Essential guide to the 2025 clay court season
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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 and we’re here to tell you everything you need to know.
This year’s stint on the clay gets underway on 25 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 8 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.
2024 clay season recap
The 2024 clay court season saw multiple players across the men’s and women’s game claim victory on the surface.
World No.2 Iga Swiatek continued to dominate on her favourite surface with the Pole picking up the Mutua Madrid Open and Italian Open titles before claiming her third successive Roland Garros crown. Meanwhile, Carlos Alcaraz reigned supreme as he won a career-first French Open title – defeating world No.1 Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev on his way to what was his third Grand Slam title.
Last year also saw former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, Madison Keys, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Casper Ruud and Arthur Fils take home the silverware at some of the biggest events of the calendar.
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, 31 March-6 April)
Monte Carlo Masters (ATP Masters 1000, 6-13 April)
Porsche Tennis Grand Prix (WTA 500, 14-21 April)
Barcelona Open (ATP 500, 14-20 April)
Mutua Madrid Open (WTA & ATP 1000, 22 April-4 May)
Rome Masters (WTA & ATP 1000, 6-18 May )
Internationaux de Strasbourg (WTA 500, 18-24 May)
Roland Garros (Grand Slam, 25 May-8 June)
Players to watch out for in the 2024 clay season
With clay court king Rafael Nadal having retired at the end of last year, the hopes of another Spanish star dominanting the clay rest firmly on reigning Roland Garros champion Alcaraz. Last clay court season saw the 21-year-old win his first French Open title – marking the eighth clay title of his young career.
Another name who will be one to watch is rising ATP Next Gen star Joao Fonseca who has already established himself one to watch this year on the ATP tour. The 18-year-old Brazilian lifted his maiden tour-level title on the clay in Argentina back in February and has quickly become a fan favourite following his rapid rise to the top.
On the WTA side, attention will turn to Qinwen Zheng who will be taking to the clay for the first time since her run to the 2024 Paris Olympics gold medal last August where she became the first Chinese player to win to win a gold medal in the singles.
Swiatek will no doubt be considered as one of the favourites to dominate on the surface after the Polish star won three titles last year. The world No.2 is still hunting down a first trophy of the 2025 season and will be hoping she can find her form in time for her favourite time of the year.
Over on the wheelchair side Britain’s Alfie Hewett will certainly be one to watch as he sets his sights on adding another clay court title to his collection. Last year saw the former world No.1 claim the Internazionali BNL D'Italia singles and doubles crown before teaming up with doubles partner Gordon Reid to seal doubles victory at Roland Garros and the Paris Paralympic Games.
With the all-British team dominating the doubles field on the Uniqlo Wheelchair Tour, we can expect them to be 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.
Cam Norrie could be another Brit to keep on your radar over the coming months. The British No.1 claimed his first clay title back in 2022 at the Lyon Open where he defeated Alex Molcan in three sets. Norrie has proven his talents on the surface across the South American clay swing as well, with the 28-year-old lifting the Rio Open title in 2023 and making the semis at the tournament once this year as well.
A host of British doubles stars have also been victorious on the surface in recent years. Four-time Grand Slam winning duo Joe Salisbury and Rajeev Ram have claimed two trophies during the European swing in Lyon (2023) and at the ATP 1000 Monte-Carlo Masters (2022), while 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.
Wheelchair tennis star Hewett has amassed a total of 15 singles titles and 11 doubles titles on the clay across his career so far. 10 of his doubles titles have been won alongside fellow Brit Gordon Reid with five Roland Garros trophies amongst their ever-growing collection. Meanwhile, Lucy Shuker has also tasted success on the surface, having clinched four singles and seven doubles titles over the years.
How to watch the 2025 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.
