The clay season is officially underway, with the tennis world shifting to the red dirt until the big finale at Roland Garros in June.

This Week’s Tournaments:
US Men’s Clay Court Championship – Houston, TX USA
Grand Prix Hassan II – Marrakech, Morocco

Americans In Action In Houston
The US Men’s Clay Court Championship in Houston is the only ATP clay court event in North America.  Most of the US men are in action this week – John Isner, Jack Sock, Stevie Johnson, Sam Querrey lead the pack along with rising stars Francis Tiafoe, Tommy Paul, and Reilly Opelka.

Indian Wells-Miami Double Winners
Winning the Indian Wells and Miami double is one of the toughest tasks in tennis.  This year,  5 of the 6 champions in Indian Wells also took home titles in Miami.  Novak Djokovic won the double for a record 3rd year in a row.  Victoria Azarenka was the first women’s singles player to pull off the double since Kim Clijsters in 2005.  The French duo Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut continue to impress and added the 2 Masters 1000 titles to their growing list.  American Bethany Mattek-Sands teamed up with Lucie Safarova this time to win Miami.

Davis Cup Venue Announcements
We’ve been (im)patiently waiting for news on where the next Team USA tie will be since they booked their spot in the quarterfinals in March.   Per the Davis Cup Twitter, the venue for the USA vs Croatia tie happening in July will be announced on April 25th! (fingers crossed for an East Coast spot!)

John Isner Splits with Coach Justin Gimelstob
Justin Gimelstob announced in a statement on his website he will no longer be working with top American John Isner for personal reasons.  The pair worked together for just over a year.  We’re looking forward to seeing who John adds to his team.