Clay-court specialist

A "clay-court specialist" is a term frequently used by tennis commentators and fans in tennis to describe players who excel on clay courts, but do not play up to those same standards on hard courts, grass courts, or other surfaces. The term more frequently pertains to professional level, Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) or Women's Tennis Association (WTA)-ranked tennis players rather than to average players. It is far more common to say something like: "Gastón Gaudio (2004 Roland Garros champion) is a clay-court specialist" than to say "Bob (referring to any-given non-professional tennis player) is a clay-court specialist." Many players from Latin America and Spain are referred to as "clay-court specialists" because many of them grew up playing on clay courts due to the prevalance of clay courts in these places. They are thus accustomed to the unique skills the surface requires [1].

For example, a common feature of clay-court specialists is their ability to slide on the surface to get to the ball, something that hard courts and grass courts do not permit. Many of them are also very adept at hitting the drop shot, an especially effective shot on the surface because the ball tends to bounce much lower than on hard courts, grass courts, or other surfaces. Additionally, the clay surface tends to be much slower than other surfaces, meaning the ball does not bounce as quickly, so the rallies are longer, which requires a great degree of mental focus and physical stamina. Most important, perhaps, is the fact that a serve-and-volley player is at a distinct disadvantage on a clay court, because his/her service is slowed down enough to let the receiver handle it cleanly, even aggressively, rather than defensively, as can be the case on a faster surface. Their effectiveness at the net is therefore greatly diminished.

The term "clay-court specialist" is not pejorative, but can be considered insulting to players who are described as such because the term implies a lack of comparable skill on other surfaces. [2]. Most players would deny being "clay-court specialists." Clay-court specialists are sometimes referred to as "dirtballers" which carries a slightly more negative connotation.

Some examples of prominent past and present players who are frequently referred to as clay-court specialists are: Thomas Muster, Gustavo Kuerten, Gastón Gaudio, Nicolás Almagro, José Acasuso, Mariano Puerta, Álbert Montañés and David Ferrer.