| U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships | |
|---|---|
 2024 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships | |
 | |
| ATP Tour | |
| Location | Houston, Texas United States |
| Venue | River Oaks Country Club |
| Category | Grand Prix Tour (1970–89) ATP World Series (1990–1999) ATP International Series (2000–2008) ATP World Tour 250 series (2009–2018) ATP Tour 250 series (2019–present) |
| Surface | Maroon clay / outdoors |
| Draw | 28S / 16D |
| Prize money | $642,735 (2023) |
| Website | mensclaycourt.com |
| Current champions (2024) | |
| Singles |  Ben Shelton |
| Doubles |  Max Purcell Jordan Thompson |
The U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships is an annual ATP Tour tennis tournament. Founded in 1910, it has been held in nearly two dozen cities, and since 2001 has been held in Houston, Texas.[1] It currently pays out US$742,350 with the winner receiving US$100,635.[2] It is the only remaining ATP World Tour-level tournament in the United States to be played on clay courts.
The tournament began in 1910 when the Western Lawn Tennis Association (a section of the United States Lawn Tennis Association now known as the USTA/Midwest) persuaded the USLTA that a National Clay Court Championship would promote the construction of more clay courts in the West. Clay courts were cheaper to install and maintain than grass courts, and the hope was that these lower costs would accelerate the growth of the game's popularity. The first National Clay Court Championships were held at the Omaha Field Club; a crowd of 5,000 watched the finals.
Participation and play on clay grew as a result of the event and others, and in 1914, the event was moved to the Cincinnati Tennis Club. It has since been played in numerous cities. Between 1970 and 1989 it was part of the Grand Prix Tennis Tour as part of the Grand Prix Super Series of events (1974–1977). During the stint in Indianapolis, from 1969 through 1986, the tournament was a combined men's and women's event.
From 2001 to 2007, the event was held at the Houston Westside Tennis Club. In 2007, after a few years being held on the same red clay used at the French Open, the event switched to Har-Tru green clay.
In 2007, the U.S. Tennis Association sought a new venue and entertained bids from Atlanta, Georgia; Winston-Salem, North Carolina; and Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. But in May 2007, the USTA announced that the tournament would simply move downtown to River Oaks Country Club in the River Oaks neighborhood. The new venue has a stadium with seating for 3,000 with temporary seating for 500 for the second court.[3] Its Har-Tru clay, of a maroon color, was renewed in 2005 and 2008.
- ^ Clifford Terry (July 11, 1965). "Tennis by the quartz". Chicago Tribune. pp. Sunday Magazine, 16–19.
- ^ "Tournament profile". Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP).
- ^ Robertson, Dale (May 8, 2007). "Clay Courts finds new home at River Oaks". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved December 11, 2014.