Australia to spend $1m on clay courts

The new head of Tennis Australia wants to spend 1 million dollars to get the country’s young players up to speed on clay, with Steven Healy laying out a project to build eight red dirt courts at Melbourne Park.

The home of the Australian Open, undergoing a planned expansion which will produce a record third showcourt with a moveable roof, has traditionally been the home of fast hardcourts.

But that reputation is about to change under the new regime as Healy takes over the reins from Geoff Pollard, who ran the show for 21 years.

The additional courts in Melbourne will hopefully lead the way to clay venues in all Australian states to compliment a clay training programme run in Spain by former ATP player Felix Mantilla for Aussie youngsters funded by the federation.

“This isn’t going to make money, but it’s a critical part of player development,” said Healy. “We want to ensure at the national high performance academy level there are clay courts in every state so we can develop our juniors on clay.

“So much of the game is now played on clay. And it’s also important to minimise injuries among our young players — it’s well proven it’s a more forgiving surface.”

While he starts his revamp of the game in Australia, Healy would be pleased to find one or more successors to 29-year-old Lleyton Hewitt, the former number one whose playing days are surely numbered after two hip surgeries and a ranking of 54th who is currently recovering from a hand injury.

“I would also love to have a top 10 player, though I don’t know if that’s realistic in a three-year time-frame but certainly in a five-year time-frame,” said Healy.

Less than a week after giving up the Davis Cup captaincy, John Fitzgerald was elected to the Tennis Australia board, holding off voting challenges from former player Wally Masur and current WTA competitor Alicia Molik.