We tested artificial clay courts with a former ATP top 10 

Artificial clay is the worst thing to happen to tennis here in the Netherlands, apart from maybe padel. It is slippery, slow and the ball doesn’t bounce. More and more clubs are removing real clay courts for artificial clay, because it is cheaper to maintain. The biggest downside is that juniors start developing on an artificial clay court, which isn’t used on the pro circuit. As soon as they play on real courts they are not used to the higher tempo which their opponents are most likely used to.

The problem with the artificial clay courts (clay tec as someone mentioned) is that they are very slippery when the weather is good. You must water them much more than a regular clay court. The other problem is that if it is windy then all the clay is blown away and it might be a need to add more clay from time to time or you need to water them even if nobody is gonna play. Water resources are must. In the clip Magnus mentioned that after 2-3 years the clay becomes as cement and the court is slippery so you need to remove the old clay with the high pressure water pumps ( a ka kercher) and put a new layer of clay. Pros and juniors that play competitively (ITF, Teninis Europe) don’t like this surface because of slippery and also because of lack of clay in some parts of court when the foot gets stuck to the carpet (injuries happen). Club owners might like such types of courts as it doesn’t require much preparation works in Spring or after hudge rain, no big delays during the tournaments as you can play after 30-60 min. After the rain stops.

Pleasantly surprised with the shoutout 😁 This surface has been a real game changer for coaching programmes in the UK. We use the sand rather than the clay as it’s minimal maintenance, but it wet and icy conditions, nothing compares! It’s not like real clay, it’s easier to slide on and bounces lower (but still slow). The only downside we have found is over the years, our lines have been dyed by the sand.

My club converted three clay courts into a similar hybrid clay court called Redplus. It is absolutely awful and here three years after still is by far the worst courts in the club. It is crazy slippery and sandy, and every time the ball hits the lines it just dies and literally just rolls down the court with no chance of returning. They do drain a bit faster than regular clay courts but nothing special. However they do make tennis possible all year long. But in short, only caters players who play to exercise primarily.

So true. In Germany, I feel like every club has different conditions on their clay courts (due to maintenance etc.) so I always bring two pairs of shoes now (clay sole and all-court sole) so I can at least adjust my "sliding" a bit to the different amount or mostly lack of sand.

My club has 4 synthetic clay courts, plus 1 Tiger turf and 3 fast hard courts. The 'clay' courts are the most popular for members; they are forgiving to play on and can be used in damp conditions, which is very handy in the UK climate. They must be swept and it helps to scoop some residual material back into the centre. I really like them and think that they are a great addition to our facilities.

In my area Pierre (Pier) South Dakota they did some kind of rubberized paint on a redone hard court on the main courts down by the Missouri River to play as slow as clay on a good day when playing very fast in some areas that have real clay courts. We almost got a rubber surface like how all weather running tracks are made in the modern eras since mid--late 2000's when those were first introduced. Reason the courts were fully redone is the original concrete surface under the hard court was not made for how winters fluctuate in South Dakota so quicky and needed fixing even before the 2011 Missouri River flood. The other 2 courts in a different area, used to be for the Junior High/Middle School before they went down in quality where flooding never got to are both courts are some kind of brick like material for the whole surface as one layer and was able due to being more porous open and contract in winter fluctuations though it could use a pave over on top with a thin layer of fine cement.

As a 45 year old I try to avoid carpet during the winter season in Germany. Have the opportunity to play on this artificial clay indoor. And I love it for the winter…and during summer when it is raining we just play indoors on this artificial clay.

Played in the UK.. surprised how nice it was...courts a bit faster than normal clay but you still get that nice feeling of playing on clay (the sliding, the sound, the high bounce(

In the Netherlands they have claytech courts, at least that's what they call them. They are quite similar to those. They require very little maintenance and can absorb a lot of water without compromising playability (on my opinion they play better in wet conditions, otherwise the court is to fast the clay on top is dry).The downside is that they are really abrasive with the shoes

I recently played in my hometown in Greece in artificial clay courts and loved it. These courts have a special carpet and real clay on top of them. They have a big enough bounce and topspin reaction (nothing like a carpet court) and normal sliding. Also they don't have weird bounces that a real clay court usually has if it is not perfectly maintained. They do require watering before every match but a lot less quantity that a real clay court (the owners told me that the watering needs is almost 80% lower). So in my view these courts combine best of both worlds.

damn, magnus forehand is amazing

Here in the Philippines, the courts are usually either hard courts or shell courts

Artificial clay courts really swung it for me when I moved house and had to decide between two clubs to join. Where I play we've got 2 artificial clay which I find really fun to play on and 3 hard courts. The clay courts have been so useful all year round because it has allowed us to play league matches throughout the winter. As long as it's not actually raining, we can get matches played and I'm in Wales so it rains a lot here! If only it was the other way around and we had 3 clay courts and 2 hard court instead because that would allow us to have that bit of security with the weather during the summer leagues as well because they need 3 courts per match.

We have both artificial clay and artificial grass (tiger turf I believe) at my club in the UK. I personally don't really like the artificial clay as it is only a clay court in colour only (owe and we get to sweep it). You cannot really slide on them as you have unbelieveable traction... until you don't. There are odd patches where it is slippery which makes it unpredictable. I find the artificial grass much better and plays just as well in wet weather. As such, I don't see the point in having artificial clay over grass due to the down sides I mentioned, plus the surface staining your socks and clothing etc. is a pain.

We as a club in Germany decided to Build 2 Top Sand courts in 2025 for our Air Dome. We tried Both options indoor and outdoor. Both were playable very well ( Top Clay was a Bit slippery, After watering a bit very good) These courts are also a good option outdoors in regions were water is limited

Artificial clay is becoming more common here in Ireland.

Why not develop _shoes_ that emulate clay-court feel? Eg. they have good static friction when you push off but slide when you've developed substantial horizontal motion. You could start by having treads with highly vulcanized rubber on the peaks but the rest of it grippy material. At push off/down more of the sides and bottom contact the surface, but at speed you're sliding on the peaks.

BTW we know silicium dust is very toxic for the lungs, I wonder are we totally sure that quartz sand is totally safe ? Just look how much silicium dust are on the strings of the raquet ( btw because of that dust, the strings are stuck and can't slide normaly, these result in poor top spin, ball feel and comfort )

That’s true. I play on artificial clay and artificial grass in Ireland. It’s a big advantage that courts are playable even after heavy rain, balls are heavier, but still can have some game 🙂🎾

I've been looking at a Top Sand court to put on my property.

Have played on a version of these on the Gold Coast. Found them pretty similar to synthetic grass which is common in Australia. Imagine they have same issue as the grass that the surface compacts and the infill sits on top and it’s pretty slippery. A company here does an artificial clay with rubberised base but have never played on it.

Played on these type of courts in London they are really good!

In Canada we use har-tru green clay. I am not fan of it. Would this work for us given the similar climate as Sweden?

Hej Jonas. Here where i live in Germany these kind of artifical clay courts are increasing. What i have noticed is, you have to water them before playin on them. If you dont do it, they are very slipperly. Cheers

Why didn't you make a comparison with Har Tru courts??

I HATE it ! Don't know exactly what kind of synthetic they put in my club, it's silicium sand on a carpet. They said it was just like clay, BIG LIE ! it's absolutely not, it's AWFUL. It's slippery but you can't slide because your foot can get stuck ( potential door to lot's of injury for competitive players). Rebound is super low, the ball slide and top spin is completely cancelled, absolutely nothing like clay. The club want to preserve the carpets so they often put too much sand, with the wind it becomes a beach court lol completely unplayable. I noticed during winter they were a bit better , less sand and more humidity, more compact ground = higher rebound and more bite on the balls. But it's like playing on carpet, can't slide at all. So much money for that ? I 'd rather play on whatever hard concrete. That fake earth clay is a complete scam for me the way it is now. Maybe with a layer of real clay on top it could be better, I'd like to try...

Can you please do a review about the Wilson steam 99 with the blade v7 cosmetic. Noticed that you played with it so I thought maybe I should ask)

Played on one of these a few years ago and it was absolutely terrible! The worst was that you couldnt slide like on a regular claycourt and i fell pretty badly several times....

We have a Har-tru clay court in Reno, Nv. I like it much better than the Top Sand courts I've played on at a local country club. What are your thoughts on Har-Tru?

Jonas is there an option of artificial or real clay for tropical weather? Or are we stuck mostly with hard court only here in the tropics. There were some 'gravel' courts here in Indonesia but you can imagine the maintenance nightmare. Thanks

Is this different from the green clay/har tru that's the norm in the US??

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Commenting from Norway, would it be a genuine alternative to hardcourt indoor? To make the courts less strenuous on the body? Would you need to water it inside?

In UK artificial clay is used but honestly I don't see the point because it just plays like a synthetic astro turf court

Cool. Where in Germany was the last part of your video? Thanks

Audio can have an improvement

Maybe I missed it but what racquet was Jonas using?

Interesting! I wonder if this will make it over to the US and replace those terrible Har-Tru court (green "clay") courts. Also, is that a Blade v7 I spy Jonas using?

Nothing beats artificial grass 😊

What about the risk of lung cancer for coaches who breath in Daily the quartzsand.

The worst surface I’ve ever played on. Not comparable AT ALL with a real clay court.

This makes absolutely no sense. Surely the balls will still get wet. Why use clay at all?? Has anyone heard of the word sustainability?!?

im not gonna lie, these look awful and i doubt it holds up after a few years

As it’s so perfect bouncing you play on the rise, as on hard courts. You never learn to play clay on those courts

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