French Open 2025: Draper, Fearnley and Norrie through – but how have British men improved on clay?

British number one Draper has become a genuine force on clay, having reached the Madrid Open final last month and climbed to fifth in the world.

Fearnley, also 23, is continuing to make encouraging strides in his first full season as a professional, while 29-year-old Norrie has rediscovered his form after a testing few years.

Such progress has not happened overnight.

Former British number one Annabel Croft travelled to America to train on clay during her playing career.

“It was such an alien surface. It was like other players coming over from America and learning how to play on grass. It was like a different sport,” she said on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra.

“When you’re suddenly going on to a clay court, the ball is coming back and you learned how to construct a point.

“The whole mentality becomes something completely different.”

Last year’s first-round wipeout of British singles players prompted another inquest into the lack of British success on clay.

Historically, British players have not had as much exposure to clay courts as many of their rivals, particularly those from other European and South American nations.

The LTA said in 2024 there were about 1,300 clay-courts in Great Britain – around 5% of the 23,000 total number of courts. In contrast, about 60% of courts in Spain – one of the leading nations on the surface – are clay.

But more facilities are now being built to help the most talented youngsters gain experience on clay.