enjoying tennis like chess, pondering not solely about this subsequent shot however three photographs down the road. Learning that to the purpose the place it’s instinctual can take years, and like most issues, the sooner one begins coaching the mind to assume that method, the higher.

“On clay, the fight really goes on and on,” stated Aurelio Di Zazzo, a coach on the Tennis Club of Paris. “The longer the effort, the more you have to use your mind.”

The membership, which is lower than 1 mile from Roland Garros, tries to hold purple clay’s torch as greatest it could possibly. That torch just isn’t low-cost. Maintaining the courts requires 4 full-time staff, and new clay prices greater than $2,000 a 12 months for every courtroom. Each courtroom have to be completely dug up and redone each 15 years, costing greater than $30,000 per courtroom.

Levy stated it’s price it.

“This clay is a part of France,” he stated.

France’s tennis federation agrees. The group additionally actually desires a French Open singles champion. It is scheduled to announce a brand new plan to advertise tennis on the “terre bateau” in July. Perhaps that may assist.

This article initially appeared in The New York Times.