Which Grand Slam tennis tournament is played on a clay court?

The correct answer is C, French Open. Played at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris in May and June, it is the only Major contested on clay, and its red crushed brick surface slows the ball and makes it bounce high, so rallies are long and a patient baseline player is favoured.

Option A, Wimbledon, is the only Major played on grass, the fastest of the surfaces, where the ball skids low and the serve counts for far more. Option B, the Australian Open, and option D, the US Open, are both played on hard courts, an acrylic layer over concrete or asphalt whose speed sits between grass and clay. Because the French Open falls immediately before Wimbledon in the calendar, candidates often swap the two surfaces in a hurry, so it helps to remember the single sentence: only Wimbledon is grass and only the French Open is clay.