© Getty Images Sport – Katelyn Mulcahy
World No. 11 Daria Kasatkina is definitely not in favor of blue clay courts returning ever again as the Russian tennis star says only those who have never experienced playing on blue clay courts can think that they are better than traditional red clay courts.
In 2012, Ion Tiriac – who at the time was the owner of the Madrid Masters – wanted to try something different and he came up with the idea to have blue clay courts for the 2012 Madrid edition. At the time, Tiriac defended his decision by explaining how that would improve ball visibility and that TV viewers would have a much easier time watching matches.
But Tiriac’s experiment went pretty much horribly wrong as Madrid’s blue clay courts were drawing immense criticism and backlash throughout. Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic were among the loudest critics, with both threatening they would not return to the tournament in 2013 if the surface was not reverted to traditional red clay.
A month after the 2012 Madrid Masters concluded, the ATP announced blue clay courts would not be allowed in 2013. Since then, there haven’t been any attempts to try with a blue clay court again.
“Has enough time passed to…
