Essential guide to the 2026 clay court season
• 3 minute read
We’re fast approaching April and with that comes a shift in gear from the hard courts to the European clay court swing in the lead up to the second Grand Slam of the year at Roland Garros.
While Roland Garros is often considered the pinnacle of the clay court season, there are plenty more tournaments to get excited about in the lead up. Here's everything you need to know about the clay court season.
This year’s stint on the clay gets underway on 30 March, following the conclusion of the ‘Sunshine Double’ at Indian Wells and the Miami Open, and runs until the end of Roland Garros on Sunday 7 June.
Clay tennis courts
Clay is vastly different from the other surfaces across the tour and creates unique challenges for the world’s top tennis stars.
The ball will bounce higher and sit up more, making the pace of play much slower and allowing you more time to reach your opponent’s shots.
The loose surface you get with clay also offers you the chance to slide into positions around the ball – meaning you can push off and change direction much quicker than the grass or hard courts.
2025 clay season recap
The 2025 clay court season saw multiple players across the men’s and women’s game claim victory on the surface.
World No.1 Carlos Alcaraz dominated the surface on the ATP Tour, picking up the Monte Carlo Masters and Italian Open titles before making it back-to-back Roland Garros crowns at the end of June. The 22-year-old beat Jannik Sinner 4-6, 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(3), 7-6(2) in the final, with the five-set thriller becoming the longest French Open final in history.
Meanwhile, Casper Ruud won his first Masters 1000 title at the Mutua Madrid Open, Jenson Brooksby won the U.S. Clay Court Championships and Holger Rune edged Alcaraz to capture the Barcelona Open trophy.
On the women's side Coco Gauff lifted her second career Grand Slam title at Roland Garros after beating world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-4.
Elsewhere, Jessica Pegula was victorious at the Credit One Charleston Open, home favourite Jasmine Paolini won in Rome and Sabalenka took home the title in Madrid. Other clay court champions included Jelena Ostapenko, Elina Svitolina and Elena Rybakina.
Must-watch tournaments of the clay season
The clay season brings some of the most highly anticipated events of the year. With so many tournaments set to hit your screens from April through May, here are some of the can’t-miss events that are certain to have you on the edge of your seat.
Credit One Charleston Open (WTA 500, 30 March-5 April)
Monte Carlo Masters (ATP Masters 1000, 5-12 April)
Porsche Tennis Grand Prix (WTA 500, 13-19 April)
Barcelona Open (ATP 500, 13-19 April)
Mutua Madrid Open (WTA & ATP 1000, 21 April-3 May)
Rome Masters (WTA & ATP 1000, 5-17 May)
Internationaux de Strasbourg (WTA 500, 17-23 May)
Roland Garros (Grand Slam, 24 May-7 June)
Players to watch out for in the 2026 clay season
It goes without saying that the must-watch player of this ATP clay court swing will be Alcaraz - who will arrive on the clay with three titles to defend in Madrid, Rome and Paris. The world No.1 recorded a 22-1 win record on the surface last year and will be the one to beat heading into this year’s swing.
However, the Spaniard will face stiff competition from the rest of the field, particularly from rival Sinner who will be gunning to get his hands on a first French Open title. A win on the Parisian clay would see the Italian join Alcaraz in completing the ‘Career Slam’, giving the world No.2 some added motivation heading into the change of surface.
Meanwhile, Lorenzo Musetti enjoyed a stellar run on the clay last year, making the semi-finals or better at all three Masters 1000 events. He also hit a new milestone in reaching the final four at Roland Garros for the first time his career. The 24-year-old lost just four of the 19 matches he played on the surface last year and will be another one to watch this year.
In terms of WTA action, attention will turn to Sabalenka who proved to be one of the most consistent clay court players on the surface in 2025. Alongside her title in Madrid, the world No.1 also made finals in Paris and Stuttgart where she finished runner-up.
Until last season, Iga Swiatek was the dominant force on clay, with the Polish star winning 10 of her 25 WTA career titles on the surface. She ended last year without winning a clay court tournament for the first time in five years, but will be hoping her fortunes change in 2026.
Defending French Open champion Gauff will also be one to watch again this year, after she reached three finals on the surface in 2025.
On the wheelchair side, Britain’s Alfie Hewett will be hoping to overturn his final loss against Tokito Oda in last year’s wheelchair men’s singles final. He’ll also team up with doubles partner Gordon Reid, with the all-British pair aiming to lift their seventh successive Roland Garros doubles title.
The British duo are one of the most dominant partnerships on the Uniqlo Wheelchair Tour, so they’ll no doubt arrive on the clay as favourites for a number of tournaments across the next two months.
Past British success on the clay
Former world No.1 Andy Murray earned his first clay trophy in Munich back in 2015, which he later backed up by defeating Nadal to lift the Madrid Open title just weeks later. A year later in the most decorated year of his career, Murray sealed a maiden ATP Masters 1000 title in Rome before finishing runner-up to Djokovic at the French Open.
2025 saw Katie Boulter win her first clay title at the WTA 125 Trophee Clarins Paris. The Brit went from clocking her first tour-level win on clay at the Madrid Open in April last year to lifting her first title at the end of May, and will be another one to watch this year.
Jack Draper enjoyed his breakthrough on the surface last year, with the British No.1 finishing runner-up at the Masters 1000 event in Madrid, reaching the quarter-finals at the Italian Open and reaching the last 16 in Paris. With the three-time ATP titleholder getting back to match fitness following a six month period out due to injury, he'll be hoping to be back to his best once May rolls around.
Cam Norrie could be another Brit to keep on your radar over the coming months. The British No.2 has lifted two titles on the clay, including the Lyon Open (2022) and Rio Open (2023). Norrie continued to showcase his talents on the surface last year and was rewarded with a semi-final run at the Geneva Open and reached the fourth round at the French Open.
A host of British doubles stars have also been victorious on the surface in recent years, including Neal Skupski secured the title in Budapest alongside his brother Ken Skupski in 2019, before etching his name onto the silverware at the Mutua Madrid Open in 2022. Meanwhile, four-time Grand Slam winning duo Joe Salisbury and Rajeev Ram won two trophies during the European swing in Lyon (2023) and at the ATP 1000 Monte-Carlo Masters (2022).
How to watch the 2026 clay court season
All WTA and ATP matches across the clay court season will be available to stream exclusively on Sky Sports Tennis and Now TV.
