Donskoy Reveals an Anecdote About Nadal and the Clay Courts of Roland Garros

Clément Gehl

le 16/10/2025 à 09h15

1 min to read

Donskoy Nadal

In an interview with the media outlet Championat, Evgeny Donskoy, former world No. 65 in 2013, shared an anecdote he heard at Roland Garros about Rafael Nadal.

He states: "A player told me that he trained with Nadal on Chatrier, the main court of Roland Garros, before the tournament. Rafa, upon leaving the court, said: 'It's a bit too slow, there's too much clay.'

And the more clay there is, the slower and lower the bounce. As a result, the court slows down. But Rafa isn't the type to directly demand that things be slower or faster. He just let it go.

And that player recounts that they spent the whole night cleaning the clay, washing it. And he says: 'I come back the next day, and there's no clay left at all. And the ball bounces as if it's on concrete. All that's left is a concrete slab.'

I'm not sure if it's true. Let's call it a story. It's always been like that: the organizers want the stars to play there. However, for a reason I don't know, I don't believe they slow down the courts just so Sinner and Alcaraz can play well."