Tennis is a truly international sport. In professional tennis, the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) are the stages for the world’s best players.
These global events span six continents and 30 countries. The ATP plays 71 tournaments in 30 countries, and the WTA plays 74 tournaments in 29 countries.
Regardless of where the match is played, the playing surface creates a unique experience at courts worldwide – especially on clay.
As the French Open approaches, it is probably not surprising to avid tennis fans that countries with the most clay courts produce the most clay-court winners.
Our research led us to other interesting tennis data, as well.
Key takeaways
- Professional tennis is a hard-court game, with over half of the tournaments on hard courts, about a third on clay, and just over 10% on grass.
- Unsurprisingly, countries with more clay courts produce more winners on a clay surface.
- California produces the most champions (25%) in the US, followed by New York and Texas (10% each).
- The United States has the most tennis courts, about 270,000 in total. That represents about 16% of all courts worldwide.
- There are significantly fewer grass courts than the other surfaces, and Australian and American players dominate the grass courts.
Tennis court surfaces win and lose matches
Tennis is “a game of inches,” as the saying goes, but the truth is that the court surface has as much influence on a match’s outcome as how the game is played.
Most of us are familiar with grass, clay, and hard courts, but tennis courts come in many different surfaces:
- Acrylic
- Asphalt
- Hard (concrete)
- Artificial Clay
- Red clay
- Green clay
- Hybrid Clay
- Artificial Grass
- Grass
- Carpet
- Wood
- Modulars such as tiles
The ATP and WTA tours are primarily played on hard, clay, or grass courts. Each surface has its own challenges and requires different strategies and styles of play.
Because the different court surfaces are one of the players’ greatest challenges, different players perform better and win more often on certain surfaces. Countries produce players who win more often on particular surfaces.
How the court surface changes a tennis match
The biggest factor in how the surface changes a match is how the ball and the player move across it. The ball on grass courts has a fast, low, and erratic bounce. Additionally, grass is slippery, and footing can be a challenge. Clay courts slow the game, allowing players to slide to the ball. Hard courts provide a fast, high, consistent bounce and sure footing.
The choice of court surface isn’t random. The difference in bounce and footing requires different styles of play. Fast-paced grass courts favor aggressive play, rapid serve-and-volley, and shorter points. Clay courts are ideal for long baseline rallies and strategic play. Hard courts span the extremes of grass and clay and can accommodate serve-and-volley or baseline games and aggressive or strategic play.
Hard courts are by far the most common surface. Today, most tournaments are played on hard courts.
| Surface | Number of tournaments* | |
| ATP | WTA | |
| Hard | 39 | 40 |
| Clay | 22 | 25 |
| Grass | 8 | 8 |
*Some tournaments take place at multiple sites, on multiple surfaces.
Physical impact and player preferences
Tennis is a hard sport on athletes’ bodies; each surface affects the body differently. Hard courts are often concrete, which has more impact on ts, particularly the knees, and can lead to long-term injury. Grass lends itself to falls and twisted ankles. Sliding on clay stresses muscles and tendons that players don’t experience otherwise.
Top ATP and WTA players understand how a surface affects their play. Most players have a preference, as they tend to win more on a particular surface. Most interesting is that a player’s home country influences surface preference. Countries tend to produce more winners on certain surfaces because some countries have more of one type of surface.
Tennis court surfaces vary by country preference
On the ATP and WTA tours, the court’s location indicates the type of surface used.
Of the 29 countries on the ATP tour, only five—Austria, , Italy, Sweden, and Switzerland—play on two different surfaces. Only two, and the USA, have tournaments on all three surfaces.
has the most tennis courts in Europe, and the United States has the most tennis courts worldwide. With so many tennis courts, it’s unsurprising that there aren’t more courts on each surface.
Only four of the 30 countries on the WTA Tour—, Italy, Mexico, and the USA—host tournaments on two surfaces.
The surface-country connection
Direct information on the number of courts in each country by surface type is not readily available. However, we can see how much better each country’s players perform on each surface.
According to SB Nation, South American players, except for Venezuela, are clay court players. North Americans are hard court. Asian players slightly prefer hard courts. Northern Europeans prefer hard courts, while Southern Europeans opt for clay courts.
Top 10 hard-court countries:
- Venezuela
- Slovenia
- Israel
- Canada
- South Africa
- Ireland
- Hungary
- Australia
- USA
- Finland
Top 10 clay court countries:
- Argentina
- Spain
- Serbia
- Kazakhstan
- Portugal
- Chile
- Colombia
- Italy
- Morocco
- Austria
We evaluated 38 players with 10 or more clay court titles. Three-quarters came from clay court countries, and only 25% from hard-court countries.
We then evaluated the top 38 grasscourt title holders. Grass courts are few and far between, so there is no list of grass court countries. However, Australian and US players dominate grass court titles, followed by the U.K., at a distant third.
How hard courts are represented in the US
The United States has the most tennis courts, about 270,000 in total. That represents about 16% of all courts worldwide.
Of this vast number of courts, only 27 are grass:
- California: 2
- Florida: 2
- New York: 3
- Missouri: 3
- Oregon: 4
- Rhode Island: 13
Clay courts are more common in the US than in many other countries but represent only about 15% (40,500) of all US courts.
The ATP holds 10 tournaments in the US each year. Eight are held on hard courts, one on clay, and one on grass.
State Court surface
| California | Hard |
| Florida (2) | Hard |
| Georgia | Hard |
| New York | Hard |
| North Carolina | Hard |
| Rhode Island | Grass |
| Texas | Hard |
| Texas | Clay |
| Washington D.C. | Hard |
The WTP plays host to 10 tournaments in the US. Nine are on hard courts, and one is on clay.
Host Court surface
| California (2) | Hard |
| Florida | Hard |
| New York | Hard |
| Ohio (2) | Hard |
| South Carolina | Clay |
| South Carolina | Hard |
| Texas | Hard |
| Washington, D.C. | Hard |
Given the popularity of hard courts in tournament play, it’s unsurprising that the US produces many hard-court players.
States with the most ATP winners
Next, we looked at the states that produce the most ATP winners. Of the 100 players we analyzed, 25% came from California, and 10% each came from New York and Texas.
Top 5 states with the most ATP overall career win/loss percentage players:
| California | 25 |
| New York | 11 |
| Texas | 9 |
| Florida | 7 |
| New Jersey | 6 |
American players are almost exclusively hard-court players. Rhode Island has the most grass courts in the US but did not produce any top ATP players.
The ATP and WTP tours are hard-court games
Today’s professional tennis is a hard-court game on both the ATP and WTP tours worldwide. More than half of the tournaments are on hard courts, about a third on clay, and a token, just over 10%, on grass.
In the US, the difference is more pronounced. Of the 20 ATP and WTP tournaments (10 each) played in the US, 10% (2) are on clay, and 5% (1) are on grass
The surface changes the game. While hard courts are the lion’s share of surfaces, countries with more clay courts produce more winners on a clay surface. The fast-paced, aggressive grass game contrasts with the slower-paced, strategic clay game. Hard courts may have become the surface of choice because they give players more choices and the fans more excitement.
Methodology
We evaluated data from 11 sources and included: US tennis player birthplaces, tournament locations and types of court surfaces.
We counted the tournaments, cities, and countries listed on the ATP and WTA sites. The actual number of each differed from the number stated on the ATP and WTA sites. We used the actual numbers, not the published numbers.
Court surface and country
Taken from SB Nation, the full list of players’ AB-generated surface factors was pared down to players with at least 100 career matches in the database. Each player’s clay surface factor was subtracted from their hard surface factor to show each player’s relative surface preference and averaged relative preferences for countries with at least 16 players.
Point values were set from 0 (highest clay court preference) to 100 (highest hard court preference).
We looked at the 38 players with 10 or more clay court titles. Of those 38 players, 31 were identified as coming from either clay-court-dominant or hard-court-dominant countries. Of those 31 players, 74.19% were from clay-court-dominant countries, and 25.8% originated from hard-court-dominant countries.
We then evaluated the top 38 grasscourt title holders. We were unable to locate information on grass court distribution by country. However, the number of grass court title holders is concentrated in Australia and the United States.
Country Grass court titles
Australia 11
USA 9
UK 3
Spain 2
2
Sweden 2
One each:
Argentina, , India, Italy, Netherlands, South Africa, Russia, Serbia, Switzerland.
States with the most winners
We identified the birthplace of 100 US players. We selected the players from the ATP’s overall career win/loss index list for the first 100 American players sorted alphabetically. For foreign-born US players, we used the state they resided in. Some foreign-born players claim two state residences.
Sources used in evaluating tennis surfaces
International Tennis Foundation
Racquet Industry Research Group
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ATP tournaments and surfaces guide
| TOURNAMENT | LOCATION | START | END | SURFACE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Cup | Brisbane, Adelaide & Sydney | 28/12/2023 | 07/01/2024 | Hard |
| Brisbane International | Brisbane, Australia | 31/12/2023 | 07/01/2024 | Hard |
| Bank of China Hong Kong Tennis Open | Hong Kong, Hong Kong | 01/01/2024 | 07/01/2024 | Hard |
| Adelaide International | Adelaide, Australia | 08/01/2024 | 14/01/2024 | Hard |
| ASB Classic | Auckland, New Zealand | 08/01/2024 | 14/01/2024 | Hard |
| Australian Open | Melbourne, Australia | 15/01/2024 | 28/01/2024 | Hard |
| Open Sud De -Montpellier | Montpellier, | 29/01/2024 | 04/02/2024 | Hard |
| Davis Cup Qualifiers | Multi City | 29/01/2024 | 02/02/2024 | |
| Cordoba Open | Cordoba, Argentina | 05/02/2024 | 11/02/2024 | Clay |
| Dallas Open | Dallas, Texas, USA | 05/02/2024 | 11/02/2024 | Hard |
| Open 13 Provence | Marseille, | 05/02/2024 | 11/02/2024 | Hard |
| ABN AMRO Open | Rotterdam, Netherlands | 12/02/2024 | 18/02/2024 | Hard |
| Argentina Open | Buenos Aires | 12/02/2024 | 18/02/2024 | Clay |
| Delray Beach Open | Delray Beach, Florida, USA | 12/02/2024 | 18/02/2024 | Hard |
| Rio Open Presented by Claro | Rio De Janeiro, Brazil | 19/02/2024 | 25/02/2024 | Clay |
| Qatar ExxonMobil Open | Doha, Qatar | 19/02/2024 | 25/02/2024 | Hard |
| Abierto De Tenis Mifel | Los Cabos, Mexico | 19/02/2024 | 25/02/2024 | Hard |
| Abierto Mexicano Telcel Presentado Por HSBC | Acapulco, Mexico | 26/02/2024 | 03/03/2024 | Hard |
| Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships | Dubai, UAE | 26/02/2024 | 03/03/2024 | Hard |
| Movistar Chile Open | Santiago, Chile | 26/02/2024 | 03/03/2024 | Clay |
| BNP Paribas Open | Indian Wells, USA | 06/03/2024 | 17/03/2024 | Hard |
| Miami Open Presented by Itaú | Miami, USA | 20/03/2024 | 31/03/2024 | Hard |
| Millennium Estoril Open | Estoril, Portugal | 01/04/2024 | 07/01/2024 | Clay |
| Grand Prix Hassan II | Marrakech, Morocco | 01/04/2024 | 07/01/2024 | Clay |
| Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship | Houston, USA | 01/04/2024 | 07/01/2024 | Clay |
| Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters | Monte Carlo, Monaco | 07/04/2024 | 14/04/2024 | Clay |
| Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell | Barcelona, Spain | 15/04/2024 | 21/04/2024 | Clay |
| BMW Open by American Express | Munich, USA | 15/04/2024 | 21/04/2024 | Clay |
| TBD | Bucharest, Romania | 15/04/2024 | 21/04/2024 | Clay |
| Mutua Madrid Open | Madrid, Spain | 24/04/2024 | 05/05/2024 | Clay |
| Internazionali BNL D’Italia | Rome, Italy | 08/05/2024 | 19/05/2024 | Clay |
| Gonet Geneva Open | Geneva, Switzerland | 19/05/2024 | 25/05/2024 | Clay |
| Open Parc Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Lyon | Lyon, | 19/05/2024 | 25/05/2024 | Clay |
| French Open, Rolland Garros | Paris, | 26/05/2024 | 09/06/2024 | Clay |
| Libema Open | S-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands | 10/06/2024 | 16/06/2024 | Grass |
| Boss Open | Stuttgart, | 10/06/2024 | 16/06/2024 | Grass |
| Terra Wortmann Open | Halle, | 17/06/2024 | 23/06/2024 | Grass |
| Cinch Championships | London, England | 17/06/2024 | 23/06/2024 | Grass |
| Mallorca Championships | Mallorca, Spain | 23/06/2024 | 29/06/2024 | Grass |
| Rothesay International | Eastbourne, England | 24/06/2024 | 30/06/2024 | Grass |
| The Championships, Wimbledon | London, England | 01/07/2024 | 14/07/2024 | Grass |
| Hamburg European Open | Hamburg, | 15/07/2024 | 21/07/2024 | Clay |
| Nordea Open | BÅSTAD, Sweden | 15/07/2024 | 21/07/2024 | Clay |
| EFG Swiss Open Gstaad | Gstaad, Switzerland | 15/07/2024 | 21/07/2024 | Clay |
| Infosys Hall of Fame Open | Newport, Rhode Island, USA | 15/07/2024 | 21/07/2024 | Grass |
| Atlanta Open | Atlanta, USA | 22/07/2024 | 28/07/2024 | Hard |
| Generali Open | Kitzbuhel, Austria | 22/07/2024 | 28/07/2024 | Clay |
| Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag | Umag, Croatia | 22/07/2024 | 28/07/2024 | Clay |
| Olympic Games | Paris, | 27/07/2024 | 04/08/2024 | Clay |
| Citi Open | Washington D.C., USA | 29/07/2024 | 04/08/2024 | Hard |
| National Bank Open Presented by Rogers | Montreal, Canada | 05/08/2024 | 11/08/2024 | Hard |
| Western & Southern Open | Cincinnati, USA | 11/08/2024 | 18/08/2024 | Hard |
| Winston-Salem Open | Winston-Salem, USA | 18/08/2024 | 24/08/2024 | Hard |
| US Open | New York, USA | 26/08/2024 | 08/09/2024 | Hard |
| Davis Cup Semi Finals Group Stage | Multi City | 12/09/2024 | 15/09/2024 | |
| Chengdu Open | Chengdu, China | 18/09/2024 | 25/09/2024 | Hard |
| Zuhai Championships | Zuhai, China | 18/09/2024 | 25/09/2024 | Hard |
| Laver Cup | Berlin | 20/09/2024 | 22/09/2024 | Hard |
| China Open | Beijing, China | 26/09/2024 | 01/10/2024 | Hard |
| Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships | Tokyo, Japan | 26/09/2024 | 01/10/2024 | Hard |
| Rolex Shanghai Masters | Shanghai, China | 02/10/2024 | 13/10/2024 | Hard |
| European Open | Antwerp, Belgium | 14/10/2024 | 20/10/2024 | Hard |
| Astana Open | Astana, Kazakhstan | 14/10/2024 | 20/10/2024 | Hard |
| Swiss Indoors Basel | Basel, Switzerland | 21/10/2024 | 27/10/2024 | Hard |
| Erste Bank Open | Vienna, Austria | 21/10/2024 | 27/10/2024 | Hard |
| Rolex Paris Masters | Paris, | 28/10/2024 | 03/11/2024 | Hard |
| Moselle Open | Metz, | 03/11/2024 | 09/11/2024 | Hard |
| Stockholm Open | Stockholm, Sweden | 03/11/2024 | 09/11/2024 | Hard |
| Watergen Gijon Open | Gijon, Spain | 03/11/2024 | 09/11/2024 | Hard |
| Nitto ATP Finals | Turin, Italy | 10/11/2024 | 17/11/2024 | Hard |
| Davis Cup Finals | TBD | 19/11/2024 | 24/11/2024 | Hard |
WTA tournaments and surfaces guide
| TOURNAMENT | LOCATION | SURFACE |
|---|---|---|
| United Cup | Sydney and Perth, Australia | Hard |
| Canberra 125 | Canberra, Australia | Hard |
| Brisbane International | Brisbane, Australia | Hard |
| ASB Classic | Auckland, New Zealand | Hard |
| Adelaide International | Adelaide, Australia | Hard |
| Hobart International | Hobart, Australia | Hard |
| Australian Open | Melbourne, Australia | Hard |
| Thailand Open | Hua Hin, Thailand | Hard |
| Upper Austria Ladies Linz | Linz, Austria | Hard |
| Mumbai Open | Mumbai, India | Hard |
| Translyvania Open | Club-Napoca, Romania | Hard |
| Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | Hard |
| Qatar TotalEnergies Open 2024 | Doha, Qatar | Hard |
| Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships | Dubai, United Arab Emirates | Hard |
| Puerto Vallarta Open | Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico | Hard |
| San Diego Open | San Diego, CA, United States | Hard |
| ATX Open | Austin, TX, United States | Hard |
| BNP Paribas Open | Indian Wells, CA, United States | Hard |
| Charleston 125 | Charleston, SC, United States | Hard |
| Miami Open presented by Itaú | Miami, FL, United States | Hard |
| San Luis Open | San Luis Potosi, Mexico | Clay |
| Megasaray Hotels Open | Antalya, Turkey | Clay |
| Credit One Charleston Open | Charleston, SC, United States | Clay |
| Copa Colsanitas | Bogota, Colombia | Clay |
| Open Internacional Femení Solgironès | La Bisbal D'Emporda, Spain | Clay |
| Porsche Tennis Grand Prix | Stuttgart, | Clay |
| Oeiras Ladies Open | Oeiras, Portugal | |
| Open Capfinances Rouen Métropole | Rouen, | Clay |
| Mutua Madrid Open | Madrid, Spain | Clay |
| L'Open 35 de Saint Malo | Saint Malo, | Clay |
| Catalonia Open | Lledia, Spain | Clay |
| Internazionali BNL d'Italia | Rome, Italy | Clay |
| Parma Ladies Open | Parma, Italy | Clay |
| Trophée Clarins | Paris, | Clay |
| Internationaux de Strasbourg | Strasbourg, | Clay |
| Grand Prix De Son Altesse Royale La Princesse Lalla Meryem | Rabat, Morocco | Clay |
| Roland Garros | Paris, | Clay |
| Open delle Puglie | Bari, Italy | Clay |
| Makarska Open | Makarksa, Croatia | Clay |
| BBVA Open Internacional de Valencia | Valencia, Spain | Clay |
| Libéma Open | S'hertogenbosch, Netherlands | Grass |
| Rothesay Open | Nottingham, Great Britain | Grass |
| Veneto Open promoted by Confindustria Veneto Est | Gaiba, Italy | Grass |
| Rothesay Classic | Birmingham, Great Britain | Grass |
| Berlin Ladies Open | Berlin, | Grass |
| Bad Homburg Open | Bad Homburg, | Grass |
| Rothesay International | Eastbourne, Great Britain | Grass |
| The Championships, Wimbledon | Wimbledon, Great Britain | Grass |
| Grand Est Open 88 | Contrexeville, | Clay |
| Nordea Open | Bastad, Sweden | Clay |
| 35° Palermo Ladies Open | Palermo, Italy | Clay |
| Hungarian Grand Prix | Budapest, Hungary | Clay |
| Prague Open 2024 | Prague, Czech Republic | Clay |
| Hamburg European Open | Hamburg, | Clay |
| Mubadala Citi DC Open | Washington DC, DC, United States | Hard |
| National Bank Open presented by Rogers | Toronto, Canada | Hard |
| Western & Southern Open | Cincinnati, Oh, United States | Hard |
| Abierto GNP Seguros 2024 | Monterrey, Mexico | Hard |
| Tennis in the Land | Cleveland, OH, United States | Hard |
| US Open | New York, NY, United States | Hard |
| Jasmin Open Tunisia | Monastir, Tunisia | Hard |
| Guadalajara Open Akron presented by Santander | Guadalajara, Mexico | Hard |
| Korea Open | Seoul, Korea | Hard |
| Ningbo Open | Ningbo, China | Hard |
| China Open | Beijing, China | Hard |
| Wuhan Open | Wuhan, China | Hard |
| Zhengzhou Open | Zhengzhou, China | Hard |
| Kinoshita Group Japan Open | Osaka, Japan | Hard |
| Galaxy Holding Group Guangzhou Open | Guangzhou, China | Hard |
| Toray Pan Pacific Open Tennis | Tokyo, Japan | Hard |
| Jiangxi Open | Nanchang, China | Hard |
| Mérida Open Akron | Mérida, Mexico | Hard |
| Hong Kong Tennis Open | Hong Kong, China | Hard |
| WTA Finals Riyadh | Riyadh, Saudi- Arabia | Hard |
