Blue Clay anyone?

[dryeagle]

Just having a hard time following the ball on red clay during day matches. Maybe I am getting older, but TV resolution is better too. Or the ball is moving faster.

Maybe Tiriac was on to something, I know many top players didn’t like and red clay is historic in tennis. But if they can get the blue clay to be similar to red, why not give it another shot?

 

[JaoSousa]

I wouldn't be opposed to it at 1 out of the 3 clay masters, but I definitely don't want it at RG.

 

[Druss]

It would have been great if they kept Madrid on blue clay. I agree, just like the HCs it’s much easier to track the ball.

 

[ibbi]

Seems like changing the colour of the ball would be a simpler fix than changing the entire court

 

[NAS]

Just having a hard time following the ball on red clay during day matches. Maybe I am getting older, but TV resolution is better too. Or the ball is moving faster.

Maybe Tiriac was on to something, I know many top players didn’t like and red clay is historic in tennis. But if they can get the blue clay to be similar to red, why not give it another shot?

I heard about players complaining about clay being slippery, some said it was because of drainage, unless they sort out the problem let the things be what they are.
Red clay is historic like grass .

 

[JackSockIsTheBest]

They should at least make some blue clay courts at a faclilty to the public to use & maybe if they like it the pros will too.

 

[vive le beau jeu !]

Seems like changing the colour of the ball would be a simpler fix than changing the entire court

changing the nadal seems the easiest way to fix tennis to me...

 

[MadariKatu]

Not blue clay. Blue balls on clay

 

[zipplock]

Yes please

 

[Shaolin]

Reverse the colors.

Orange ball, yellow clay.

 

[tennis tom]

STUPID PINK CLAY! Trying to watch the Maia Challenger from Portugal--Melzer vs Oliveira--10 minute argument about whether a ball was wide--commentator all the way from TC Studios in Santa Monica saw it wide, I saw it wide, chair came down and said it was wide--yet in the best of soccer argumentation bad acting it was contested for ten minutes--all for if the clay were blue the WORLD would have CLEARLY been a witness to it being wide!

When will anyone with some guts build a blue court and show em'? Tiriac tried but ran into some bad luck NOT due to the color blue?--that was a wrong ASSOCIATION!--the color had nothing to do with the court condition. If I ever build a court (and I might someday) it will definitely be BLUE!

Tiriac!--where are U?!--U've got billions (no offense) try it again--U were right! In the meantime it shouldn't be that big of a deal to throw a few bags of blue clay onto an existing pink court to try it out--if it doesn't work out it will soon blow away anyway and revert to the pink stuff--worth a try! The world will beat a path to the first one to try it and it will be a publicity windfall--anyone know of a pink clay court to experiment on? What have U got to lose?

Not convinced?--go to Youtube and put in "Madrid blue clay" and you'll see the proof for yourself. Being a tennis traditionalist, I resisted the change from white balls to Optic yellow--but when I discovered I could play for about 45 more minutes at dusk I quickly accepted the obvious.

There's a reason almost EVERY hard court on the planet is now BLUE!--This is not that big of a deal--why are club owners so chicken and shortsighted to not SEE this clearly--I'm not even bother ing to watch what happens on the other side of the net from the Maia Challenger--watching tennis on pink clay is a great sleeping pill--Sominex should bottle it!

 

[octobrina10]

STUPID PINK CLAY! Trying to watch the Maia Challenger from Portugal--Melzer vs Oliveira--10 minute argument about whether a ball was wide--commentator all the way from TC Studios in Santa Monica saw it wide, I saw it wide, chair came down and said it was wide--yet in the best of soccer argumentation bad acting it was contested for ten minutes--all for if the clay were blue the WORLD would have CLEARLY been a witness to it being wide!

When will anyone with some guts build a blue court and show em'? Tiriac tried but ran into some bad luck NOT due to the color blue?--that was a wrong ASSOCIATION!--the color had nothing to do with the court condition. If I ever build a court (and I might someday) it will definitely be BLUE!

Tiriac!--where are U?!--U've got billions (no offense) try it again--U were right! In the meantime it shouldn't be that big of a deal to throw a few bags of blue clay onto an existing pink court to try it out--if it doesn't work out it will soon blow away anyway and revert to the pink stuff--worth a try! The world will beat a path to the first one to try it and it will be a publicity windfall--anyone know of a pink clay court to experiment on? What have U got to lose?

Not convinced?--go to Youtube and put in "Madrid blue clay" and you'll see the proof for yourself. Being a tennis traditionalist, I resisted the change from white balls to Optic yellow--but when I discovered I could play for about 45 more minutes at dusk I quickly accepted the obvious.

There's a reason almost EVERY hard court on the planet is now BLUE!--This is not that big of a deal--why are club owners so chicken and shortsighted to not SEE this clearly--I'm not even bother ing to watch what happens on the other side of the net from the Maia Challenger--watching tennis on pink clay is a great sleeping pill--Sominex should bottle it!

The Madrid Masters tournament does not belong to Tiriac anymore. He sold it to IMG.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1467818795578368001

 

[socallefty]

Many of us like the look of red clay. You can change the color setting on your TV until the ball contrasts better with the surface. My TV is on one color/contrast/tint setting throughout the year except during the clay season when I tweak the settings.

 

[Winners or Errors]

We won't see blue clay until Rafa and Novak are either gone or insignificant.

 

[Fiero425]

We won't see blue clay until Rafa and Novak are either gone or insignificant.

They hated it! Novak only played to get one round further than Rafa to help him get his ranking back up! The stuff was made for more aggressive players like Roger!

 

[octobrina10]

changing the nadal seems the easiest way to fix tennis to me...

They replaced the owner who wanted blue clay.

 

[tennis tom]

They hated it! Novak only played to get one round further than Rafa to help him get his ranking back up! The stuff was made for more aggressive players like Roger!

The issue had NOTHING to do with the color BLUE--the court was new and had problems with dampness that made the footing problematic--but Roger and Serena who won had no complaints. The problems with the surface had nothing to do with the color--it was a wrongful association.

 

[Fiero425]

The issue had NOTHING to do with the color BLUE--the court was new and had problems with dampness that made the footing problematic--but Roger and Serena who won had no complaints. The problems with the surface had nothing to do with the color--it was a wrongful association.

I never said it had anything to do with the color! The more traditional clay players couldn't deal with how slippery it was! Rafa & Novak afraid of "pulling" something!

 

[tennis tom]

I never said it had anything to do with the color! The more traditional clay players couldn't deal with how slippery it was! Rafa & Novak afraid of "pulling" something!

Wrong--the slipperyness had NOTHING to do with the BLUE--it would have been slippery if it was pink clay--you can color bricks ANY color.

 

[Subway Tennis]

I think keep the red clay in europe, but change more of the U.S. HC events to green clay options like what is used in Charleston.

Getting the artificially pigmented blue / multicolour material to play like proper red clay is an interesting idea.

My understanding up until now is that they haven't been able to make an artificial colour dyed substance that mimics the feel and structure of any the proper red clay types used in Europe.

If they could get a coloured substance that played like clay, it might be a novelty to see it tried at exhibition events or even the WTF (long overdue for a change in look) or maybe even a dark grey/black version at Laver Cup.

 

[Fabresque]

Nah it can’t ever come back. Federer winning the lone tournament on the surface solidifies his status as the blue clay GOAT. Will be used as evidence of him being the GOAT when they all retire.

 

[tennis tom]

Clay Tennis Courts | Har-Tru

Our clay courts typically cost 5 to 10% less to install than a hard court, and can be maintained in as few as 10 minutes a day.

hartru.com

 

[Winners or Errors]

The issue had NOTHING to do with the color BLUE--the court was new and had problems with dampness that made the footing problematic--but Roger and Serena who won had no complaints. The problems with the surface had nothing to do with the color--it was a wrongful association.

Since when have you known Nadal and Djoker to be rational? Neither would play on blue clay even if the footing was perfect. It won't happen.

 

[Deleted member 788697]

I can pick up the ball on Roland Garros clay as clearly as on a hardcourt, so I have no complaints.
The other clay events should just copy Roland Garros clay, if its a question of TV clarity....

 

[Fiero425]

I can pick up the ball on Roland Garros clay as clearly as on a hardcourt, so I have no complaints.
The other clay events should just copy Roland Garros clay, if its a question of TV clarity....

That's where the money's coming from! Those seats and concessions are a small fraction of the money's that come into these major events! Whenever they bellyached about prize money I always rolled my eyes! The money's obscene all around tennis when players were just hoping for a couple rackets and food money to show their skills!

 

[Bartelby]

That always seemed to me the route easiest to reseach and implement. The blue clay court was primarily a marketing gimmick sold as functional. I didn't think it even worked well on my TV, at least.

Cricket changes from a red ball to a pink one for night games, so this way is the simplest and best option. You could even change back to a white ball and you'd have tradition restored!!!

Not blue clay. Blue balls on clay

 

[Fiero425]

That always seemed to me the route easiest to reseach and implement. The blue clay court was primarily a marketing gimmick sold as functional. I didn't think it even worked well on my TV, at least.

Cricket changes from a red ball to a pink one for night games, so this way is the simplest and best option. You could even change back to a white ball and you'd have tradition restored!!!

I couldn't see much going with such a dark background of that deep blue color! Going to optic yellow balls was such a game changer when tennis took off in the mid 70's! Wimbledon of course was rather late to the party staying with white balls until the 80's suggesting "all tournaments shoudl follow our lead!" What a bunch of jerks!

 

[Bartelby]

A tennis ball with an optic sky blue cover would pop on red clay when watched on TV. Optic yellow goes great with grass, or green and blue hardcourts. It's not the perfect fit for clay.

I couldn't see much going with such a dark background of that deep blue color! Going to optic yellow balls was such a game changer when tennis took off in the mid 70's! Wimbledon of course was rather late to the party staying with white balls until the 80's suggesting "all tournaments shoudl follow our lead!" What a bunch of jerks!

 

[Nate7-5]

I play on dark green clay so why not - hardcourts come in all kinds of colors

 

[tennis tom]

The blue clay court was primarily a marketing gimmick sold as functional. I didn't think it even worked well on my TV, at least.

Time to upgrade your black & white TV to color!--although color TV is also a marketing gimmick--b&w is so much more realistic though. So, if blue courts are a "marketing gimmick" why are the AO & USO and 99% of the planet's HC's now BLUE?

 

[tennis tom]

Optic yellow goes great with grass, or green and blue hardcourts. It's not the perfect fit for clay.

It's the "perfect fit" for BLUE clay!

 

[Bartelby]

If you can change a $2 ball then why would you need to go to the expense of changing surface colour?

It's the "perfect fit" for BLUE clay!

 

[tennis tom]

Ask the AO & USO & 99% of all new courts built in the last 20 years.

If you can change a $2 ball then why would you need to change surface colour?

 

[Bartelby]

Blue clay courts were a marketing gimmick to make Tiriac's tournament look unique.

Time to upgrade your black & white TV to color!--although color TV is also a marketing gimmick--b&w is so much more realistic though. So, if blue courts are a "marketing gimmick" why are the AO & USO and 99% of the planet's HC's now BLUE?

 

[Bartelby]

With hardcourt they could change the colour infinitely, so there has been some experimentation.

Ask the AO & USO & 99% of all new courts built in the last 20 years.

 

[Ronaldo]

Anyone recall light gray clay courts? The drier it was the more slippery it became.

 

[tennis tom]

Blue clay courts were a marketing gimmick to make Tiriac's tournament look unique.

With hardcourt they could change the colour infinitely, so there has been some experimentation.

Ok Bernie/Bart, you're arguing just for the sake of arguing--if u don't start pulling your fair share of the workload we're going to have to kick you out of the commune.

 

[tennis tom]

Anyone recall light gray clay courts? The drier it was the more slippery it became.

Sounds like Har-Tru--"American clay"--modern ones are watered by underground systems from below.

 

[tennis tom]

 

[Ronaldo]

Sounds like Har-Tru--"American clay"--modern ones are watered by underground systems from below.

Local clay before switching to Har-tru. Appeared to be crushed gravel colour. When dry the glare was blinding. Slippery

 

[Bartelby]

Why change something that's not broke? Get a bigger 4k TV and the ball will look huge. You'll have to give up your 25 incher eventually.

Ok Bernie/Bart, you're arguing just for the sake of arguing--if u don't start pulling your fair share of the workload we're going to have to kick you out of the commune.

 

[Aabye5]

Why not change the ball color? That's easy. Anyone have connections at Wilson?

This is an old topic, btw:

Red - Orange Clay / Yellow Ball

who ever thought this was a good idea? Time to learn about contrast. Either change the color of the clay or change the ball color depending on the color of the surface so it's clearly visible. Not rocket science here.

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