Roland Garros is naturally the main focus when trying to rank the greatest clay court tennis players of all-time.
Greatest Tennis Players On Clay Court:
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Rafael Nadal
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Chris Evert
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Steffi Graf
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Bjorn Borg
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Justine Henin
Clay matches are scattered throughout the ATP and WTA schedules, with three distinct clay court seasons.
Aside from the French Open, events in Monte Carlo, Madrid, and Rome are of particular interest to followers of the tennis betting markets.
Clay-court specialists are more prevalent than on grass or hard courts. Players with vicious top spin, stamina, and consistency are generally rewarded on the slower clay courts due to their elongated rallies.
5) Justine Henin
Justine Henin was a phenomenal player on all surfaces, but she was particularly brilliant on the clay courts. Henin won four French Open titles. She is the only player to win a pair of titles at Roland Garros without losing a set, doing so in consecutive years in 2006 and 2007.
Between 2005 and 2010, a period which included a brief, shock retirement, Henin won 40 consecutive sets at the French Open.
Even with the hiatus in the latter part of the noughties, Henin still retired young for the second time. Her records on clay courts are incredibly impressive, but the aggregate statistics cannot quite rival those of Steffi Graf and Chris Evert.
At her pomp, though, Henin was an irrepressible force on clay courts all over the world.
4) Bjorn Borg
Bjorn Borg won all six of the French Open finals he reached. Just one man, Adriano Panatta, beat Borg at Roland Garros. Panatta got the better of Borg in 1973 and 1976, with the Swede winning titles in 1974, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1980, and 1981.
Borg won north of 86% of his matches on clay, and over 95% of his matches at Roland Garros. The mix of speed, power, immense physical conditioning, and unique-at-the-time backcourt strokes made Borg a true force on different surfaces.
In the sweltering conditions often associated with clay courts, Borg’s fitness made a massive difference given the era he played in. Slower clay courts also allowed him to chase down almost any shot from his opponent.
Borg and Rafael Nadal are in a league of their own on the clay courts. Both have winning percentages in the nineties in clay-court Grand Slams – no one else is above 86%.
3) Steffi Graf
Winning almost 90% of her French Open matches and six times a champion at Roland Garros, Steffi Graf was masterful on the red clay.
Graf had the speed and stamina to cope with long rallies. She also had a lethal forehand shot and an array of backhand slices to control the pace of each point.
Her 32 clay-court titles in the Open Era are only bettered by Chris Evert. Evert is the only player in the Open Era with more French Open titles, too. Graf, though, matched Evert’s tally of nine finals at Roland Garros.
There were no clear flaws to Graf’s game on the clay. At times, she could approach the net. Her athleticism made her an adept defender at the baseline, and her service game was formidable on all surfaces.
As dominant as Henin was at her peak, there’s no question Graf deserves to be the second-highest woman on this list.
2) Chris Evert
In the Open Era, Chris Evert’s 70 clay-court titles are by far the most of any woman. In fact, she has more than double what anyone else has achieved.
Evert’s 413 wins on the surface are 81 ahead of second-placed Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, and her 94.5% winning rate also tops the pile. Graf is only other woman to have won more than 86% of her clay-court matches.
Between 1973 and 1979, Evert won 125 consecutive matches on clay. She lost just seven sets on the surface over that period. The Iron Princess was truly unbeatable, able to orchestrate each point with unwavering patience.
The records speak for themselves, such was Evert’s impenetrable defence and smart attack on the red clay of Paris, Rome, and beyond.
There really is no comparison for Evert in the women’s game. Martina Navratilova might have got the better of her on other surfaces, but the clay belonged to Evert.
1) Rafael Nadal
Has an individual ever dominated the online betting markets like Rafael Nadal did at the French Open?
Nadal rewrote the record books, proving to be a truly unbeatable force on the clay for well over a decade.
Nadal’s 81 straight wins on clay between 2005 and 2007 are the most by any man on any surface. His 63 clay titles are 14 more than any other player. Overall, he has won 90.5% of his clay-court matches, which is a considerable distance ahead of the second best (Borg).
Aside from most overall match wins, Nadal has a monopoly on the clay-court records. His 112-4 record at the French Open is unparalleled, and of course, no one has owned a Grand Slam like the King of Clay has with his 14 French Open titles.
A ferocious competitor and remarkable athlete, Nadal’s ability to return shots anywhere on the court is almost unmatched in the sport’s history. His whipping forehand leaves opponents on the back foot. We will never see another clay court force like Rafa Nadal.
*Credit for the photos in this article belongs to Alamy*
