The clay court season is already 1 week into the 9-week season. And Jenson Brooksby went through hell and back to snatch the Houston Men’s Clay Court Championship (Win vs. Tiafoe 6-4 6-2)
Lets rewind. Brooksby missed 3 drug tests in 12 months and was handed an 18-month suspension. He cited the challenges he faces from Autism.
Even though Brooksby’s suspension was reduced to 13 months, his ranking plummeted. He began the 2025 season ranked 1,094, suffering early season losses to Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul. But then his rhythm came back at Indian Wells. He made it to the Round of 32 (Loss vs. Draper 5-7 4-6).
Brooksby saved 5 match points in Houston. And since the ATP started keeping data on saved match points, he’s now the only player to save match points vs 3 different opponents and also go on to win the tournament.
Link: Jenson Brooksby vs Frances Tiafoe | Highlights | 2025 U.S. Clay Final
Upcoming Events 500 Points or More
April 6 – 13 | Monte-Carlo, Monaco | Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters | 1000 Points
April 14 – 20 | Barcelona, Spain | Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell | 500 Points
April 14 – 20 | Munich, Germany | BMW Open | 500 Points
April 23 – May 4 | Madrid, Spain | Mutua Madrid Open | 1000 Points
Part 1 of the hard court season has concluded. And with Jannik Sinner suspended and the Rafa Nadal announcing his retirement last year, there is a gigantic vacuum on clay.
Since Rafa Nadal announced his retirement, there’s a handful of players who can string together a handful of matches. The usual suspects: Alcaraz, Djokovic, Rublev, Tsitsipas, Zverev. And it wouldn’t be shocking to see Arthur Fils or Alex De Minaur come out on top.
Events 500 Points or More
April 14 – April 21 | Stuttgart, Germany | Porsche Tennis Grand Prix | 500 Points
April 22 – May 4 | Madrid, Spain | Mutua Madrid Open | 1000 Points
All eyes are on Iga Swiatek. Despite clay being her best surface, her dominance has been overshadowed by valid questions about her ability to recalibrate when she’s in a mid-match rut.
Aryna Sabalenka hit 31 winners vs Jess Pegula in the Miami Open Finals. But with clay being a slower surface, her power game isn’t as impactful. She’ll have to more strategic, setting up points, rather than Serve and +1.
Jess Pegula and Madison Keys are searching for their first clay court Grand Slam and 1000 Point title.
Mirra Andreeva is coming off two hard court 1000 Point titles at Dubai and Indian Wells. For a 17-year-old, she has incredible court presence and composure. My questions about herHow will her game transition to clay? Can she maintain a high level of play consistently throughout the rest of the season?
Mensik’s serve is top notch. And there’s 1 component of his serve that’s Federer-like—his ball toss. It’s always the same and he does not tip off his opponents of what serve is coming.
During the Miami Open Final, Djokovic could not pick up on where Mensik’s serve was headed. It reached a point late in the match where he started guessing—he was often left flat-footed.
Serve Indicators
Ball Sound
Ball Toss Direction
Shoulder Position
Racquet Grip
Grigor Dimitrov’s backhand slice is one of the best in the game. He excels at varying shot selection and pace to throw off his opponents’ natural rhythm. You can see the frustration build—it’s not easy to handle a slice that skids and stays low. It forces a tough decision: either respond with a slice of your own or try to come over the top of it.
Sine we’ve transitioned to an era of power, the backhand slice feels like a lost art in today’s game. Underused, yet effective. Interestingly, Ben Shelton incorporated it more frequently into his game, using it to shift the tempo of rallies. He an add pace with his serve and forehand, and take off speed to neutralize his opponent’s shot options.
Watching Denis Shapovalov’s 1 handed backhand live was a joy. He was electric all week, taking down four top-25 players en route to the title:
#5 Casper Ruud (F)
#9 Tommy Paul (SF)
#25 Tomas Machac (QF)
#4 Taylor Fritz (R16)
The tourney took place at the Cowboys’ practice facility in Frisco, but the experience left a bit to be desired from a fan’s perspective. The atmosphere felt sterile—lacking the intimacy and charm of previous years. From what I gathered, the players really liked the location. Personally, I wish the tournament had stayed at SMU (Southern Methodist University), where the energy was more intimate. That said, it was the first year in Frisco and I’m confident they’ll make improvements.
I grew up in Connecticut, where the tennis scene wasn’t exactly booming. My mom played and even won local tournaments, but for some reason tennis never clicked with me.
That changed in 2022 when I decided to purchase a Babolat racquet. I started attended clinics and received private lessons, but my progress felt slow. My forehand and backhand weren’t improving the way I’d hoped.
Then I tried something different. I reserved a ball machine and that was the game-changer.
Hitting 1,800-2,500 balls in a single session (60 minutes) helped me lock in on technique and make real-time adjustments. Ball machines are dynamic—they let you control speed, spin, feed rate, and ball placement. The best part? It’s affordable. Clubs typically charged anywhere from $15-30 / hour.
What you need in the beginning is repetition and fundamentals. Hitting thousands of shots will allow you to get in the repetitions. Ball machines have a variety of features that allow the player to adjust the location, feed rate, ball speed, spin (topspin or backspin), and height.
Racquet lag was something I struggled with. I saved some videos of Holger Rune’s forehand in slow motion and slowed them down frame by frame. And rewatched it until I understood the nuances of his forehand. I also had difficulty finishing shots with the windshield wiper motion because I’m 6′ 2″ and have a wide frame. I started experimenting with a lasso finish, similar to Rafa Nadal, and when I made those 2 adjustments, hitting with a ball machine, my forehand finally clicked.
Tip: While you’re picking up balls to refill the ball machine, think about how you want to tweak your shot for the upcoming round.
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