Junior players on red clay vs. har-tru

[ndtennisfan]

Is Har-Tru even remotely similar to red clay in terms of how it actually plays? Having heard non-stop comments during clay season about how juniors need to grow up on the surface in order to develop an all around game, I've had my junior playing on har-tru most of this year. While it's noticeably more comfortable (especially on my knees & ankles) ... it's rolled to the point that it feels almost like a hard court. I was curious if I should ask the folks at the club to scarify it to keep more "clay" on the surface, or if that's just how it is. Seems like the red clay courts allow players to slide a bit more and is just generally more loose. I plan to keep her playing on it as much as possible, but was interested if others had similar experience.

And on a related note, do we not have red clay b/c it's cost prohibitive?

[mikeler]

Red clay would be better, but Har-Tru will have to do.

[BMC9670]

I have had the luxury of playing quite a lot on both Har-Tru and red clay for the past few years. I'm teaching my 10 and 8 year old kids and our club has Har-Tru. We also spend several weeks a year in Germany (family there) playing on red clay.

Red clay is generally slower. It is "thicker" and clumps more as well as sticks to your shoes. Har-Tru is, IMO, between red clay and hard court. Of course, conditions can play a big role. Well-hydrated Har-Tru with a good amount of surface material can play much more like red clay as opposed to dry Har-Tru with less surface. Red clay can vary as well, but to a lesser degree in my expreience.

Bottom line, training kids on varied surfaces is great for development. Red clay or Har-Tru is easy on the body, but it also promotes footwork, balance, and reacting to odd bounces.

[Lovely_Bone]

I've also played on both har-tru and red clay. In fact, I've played on ATP red clay, if that even makes a difference in quality, and i did notice that they were actually very different surfaces. The har-tru in much more solid, and way easier to play on. The red clay, however, was frustrating to say the least. My foot slipped on every small adjustment step, and my serve didn't get me any free points. It was really tough to get going on red clay as you had to start slower, whereas i could simply start a sprint on the har-tru. Red clay was fun though, and I would like to get back on it. I really think it would help my footwork, but har-tru it fun too. Just wish the US had more access to red clay, because i don't know any atp tournaments on har-tru

[Lovely_Bone]

One more thing, I would compare playing on red clay for the first time to playing on ice. Just tough to get your feet under you, but the slides are really fun and make you feel really cool

[TennisNinja]

I've always wanted to try red clay, but there's none around where I live. I heard it permanently stains your shoes and socks though.

[maggmaster]

It does...those socks get thrown out. One of our local highschools has 6 indoor red clay courts, talk about home field advantage.

[Lovely_Bone]

wow lol, that's no fair
However, if I got to play against them, I would be very happy and feel very privileged to play on the clay. Red clay sure is rare in the US

[sundaypunch]

Originally Posted by mikeler

Red clay would be better, but Har-Tru will have to do.

That was actually the slogan for a failed Har-Tru advertising campaign.

[mikeler]

Originally Posted by sundaypunch

That was actually the slogan for a failed Har-Tru advertising campaign.

I just copyrighted the phrase in case they want to pay me to use it.