The French Open courts are clay, a tricky surface for some. Here's how the pros do it

Key developments are emerging from the global stage. Sports The French Open courts are clay, a tricky surface for some. Here's how the pros do it May 19, 20265:00 AM ET By Ayana Archie Hailey Baptiste of United States plays a forehand against Madison Keys of United States during the Women's Singles Fourth Round match on Day Nine of the 2025 French Open at Roland Garros on June 02, 2025 in Paris, France. Adam Pretty/Getty Images Europe hide caption toggle caption Adam Pretty/Getty Images Europe The men's and women's qualifying rounds of the French Open started Monday, culminating a season of professional tennis on a surface that's notoriously challenging to compete on: clay.

The court at Roland-Garros, the stadium where the French Open is held, is a five-layer sandwich of various stones and coal residue, topped off with a thin layer of red brick dust. The mixture can be unstable, as it can shift underfoot. By comparison, hard courts have a resin or acrylic top coat that provides an even surface.

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Grass has a rougher texture that gives the ball a lower bounce. Sponsor Message But any athlete who makes it to the French Open is "a phenomenal tennis player at that point" and learns to adapt to clay, said Steve Johnson, a retired tennis pro who has played in 10 French Open tournaments. NPR spoke with him and two players competing in this year's French Open about how they have navigated the ruddy terrain over their careers.

Marta Kostyuk As a junior player, Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine performed well on clay courts. She had more endurance, but she was also a lot more rigid in her approach to the game, she said, which didn't bode as well once she advanced to the pros. "I would set myself to play certain way, and I basically wouldn't change it," she said.

So she's had to learn to be more flexible. After all, clay is finicky. It shrinks and expands, so each step and bounce can feel different from another, she said.

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Clay season is also short. It's a series of tournaments that runs from late March to early June — a couple months out of the full season, which is mostly allocated to hard courts. So it can be hard to get into the groove, Kostyuk said.

Sponsor Message It also doesn't help that each clay court has its own DNA. For example, Madrid's court is at a higher altitude, with thinner air that gives the ball less resistance. "So the balls are just flying," she said.

Her mother, Talina Beiko, played professionally and made sure Kostyuk practiced regularly on clay. The courts at Roland-Garros have a heavier consistency, like the ones she grew up playing on. "It's a very real clay court, the proper one for me," Kostyuk said.

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.