Clay Vs. Grass: A Statistical Comparison of the French Open and Wimbledon

Abstract

Problem statement: While most professional tennis tournaments today are played on hard courts, there is a short clay court season culminating in the French Open and an even shorter grass court season culminating in Wimbledon, where specialists on those surfaces have their chance to shine. Conventional thinking has it that these two surfaces play so differently that it is difficult for a player to succeed on both and this has largely proven true over the years. Approach: Performance statistics were collected from the French Open and Wimbledon in 2010 and analyzed. This study seeks to quantify the significant differences that exist in performance on these surfaces. Results: While the differences between the two tournaments have been reduced somewhat over the years, there remain significant differences. Conclusion/Recommendations: These results have implications both for professional tennis players and for the management of these tournaments.