by The first stint of the season on hardcourt has now given way to the clay season and Ons Jabeur is back with interest having already landed a trophy in Charleston. Below we look at the major tournaments leading up to the Roland Garros (French Open) Grand Slam, the current holders, and those looking to dethrone them.
Ons Jabeur Takes Revenge in Charleston
Since January, headlines have been taken by Aryna Sabalenka winning her first major trophy, while Iga Swiatek, Elena Rybakina and Belinda Bencic have also landed silverware along the way. However, those wins came on hard surfaces and as we dive into clay season these players will now fight a different set of challenges.
Clay season has already been initiated and the first WTA 500 title has gone to Ons Jabeur. The Tunisian won the Credit One Charleston Open by beating Swiss national Belinda Bencic in straight sets. Jabeur took revenge for losing last year’s final to the same Bencic, albeit having lost it in three sets in 2022.
Despite yielding this trophy to Jabeur, Bencic has already won in Adelaide and Abu Dhabi this year, and making back-to-back finals in the Charleston Open bodes for more good things to come. Having said this, Charleston requires a slightly different playing style since it is played on green clay which is harder and therefore somewhat faster than red clay, with the latter being the surface of all other major tournaments.
Stuttgart Open WTA 500
The Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, also known as the Stuttgart Open, will initiate the European leg of the clay season and will run from April 17th to April 23rd. World number one Iga Swiatek is the current defending champion, having beaten Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets (6-2; 6-2) in 2022.
Swiatek has been in recovery since Indian Wells but is back on the court and will be relishing the opportunity to defend her title in Germany. Clay is Swiatek’s favourite surface and as she eyes the third French Open title, she will want nothing more than to kick things off with a win in Stuttgart. The fact that the winner is awarded a brand new Porsche is probably also a nice additional incentive.
Meanwhile, Sabalenka made back-to-back finals in 2021 and 2022 but is yet to land the title herself, having also lost to Ashleigh Barty in 2021. The world number two is having a stellar season this year and will hope it will be third time lucky in Stuttgart, assuming she makes it to the final of course.
However, there will be plenty of top players eyeing the same prize, with almost all top ten players being confirmed to appear in the tournament, except Jessica Pegula. Ons Jabeur will certainly make a case for the title with her drop-shots being second to none. However, Belinda Bencic will also want to continue building on her good form, while Maria Sakkari and Coco Gauff will also relish the clay surface.
Madrid and Rome WTA 1000
The Stuttgart Open segues nicely into the back-to-back WTA 1000 tournaments to be held in Madrid and Rome, respectively. The Mutua Madrid Open kicks off on April 25 and will run until May 7th. Ons Jabeur made history last year as the first Arab & African woman to land a WTA 1000 title by beating Jessica Pegula in three sets. She will return to defend the title, however, as always is likely to face stiff competition. Pegula will also return with interest as she will attempt to do one better this year and land the big trophy herself.
World number one Iga Swiatek has never won the title and will make a strong case to add it to her cabinet. Meanwhile, Aryna Sabalenka won it in 2021 making her another strong contender for the title. Barbora Krejcikova and Caroline Garcia will also be in the fold and with most of the top 25 players expected to descend to Madrid, the tournament may throw up a few surprises as well.
The Internazionali BNL d’Italia Rome will follow as of May 9th and once again will feature a star-studded line-up. Back-to-back winner Iga Swiatek will want to extend her consecutive wins to three, having beaten Ons Jabeur in 2022 and Karolina Pliskova in 2021.
Both finalists will feature in Rome, along with several other top seeds including Aryna Sabalenka, Jessica Pegula, Caroline Garcia, Elena Rybakina, and more. The list of entries extends way more than the top ten list with plenty of players eyeing a strong run to lead into the big one: the Roland Garros.
Final Thoughts
The slippery surface is an uncomfortable one for many players, but for masters of topspin and sliding, clay gives the chance for plenty of trickery in between points and of course entertainment for the fans. It will be interesting to see if Iga Swiatek will dominate again or if Ons Jabeur, the queen of drop-shots, will de-throne her.
Meanwhile, in-form stars Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina will also want to stamp their authority while former champions such as Caroline Garcia and Barbora Krejcikova will eye further wins. Jessica Pegula has also had a strong hardcourt season and will want to build on last year’s progress.
However, clay season has thrown more than a few surprises in the past few years and has been a fantastic stage for new players to emerge in the women’s game. It may not be so straightforward for any of the above should someone be bold enough to spoil the party.
Photo by Jack White on Unsplash
