Pat Rafter Arena turns to clay for Fed Cup

Tennis Australia have opted for a clay surface for the April 16-17 Fed Cup clash with America in Brisbane.

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.

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.


Share

2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world