Tennis Australia will put a temporary clay surface in Brisbane's Pat Rafter Arena for the Fed Cup playoff tie with the United States in April.
Played just prior to the European season, the surface is expected to provide Sam Stosur and the home side the best chance of beating the highly-ranked Americans and reclaiming a place in the World Group top tier.
Australian No.1 Stosur will enter the April 16-17 clash fresh off a week of playing on clay in Charleston and will head to Europe straight after.
Stosur also has a commendable record on clay, having made the final of the French Open in 2010 and having won the doubles there with Lisa Raymond in 2006.
She has won three of her eight WTA titles on the surface.
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
While international ties have traditionally been played on grass or hard courts in Australia, a similar decision was made for the 2011 Davis Cup clash against Japan at the same venue in 2010.
Meanwhile TA are still hopeful Daria Gavrilova will be cleared by the International Tennis Federation for the tie, dependent on the sport's eligibility rules.
They also hope Venus and Serena Williams will travel to Brisbane for the weekend, however the Americans have two other top-25 ranked players in the form of Sloane Stephens and Madison Keys to choose from.
