The “King of Clay”, Rafael Nadal, is returning to South America for the Golden Swing. The Golden Swing is made up of the South American clay court events that are played between the Australian Open and the first set of Masters 1000 events, Indian Wells and Miami, which are played in the United States.
What does The Golden Swing consist of
The Golden Swing consists of four clay court events made up in South America. The four events are the Ecuador Open Quito, Brazil Open, Rio Open, and the Argentina Open. Nadal has won six career titles during the Golden Swing, winning two Brazil Opens, two Mexican Opens (part of The Golden Swing until 2014), one Rio Open, and one Argentina Open. Nadal is tied for second with for most Golden Swing titles with countryman Nicolas Almagro. Only another Spaniard, David Ferrer has more than both of them with seven.
Golden Swing played at same time as the early hard court swing
During The Golden Swing, there are many other events going on throughout the tennis world. These events are the only ones played during the clay during this time of the year. Most of the other events that are being played are either on indoor hard courts or outdoor hard courts.
The most prestigious event during this time of the year on the tennis calendar is the Dubai Tennis Championships in the United Arab Emirates. The event, an ATP 500 event, usually sees some of the world’s best come to the United Arab Emirates and also offers some of the best prize money for an ATP 500 event. The Dubai Tennis Championships is one of three ATP 500 events played in February along with the Rio Open and ABN Amro World Tennis Tournament on the indoor hard courts of Amsterdam which takes place in early February