I am a little confused about red clay courts. Does anyone know what the real red clay courts in South America and Europe are made from? Is it really red clay or is it something else? My friend from Brazil who played at a club for many years in Brazil says it is really red clay. I have heard that they use red crushed bricks for the red clay at the French Open. If my friend it right about the courts being real red clay, then I would surely like to built one because they have plenty of red clay that is used at the sprint car track in our town. In fact, it is donated to the track for free by a local company. Also, what is the difference between red clay and green clay. I heard that red clay plays slower than green clay. Why do they have so many red clay courts in Europe and South America, but hardly any in the United States. We seem to have only green clay courts in the states. Last, does anyone know of any good red clay or green clay courts in central California. I personally would rather play on red clay. Thanks for helping sort this out.
red clay courts???
- Thread starter dthomas
- Start date
ericsson
Hall of Fame
Your friend is right, they are crushed red bricks (brique pilée) here in Europe.
The crushed brick is then covered with a topping of other crushed particles. This type of surface does not absorb water easily and is the most common in Europe and South America.
Also the first layers of clay are much thicker then the top layer which is very fine, almost like powder...
Green clay is harder and faster.
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red clay courts
Well, I envy you for being able to play on red clay courts. All we have in the states are mostly hard courts. I guess the reason why they don't have more red clay courts in the states is because of the difficulty in getting red crushed bricks. The red crushed brick must be more plentiful their in Europe and South America because they have so many red clay courts there. I did play on two red clay courts at Pismo Beach in California once, but they had to change them to gray clay because they had some difficulty in getting the red clay. I guess the red clay or red crushed bricks came from England, and the cost was too high to get more of it.
Well, I envy you for being able to play on red clay courts. All we have in the states are mostly hard courts. I guess the reason why they don't have more red clay courts in the states is because of the difficulty in getting red crushed bricks. The red crushed brick must be more plentiful their in Europe and South America because they have so many red clay courts there. I did play on two red clay courts at Pismo Beach in California once, but they had to change them to gray clay because they had some difficulty in getting the red clay. I guess the red clay or red crushed bricks came from England, and the cost was too high to get more of it.
