Conditions have been tough for the players at Wimbledon, but not just because of the high temperatures - also the grass they ...

The playing surface at Wimbledon is a grass court. Per Wimbledon's website, it takes 15 months to prepare a Wimbledon Championships standard court before it can be played on in competition.

Grass courts may be faster than clay, but if you want a high bounce, you can’t beat the power of clay courts. The French Open has been hosting matches on courts made with this material since 1928.

Clay-court tennis is dialogue between players, the ball, the court and the weather. In springtime Paris, the conversation is like no other.

Grass courts: Fast and low. In the past 25 years or so, tennis has grown more homogenized. Gone are the days of serve-and-volley maestros such as Boris Becker, Martina Navratilova and Pete Sampras ...

Eala, a 19-year-old emerging talent from the Philippines, was not talking about her three-set loss, but rather a ball mark on the tournament’s red clay courts.

“You have to be a little more patient before pulling the trigger. Hit the rally ball instead and stay patient -- go for it as much as you normally would, but just a little later. Eventually, you’ll ...

Before this season, Fearnley had not won a clay-court match on the ATP Tour. He goes into the French Open with a 9-3 record on the surface, including a win over world number 19 Tomas Machac.

Local tennis lovers, who founded the nonprofit Minneapolis Community Clay Courts, are helping the cash-strapped Park and Recreation Board complete asphalt-to-clay conversions.Their mission: Bring ...

Clay courts allow for slower play and are softer than traditional asphalt, making tennis easier on players' joints. "Find somebody that's a little bit better than you that can get the ball to you.

But as the rain gave way to sunshine and the temperature soared towards 86 degrees (30 celsius) on May 30, the clay courts and the tennis played on them transformed.