10 players to look out for this clay court season
• 3 minute read
The clay court swing is just around the corner, with a host of unmissable events on the horizon.
From the second Grand Slam of the season at Roland Garros to combined 1000 events and plenty more, you can expect to see all of the world’s best tennis stars in action and bidding to be crowned a champion on clay.
Ahead of the 2026 clay court swing, we break down the players to keep an eye on the dirt over the next couple of months.
Jack Draper
Jack Draper hit his stride on the clay during the 2025 season and the British No.2 will certainly be one to watch again this spring.
Draper well and truly left his mark on the dirt last year. He became the first British player to reach a Masters 1000 final on clay since Andy Murray in 2016, during his run to the final of the Madrid Open – narrowly losing out in three sets to Casper Ruud.
Draper backed that up by making the quarter-finals in Rome, and enjoyed a fourth round run at Roland Garros – his best performance to date.
The British star will kick-start his 2026 clay court season earlier at the Monte Carlo Masters between 4-12 April - but will he be able to build on last year’s momentum and challenge for a maiden clay court title?
Katie Boulter
12 months ago, Katie Boulter was still awaiting a first WTA tour-level win on the clay, but her fortunes quickly changed.
Inspired by her two wins during Great Britain’s Billie Jean King Cup ties against Germany and the Netherlands on the surface, Boulter went on to clinch her first win at tour-level when she beat Katerina Siniakova in the first round at the Madrid Open.
It was a win that spurred Boulter on to an impressive run at the Trophee Clarins event in Paris where she lifted the first clay court title of her career.
Boulter is fuelled with confidence already this year, having clinched her fourth WTA title at the Ostrava Open and will be gunning to translate that form onto the clay as she continues to target a return to the world’s top 50.
Casper Ruud
Few players will be more comfortable returning to clay than world No.12 Casper Ruud.
A two-time Roland Garros runner-up, Ruud has been one of the most consistent performers on the surface in recent years. The Norwegian has won 12 of his 14 ATP titles on clay, including his biggest title to date at the Madrid Open last year – his first Masters 1000 crown.
The former world No.2 will arrive as a strong contender to sweep up the big titles again and will look to challenge the likes of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner at the biggest tournaments, including Roland Garros.
Iga Swiatek
Last year, Iga Swiatek concluded the year without winning a title on the clay for the first time since 2020. The Polish star is a four-time French Open champion, having been crowned champion in 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024.
The world No.3, often referred to as the ‘Queen of Clay’, has amassed an incredible 100-15 WTA record on the surface over the last seven years, and has collected 10 titles along the way.
Amongst her greatest achievements is her record at Roland Garros. Swiatek has only lost three matches in Paris since 2019, and despite her semi-final exit last year, will no doubt be tipped as a favourite heading into this year’s tournament.
Cam Norrie
Cam Norrie is another player who will be hoping to draw on last year’s form heading into this year’s clay court swing.
After a difficult start to 2025, Norrie rediscovered his form on clay, reaching the semi-finals appearance at the Geneva Open and the fourth round at Roland Garros where he fell short to Novak Djokovic on both occasions.
Now edging closer to the world's top 20 following a quarter-final run at Indian Wells the British No.1 will be hoping to continue his exceptional patch of form heading onto the clay.
Francesca Jones
The clay is like a second home to Francesca Jones who is one of the most consistent players on the surface.
Jones has won all 11 of her career titles on the surface, and had her best swing on the surface last year where she added four titles to her fast-expanding collection. Amongst those were two WTA 125 titles in Contrexville and Palermo - marking her biggest career-titles to date.
77% of Jones’ career wins have come on the clay, with the 25-year-old having clocked 179 of on the surface. With the British No.4 heading back onto her favourite surface, she’ll be one to follow in the months ahead.
Flavio Cobolli
Outside of world No.1 Carlos Alcaraz, Italy’s Flavio Cobolli had the most successful clay court season last year on the ATP Tour.
The 23-year-old won the ATP 250 title in Bucharest before going on to defeat Andrey Rublev in the final of the Hamburg Open to haul his second clay title.
Cobolli has been in impressive form so far this season, winning the ATP 500 event in Acapulco and making the final four in Delray Beach. The world No.14 will be hoping to make a smooth transition from the hard courts when he kick starts his clay court campaign in Bucharest at the end of March.
Elina Svitolina
World No.8 Elina Svitolina has made an impressive start to her 2026 season and will look to continue her win streak heading into the clay court swing.
The Ukrainian has already hauled one title at the ASB Classic, as well as reaching the semi-final at the Australian Open and BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells and finishing runner-up at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
While Svitolina has performed consistently across all surfaces in recent years, the clay has been a happy hunting ground for the 31-year-old in previous years. She has amassed seven clay court titles in her career so far and could be likely to add another to her growing collection this year.
Neal Skupski
Neal Skupski is a former clay court champion having won the 2022 Madrid Open men's doubles title. Since then, the world No.1 has continued to impress on the red dirt, and last year made history in becoming the first British men’s doubles finalists at Roland Garros since 1936, alongside Joe Salisbury.
The Brit has already made a statement start to his season, having won the Australian Open crown on just his second tournament with new partner Christian Harrison and the pair will certainly be strong contenders at all three of the upcoming Masters 1000 events and at Roland Garros.
