It feels like we’ve just witnessed Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner secure the Sunshine Double, but before we could finish saying ‘adios, Miami’, the tour had already moved onto the clay, and the first week of tournaments on the dirt was done and dusted.
Jessica Pegula successfully defended her Charleston title on the green clay on Sunday, Marie Bouzkova triumphed on red clay in Bogota, while three champions were crowned at ATP 250 clay events in Bucharest, Marrakesh, and Houston.
Things shift gears on both tennis tours this month, though, with the first ATP Masters 1000 clay tournament of the season kicking off this week in Monte-Carlo, and the top women of the WTA set to descend on Stuttgart for the 500-level event there next week.
Here are some of the main talking points fluttering around as we officially slide into the clay-court swing.
In-form Sinner has chance to unseat Alcaraz
Sinner arrives in Monte-Carlo carrying a 12-match win streak, having swept the titles in Indian Wells and Miami last month, without dropping a set.
Riding a record run of 34 consecutive sets won at Masters 1000 level, Sinner is looking to become the first man since Novak Djokovic in 2015 to win the opening three Masters 1000 tournaments of the season.
The Italian missed half of the clay-court swing last season as he was serving a doping suspension and only played Rome and Roland Garros, reaching the final in both.
He has a golden opportunity to reclaim the No 1 ranking from his rival Carlos Alcaraz, who went 22-1 on clay last year, clinching titles in Monte-Carlo, Rome and Roland Garros.
As the defending champion this week, Alcaraz will be under pressure from Sinner, who trails the Spaniard by 1,190 points in the rankings but can close the gap if results go his way.
Sinner must reach at least the semi-finals in the Principality to have a chance of dethroning Alcaraz this tournament.
According to atptour.com, Sinner would move back up to No 1 if he claims the Monte-Carlo trophy, irrespective of Alcaraz’s result. Other scenarios that could see Sinner end the week at the summit would be a semi-final finish for the Italian, combined with a pre-quarter-final exit for Alcaraz. If Sinner makes the final and Alcaraz does not, the top spot will go to Sinner.
Any other scenario will see Alcaraz hold onto his position for at least another week.
Meanwhile, Alcaraz, who won his first 16 consecutive matches of the year and became the youngest man in history to complete the career Grand Slam when he lifted the Australian Open trophy in Melbourne, lost a bit of his momentum last month with a semi-final loss to Daniil Medvedev in Indian Wells and a third-round defeat to Sebastian Korda in Miami.
The 22-year-old from Murcia has a total sum of 4,330 points to defend this clay season and will need to recapture his early season form if he wants to halt Sinner’s progress.
Sabalenka on a roll
March was incredibly kind to Sabalenka, who got engaged, got a new dog, and scooped the titles in Indian Wells and Miami all in the span of four weeks.
The Belarusian world No 1 is the most dominant player on tour but has struggled in several finals before steadying the ship and achieving the Sunshine Double in the US.
Sabalenka is a four-time Grand Slam champion but has yet to secure a major on natural surfaces, with her previous triumphs all on hard courts (twice at the Australian Open and twice at the US Open).
She went 17-3 on clay last season, winning the WTA 1000 in Madrid and making the finals in Stuttgart and Roland Garros, and will be looking to build on that over the next eight weeks.
Sabalenka has lost just one match of the 24 she contested in 2026 – an Australian Open final defeat to Elena Rybakina – and will be out to extend her 12-match winning streak in Stuttgart next week.
When asked in Miami how she keeps her motivation up, the soon-to-be 28-year-old said: “Motivation, guys, I'm not even, like, close to the legends. Like what's my motivation? I'm just trying to go as far as possible in this sport and to inspire the next generation.”
Swiatek to debut new coaching partnership
The clay season typically belongs to Iga Swiatek, who has won four of the past six editions of Roland Garros, and is the best clay-court player on tour.
The Polish world No 4 had a difficult time on the red dirt last year, though, going trophyless on her favourite surface.
She made a somewhat surprising run to the Wimbledon title last July but has, overall, had up-and-down results under the tutelage of Belgian coach Wim Fissette, with whom she parted ways after an early exit in Miami last month, ending their year-and-a-half partnership.
A few days ago, Swiatek announced she has added Rafael Nadal’s former long-time coach Francisco Roig to her team and has been preparing for the clay season at Nadal’s academy in Mallorca.
Footage posted online by the academy showed that Nadal himself joined Swiatek and Roig on court, and the 22-time Grand Slam champion was seen giving her pointers during a practice session.
Swiatek, who grew up idolising Nadal and believes in his philosophy of tireless work ethic and playing unrelenting tennis, told sport.pl in an interview that she “didn’t feel fully secure in my game lately, and wasn’t at my best in terms of confidence, which was also visible on court.”
The former world No 1 told the Polish outlet that she wants to get back to feeling “like a wall” on court, and to recapture the fundamentals that made her the most solid player on tour for many years.
If that’s what she’s looking for then the Rafa Nadal Academy sounds like the best place to find it. The six-time major champion is expected back on the competition court next week in Stuttgart.
Opportunity for Rybakina
Elena Rybakina has arguably been the best player on tour since last September, clinching the WTA Finals and the Australian Open titles to move up to No 2 in the world rankings.
Only Sabalenka could stop her in Indian Wells and Miami (in the final and semi-finals, respectively) and she now has the chance to chip away at the 2,917-point gap that separates her from the world No 1.
Rybakina was a modest 9-3 on clay last season, with early exits in Madrid and Rome, before she gathered some form with a title run in Strasbourg and a fourth-round showing in Roland Garros.
With just 870 points to defend on clay, the Kazakhstani big-server can gain ground on Sabalenka, and distance herself from Coco Gauff and the rest of the chasing pack.
Pegula has tools to disrupt, Gauff back on beloved clay
Fifth-ranked Pegula has won the most matches on the WTA Tour so far this season, with her title run on green clay in Charleston bringing her win-loss record to 24-4 in 2026.
Three of her four losses this campaign came against Rybakina and the American continues to prove to be a reliable force on tour, going deep at all the big events.
Besides her success in Charleston on Sunday, Pegula won the WTA 1000 tournament in Dubai in February, made the semis in Brisbane and the Australian Open, and the quarters in Indian Wells and Miami.
She’ll be one to watch this clay season.
Meanwhile, Gauff received a much-needed boost by reaching the final in Miami, where she was nursing a nerve issue in her arm that nearly ruled her out of the tournament.
The world No 3 led the tour on clay last season, with an 18-3 record, including a title at the French Open, and final appearances in Madrid and Rome.
Gauff has loads of points to defend over the next eight weeks, but her wholesome runner-up speech in Miami indicates the American is in a good headspace entering this critical part of her season.
“I had a lot of joy this week and that’s something I’m taking away from this the most,” said Gauff on court, who described her time in Miami as “two weeks of gratitude”.
Zverev, Musetti lead chasing pack in Monaco
Seeded No 3 and No 4 behind Alcaraz and Sinner, Alexander Zverev and Lorenzo Musetti will lead the rest of the field in Monte-Carlo this week.
Zverev has reached the semi-finals at five of his past six Masters 1000 events, but still seeks his first final since his title run at the Paris Masters in 2024.
Musetti is one of the best clay-courters on tour and made his first Masters 1000 final in Monte-Carlo 12 months ago.
The Italian was an impressive 19-4 on the red dirt last season, making the semi-finals in Madrid, Rome and Roland Garros, alongside his runner-up showing in Monte-Carlo.
Musetti missed Miami, citing an arm injury, and said he wanted to take the time to prepare well for the clay season.
“The clay season for me has always been, probably, my favourite part of the year. Of course, last year I had great memories in Monaco and hopefully this year will be even better,” he told the tournament’s YouTube channel.
Novak Djokovic, who made the Australian Open final early this year and has contested just three matches since, has chosen not to play in Monte-Carlo and is scheduled to kick off his clay campaign in Madrid later this month.
