Welcome to the Dance: Master Clay to Master Tennis

Description

Australians traditionally don't pay much attention to clay court tennis, although this attitude changed somewhat in 2019, when Queensland's Ash Barty won the French Open on the red clay of Roland Garros. The magic of clay had also eluded Paul McNamee until he played in Paris as an 18-year-old. He says, of that experience: "My life changed forever." Welcome to the Dance is his ode to clay court tennis, what he describes as his "soul food". It describes his journey as he sought to unravel the complexities of clay - from that first experience, a lesson learnt at the hands of 41-year-old Bolivian Pancho Gorostiaga, to the day he triumphed over John McEnroe on the centre court of Roland Garros at the 1980 French Open. Welcome to the Dance is not just McNamee's journey to understanding the nuances of clay, but it shows how to appreciate this holistic surface, to love its personality. Understanding clay is the gateway to improving your tennis, no matter what level you may be, or on what court you play.

Paul McNamee AM was the winner of five Grand Slam doubles titles, and 24 doubles titles world-wide. He was a semi-finalist in the Australian Open and reached a singles ranking of 24 in 1986. 2020 represents the 40th anniversary of his win (with Peter McNamara) of the Wimbledon doubles championship. Since his first match on the clay courts of Roland Garros in 1973, in a qualifying round for the French Open, he has developed a love of the clay. Paul McNamee's career is long and varied. He was a champion tennis player, particularly in the craft of doubles, and, on retirement, he held many administrative roles. In 1988, he developed the highly successful Hopman Cup in Perth - named for his mentor Harry Hopman - and later was the chief executive of the Australian Open, until 2006. In 2006 and 2007 he was the executive chairman of the Australian Open golf championships and was CEO of the Melbourne Football Club in 2008. He is a great thinker about sport - and how to market sport in a positive and entrepreneurial manner. Since 2011, he has coached Su-Wei Hsieh who became Taiwan's first Grand Slam winner, in the 2013 Wimbledon Doubles, beating the Australian pair, Casey Dellacqua and Ash Barty. She has also won the doubles title in the French (2014), and again at Wimbledon (2019).