Tsitsipas Argues 'Clay & Grass Seasons Should Be Longer'

Sunday, 09 April 2023 at 14:50

Updated at Saturday, 16 August 2025 at 16:26

byZachary Wimer

Stefanos Tsitsipas shared his thoughts about the length of certain parts of the season on the ATP Tour.

Currently, the tennis season has multiple parts, played on the hard courts, clay courts, and grass courts. While the hard-court part of the season lasts from January till early April and then again from July until November, the grass-court part of the year has only around seven weeks in the calendar from June to July.

There are many more clay-court tournaments than there are those played on grass, but the red dirt is still behind the hard surface. Of course, this isn't ideal for those who specialize in playing on the slowest surface, and Tsitsipas is one of those players.

In his career, the Greek player has won nine titles, but three of the last four came on clay, with the fourth one being on grass. Therefore, it's not a surprise that Tsitsipas would like to see players compete on these surfaces for a longer period of time during the season.

He expressed his opinion ahead of the upcoming 2023 Monte-Carlo Masters, where he's seeded second and set to begin against Bernabe Zapata Miralles or Benjamin Bonzi in the second round.

"Grass and clay seasons should be longer. I know that for clay there are still events in August but I am in favor of natural surfaces being more valued in the calendar."

The World No. 3 player also explained why he likes to play on clay more than other surfaces. In the past, he won some of his biggest trophies on the red dirt, but that is not the only reason why Tsitsipas likes it.

"I really like the tactical analysis of clay-court tennis. I think it is deeper than people think. There is a lot of strategy involved. You are not expecting to hit crazy winners on a surface like clay. You are dealing with much patience when you are playing."

"It involves more around unforced and forced errors. The way you can open the court. The main priority is not to hit a winner, but be precise and open the court."