The Debacle of Blue Clay (2020) [video]

So they put salt to protect the blue dye from being washed out by the rain. That made it slippery when wet and therefore the wrong people won. So they banned blue clay, so the right people won again.

I actually don&#x27;t mind the blue clay. Made things much more watchable - the contrast between the color of the ball and the court was much more noticeable versus red clay (or grass, for that matter, which is similarly difficult to watch due to the fact that the ball color and court color are very close).<p>Sometimes watching the sport on TV is a pain because you&#x27;re not going to see the ball very well if the court isn&#x27;t blue or black. Makes sense why more and more people watch (and support) individual players versus the sport overall, which I think is sad as tennis is a great sport.

I feel like the red clay already offers a sufficient contrast with the yellow ball to make those tournaments watchable. Grass court tournaments are the hardest for me as a TV watcher.<p>I did love the dark gray hardcourts they used for the Florence Open last year—made it extremely easy to see the ball.