Three ATP Masters 1000s, two WTA 1000s, a Grand Slam, and plenty of other tour events to enjoy – this clay court season will certainly be one to remember. 

We break down five storylines to keep an eye on over the next few months on tour.  

The Brits aim to replicate title-winning form on clay 

Moving from the hard courts to the clay can take some adjusting, but there are several British stars who have shown they have title-winning talent on the surface. 

Francesca Jones has won all 11 of her career titles on the surface and has grown up competing on clay. In 2025, she claimed her first two WTA 125 trophies on the surface, which helped catapult her inside the world’s top 100 

Last year, Katie Boulter won her maiden title on clay at the WTA 125 Trophée Clarins Paris, only a few weeks after winning her first tour-level match on the red dirt. 

British No.1 Cam Norrie has won two of his five ATP titles on clay as well – the first coming in Lyon back in 2022, before then defeating Carlos Alcaraz in the final of Rio de Janeiro in 2023. 

In doubles, world No.1 Neal Skupski is a former Madrid Masters champion and finished runner-up at Roland Garros last year, Henry Patten has two clay court titles, and British duo Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool reached the Monte-Carlo Masters final in 2025. 

Alfie Hewett is also a three-time Roland Garros singles champion and has won the men’s doubles title six years in a row alongside Gordon Reid. 

With past experiences and successes behind the Brits this year – who will get their hands on silverware in 2026?   

Jack Draper sets his sights on silverware 

Former world No.4 Jack Draper enjoyed the best clay court season of his career last year, but it came at a cost, with the Brit picking up an injury that would eventually keep him sidelined after Wimbledon. 

Coming onto the clay after winning his first ATP Masters 1000 title in Indian Wells, Draper was full of confidence, and the results that followed speak for themselves. He reached another Masters 1000 final in Madrid, made the quarter-finals of Rome, and a career-best fourth round at the French Open. 

This year, the Briton gets set to start his clay court season having played only three tournaments, but having shown signs of getting back to his best. Draper recorded a career-first win over 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic at Indian Wells but had early exits in Dubai and Miami. 

Draper will now be laser-focused on stringing together some results on the clay – a surface where he’s shown he can beat the very best players in the world – whilst still trying to manage a full tour schedule once again. 

Who will be the queen of clay? 

The 2026 clay court season looks to be one of the most open we’ve seen on the WTA Tour. 

Last year’s Roland Garros champion Coco Gauff has picked up form in Miami and is coming back to a surface that really suits her game style. 

Iga Swiatek has been the dominant force on clay this decade with four French Open titles. However, 2025 was the first season of her career that she didn’t win a title on the surface, a statistic she’ll be hoping to rectify over the next few months. 

Aryna Sabalenka’s reign at the summit of the world rankings continued with an Indian Wells title this month, and the three-time Marid Open champion will be hoping to break new ground this year after losing the 2025 Roland Garros final. 

Elena Rybakina is a former Rome champion but has never made it past the quarter-finals in Paris. Jasmine Paolini has been to a French Open final and is always a strong contender on clay. Then you have the rest of the chasing pack – Jessica Pegula, Amanda Anisimova, Elina Svitolina and more. 

Safe to say, it’s all up for grabs in what is set to be an exciting clay court swing. 

Sincaraz rivalry to re-ignite 

The rivalry between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner reached a whole new level in 2025 and became the storyline of the season. 

The duo contested three of the four Grand Slam finals – including one of the greatest major finals of all-time as the Spaniard saved three championship points as he came back from two sets down to win his second French Open title. 

They played each other six times last year, in six different finals, but are yet to face each other so far in 2026 – could that be set to change during the clay court season? 

Despite their six meetings last year, the two didn’t meet until the Rome Masters final in May, and the three ATP Masters 1000 events on clay could see our first clash between the two. 

So far this year, Alcaraz completed his career Grand Slam at the Australian Open and went on a 23-match winning streak, while Sinner has been the dominant force in the Sunshine Swing. 

The Spaniard currently leads the head-to-head 10-6, but could that all be about to change? 

Breakout stars look to continue early season form 

There are storylines galore everywhere you look in tennis at the moment, with several young stars making their breakthroughs in the first few months of the year. 

On the WTA side, Canadian Victoria Mboko has taken her game from strength-to-strength. While she came to the forefront after winning the Canadian Masters last season, the 19-year-old has produced a consistently high level this year, breaking into the top 10 and becoming the highest ranked teenager in the world. 

Fellow teen star Iva Jovic has also enjoyed an impressive start to the year with a quarter-final run at the Australian Open, and 21-year-old Australian Talia Gibson is one to keep an eye on after coming through qualifying to make the Indian Wells quarter-finals. 

On the men’s side, American Learner Tien has been one of the best players of the year so far – making quarter-finals in Melbourne and Indian Wells, as well as a semi-final at Delray Beach. 

He leads a list of young American stars who have started the season strong, including Alex Michelsen and Ethan Quinn as well. 

There are several other rising stars to watch out for on the clay as well. Spain’s Rafael Jodar and Martin Landaluce have made headlines in the early parts of the season, as well as 17-year-old French ace Moise Kouame, who became the youngest player to win an ATP Masters 1000 match in Miami.