If you are a tennis fan and actually play yourself, you may well have experienced a game on a clay court. This is the very old, red surface that has been used in countries like France and Spain since the game originated.

If you ever have the opportunity to play on clay; grab it with both hands! It really is a unique experience and one you will never forget. Just stepping on that stunning red surface is a thrill!

If you have never had the pleasure of playing on red clay, and would like to know a little more about it, here’s a few interesting facts.

The serve and volley players who regularly record wins on other surfaces will often struggle on the red clay. To win on this surface you will be playing from the baseline with punishing ground strokes.

If you do ever see a player approach the net while playing on clay, it is a very rare thing indeed. Those who rely on their booming serve will also find that it hasn’t the effect on this surface as it does on others.

So why is the strategy for this game so different? Well, it is very simple, the clay is a thick and heavy surface which sticks to the ball and therefore slows it Down considerably.

Where as on other surfaces such as hard courts the ball skids along the surface at speed, on clay courts it is slowed right down by the thickness of the surface.

As the ball has been slowed down; it will bounce a lot higher than on other surfaces, so the players have more time to get to the ball and return it. It is due to this that clay can claim to have some of tennis’ longest matches played on it.

The games are generally a lot closer on clay as the points go on a lot longer with the slower ball being easier to reach.

Although the ball is easier to reach, the faster player will always have the advantage over their slower opponents.

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Martina Navratilova used to be the top female tennis player on Earth. Although she became a United States citizen in 1981, she was originally from Czechoslovakia where she was born in 1956 on October 18th. She was first introduced to tennis by her stepfather and coach, Miroslav Navratil. When she was only 15 years old, Martina became the national tennis champion of the Czech Republic. After competing in Orlando, Florida, she won her first title for the singles division when she was just seventeen. In 1975, she moved beyond being an amateur tennis player.

In 1975’s Grand Slam singles tournaments, she was one of the finalist in both the Australian Open and French Open, but she lost in both the finals to Evonne Goolagong Cawley and Chris Evert, respectively. The same year, she even lost in the semi finals of the US Open the same year after which she made her mind to get the green card of United States. In 1978, Navratilova got her first victory in the Grand Slam singles at Wimbledon and at the same she acquired the world number 1 rank after defeating Chris Evert.

It was due to Martina’s aggression and supremacy on the Court that the standard for tennis competition grew by leaps and bounds. Because she was slightly overweight early in her career, one of her initial obstacles was getting fit to play the game. Fortunately, a basketball player by the name of Nancy Lieberman encouraged her to attain this goal. She created an intense exercise regime in order to increase her personal fitness. The fact that she began using graphite racquets was probably paramount in her ability to reign supreme as a tennis player.

She again beat Evert in the 1981 Grand Slam singles, in Australia Open. The next year she won the French and Wimbledon Open. In 1983, she won in three out of four Grand Slam events.

She had scored the best ever-professional winning percentage as a tennis player. She retaliated back by winning the French Open Grand Slam of the year 1984, which she had lost in 1983. This superb victory was called the Grand Slam by the president of the International Tennis Federation, Philippe Chatrier. From 1982-1984, she lost only six of the singles matches.

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Ankle braces are a great aid in preventing ankle sprains, especially if you’re into playing high impact sports such as volleyball, basketball or football. Compared to elastic ankle tape, ankle brace provide better support for your ankle and reduce the risk of you twisting or rolling your ankles.

You will find these type of ankle braces available in any good health and sporting stores for a reasonable price. There are quite a few different styles available, each designed for specific purpose.

The ankle brace supports are great as they’re not only light and do not limit your ankle movements, they are also extremely comfortable to wear – your foot just feels really snug in it. While some braces on the market are designed for light exercise and walking, others offer even better protection – good for people who have recovered from torn ligaments in their lower leg. Once a ligament has been ripped, even after surgery you’ll never get the same amount of stability you once had with the ankle.

For more high impact type sports, you will notice many players wearing protective braces. The Aircast brace as well as the ASO lace up ankle brace are of the most popular amongst serious sports people. The prices of these can range from very affordable (under $100) to expensive ($400) where the upper range comes with additional features such as shock pads.

It’s important to avoid further injury caused by wearing inappropriate ankle supports. You will need to pick one that fits you like a glove in order for it to be affective.

Choosing the right brace will depend on your circumstance: have you recently twisted your ankle badly? Have you torn a ligament and had reconstructive surgery? If both the above are true, you need to get advise on the most appropriate foot wear from your doctor first.

The next factor to think about is whether you’ll be requiring a brace as a preventative measure or vigorous sporting activities. If you’re only going to be doing some brisk walking or jogging, chances are you might only need a light weight brace offering minimal support rather than the sporting braces that offer a host of other features such as shock absorption.

The only way to really select the right model is to go down to the shop and actually test each one out. You might be required to bring along a new pair of socks to put on before trying out the brace due to hygiene reasons.

You might find that initially, the ankle brace is very restrictive and that it’s hard to move, this is because you’re simply not used to wearing something like that. Over a short period of time, the elastic material will loosen up and you will forget that you’re even wearing an ankle cast.

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Women’s tennis has evolved very much so over the course of the last 30 years or so. It continues to develop into an extremely competitive sport and the bar has been raised some more with each decade.

I was thinking about the best women’s players in the history of the sport, and realized that so many of them happen to be very recent players. It was really hard to make this list, but I’m going to list the seven elite women’s players that come to mind, saving the best for the end.

7. Venus Williams. With all of her Wimbledon wins and some other slams, there’s no denying how great she’s been. When she’s at the top of her game, she can beat sister Serena, which says it all right there.

While Venus Williams is a legend, Justine Henin was just a little better. Beating Venus on many occasions, this small Belgian warrior has 9 slams. The difference between Henin and Venus is the fact that she won these over a 9 year period.

Monica Seles was one of my favorite players growing up, and I’m still saddened by the fact that some deranged man decided to put a knife into her during the match. Her career was never the same after this, but she seriously dominated women’s tennis before this happened.

4. Chris Evert. She ruled the’70s and part of the’80s, and had a long, successful career.’ grand slams says it all.

3. Serena Williams. A true powerhouse on the women’s tour who won’t be going away anytime soon. She’s the strongest women’s player in the world right now.

You wouldn’t believe it, but Martina Navratilova continued to play doubles well into this decade. Not only did she play, but she won tournaments. That’s how great she was, and she was even better at her peak.

Steffi Graf is known to many as the best woman to ever play the sport. It’s hard to argue against these people considering her amazing 22 career grand slam victories.

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