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The final frontier in Jannik Sinner’s career could be reached over the next few weeks, with the perception that he is not at his best on clay courts backed up by comments from the reigning Wimbledon champion.

Sinner was a point away from winning the French Open title on two occasions in last year’s epic final against Carlos Alcaraz, with the Roland Garros epic evidence that the Italian can be a master on the red dirt.

The level of play served up by the best two players in the men’s game for over five hours instantly saw the match entered into the pantheon of the all-time greats in the history of tennis, with Sinner’s brilliant performance eventually overshadowed by the genius of Alcaraz.

Being second best in the greatest clay court tennis match ever seen was hardly evidence that Sinner cannot perform at his best on clay courts, even though he has previously suggested the surface presents him with his biggest challenges.

Sinner grew up playing on clay courts in northern Italy and while he may not feel entirely natural on the surface, he has all the tools to thrive over the next few weeks.

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His movement is immaculate, with the skills her honed when he was a high-level junior skier working to his advantage as he glides and slides around clay courts.

Immaculate ball striking is also a vital ingredient for clay court success, with the changing nature of the surface over the last couple of decades meaning a powerful and well-directed serve is a key facet of a winning armoury.

The variety Sinner is keen to add to his game is also important on the surface, with Alcaraz highlighting how significant the drop shot can be to keep an opponent off balance on clay.

Sinner is adding elements to his game with each passing month and his flawless displays as he completed the ‘Sunshine Double’ by winning the Indian Wells and Miami Masters titles last month highlighted the latest sublime level the Italian has taken his game to.

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After Alcaraz became the youngest male player to complete the career Grand Slam when he succeeded Sinner as Australian Open champion in January, the big rivalry at the top of men’s tennis is set to be renewed on clay between now and the French Open final in June.

After coming so close to glory at Roland Garros last year, Sinner will already be eyeing up the chance to add the final Grand Slam to his collection when this year’s clay court run reaches a crescendo in Paris.

READ NEXT: Alcaraz and Sinner set for winner takes all match to be No 1 in Monte-Carlo

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Mirra Andreeva will be the top seed for Linz Open and she will face either a former US Open winner or a German veteran in her opening match at the Austrian tournament.

World No 10 Andreeva was not initially on the entry list, but she accepted a late wildcard and – as the highest-ranked player in the field – she went onto the first line of the draw sheet and earned a bye in the second round in the process.

The 18-year-old will face either 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens, who also entered after receiving a wildcard, or the 38-year-old Tatjana Maria in her first encounter.

If she gets past Stephens or Maria, Andreeva is projected to face fifth seed Sorana Cirstea in the quarter-final while fourth seed Jelena Ostapenko is a likely semi-final opponent.

Ostapenko, though, will have to get past either World No 87 Julia Grabher or world No 45 Alex Eala in the second round.

Rising star Eala, who is making her debut at the WTA 100 tournament, is playing in her first clay-court event of the season with her last tournament the Miami Open on the hard-courts in Florida where she reached the round of 16.

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The winner of the Ostapenko/Grabher/Eala match will likely face seventh seed Ann Li in the quarter-final. The American takes on Dayana Yastremska first up before a meeting with either Katie Boulter or Elena-Gabriela Ruse.

Defending champion Ekaterina Alexandrova headlines the bottom section as the second seed and she will face either former world No 1 Karolina Pliskova or a qualifier in the second round.

A quarter-final encounter against eighth seed Sara Bejlek is on the cards, but the Czech faces Panna Udvardy first up and if she gets past the Hungarian, she will take on a qualifier in the second round.

If the seeds hold, then Alexandrova will meet third seed Liudmila Samsonova in the semi-final.

The Russian will meet either rising Austrian star Lili Tagger, who is just 18, or former world No 2 Paula Badosa in the second round, while she is projected to face sixth seed Jaqueline Cristian in the last eight.

Projected Quarter-Finals

Andreeva v Cirstea
Ostapenko v Li
Cristian v Samsonova
Bejlek v Alexandrova

The tournament has been hit hard by withdrawals with Grand Slam winners Barbora Krejcikova, Marketa Vondrousova and Emma Raducanu all pulling out before the draw was made.

Daria Kasatkina, Emma Navarro, Antonia Ruzic and Clara Tauson were the other players to withdraw on the eve of the WTA 500 event.

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Former British No 1 Greg Rusedski has revealed why he has decided to join the coaching team of French rising star Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.

World No 59 Perricard was forced to seek out a new coach after the sudden exit of Francisco Roig, after he walked out on their new coaching partnership to join Iga Swiatek’s team.

Perricard started his adventure with experienced coach Roig after the Spaniard parted company with 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu after the Australian Open in January.

But their working relationship came to an end in a sudden fashion when Roig accepted an offer to become the principal coach to former world No 1 Swiatek after she split with Wim Fissette after the Miami Open last month.

Now he has teamed up with 1997 US Open runner-up Rusedski, who spoke about his move back into coaching in an episode of his latest podcast.

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“I got a call whether it’d be interesting to work with Giovanni,” said Rusedski, who previously coached former world No 1 Victoria Azarenka.

“For some reason, they wanted another big server to work with another big server! And I decided I would give it a go.

“So I came out here to Monte Carlo and I’ve been here three or four days on court with the young man. It’s going well. It’s an interesting project, so we’re having a trial at the moment, which goes all the way to the end of Wimbledon.

“If you have a project that interests you, you have got to give it a go and try it.

“I’ve always watched his game. I’ve always looked at him as a very talented player. I feel like there are a lot of areas we can work on and improve.

“And he’s such a nice guy. So, you know, you look at the personality and what you can improve. And for the first three days, it’s gone very, very well. And, you know, you’ve got to have a few weeks together to see if the relationship will build and you can get that momentum.”

Rusedski’s arrival in the Perricard team comes after Roig’s swift departure, with the Frenchman unimpressed by the decision of the Spaniard to join Swiatek’s team.

“With Francisco, the plan was to continue at least until the grass season, but after Miami, he decided to end the relationship,” began the Frenchman to L’Equipe.

“However, up to that point, everything had been going very well. We were going to meet for a training week in Spain.

“It was my agent who informed me. He didn’t tell me directly. I trusted his word, what he could bring to the table. To throw all that away so quickly seems like a shame to me. Then, it’s a tough, ruthless world.

“I had never seen anything like it. It was very surprising and disappointing. But it will serve to develop myself.

“I prefer to draw something positive from these situations rather than something negative. It will make me stronger, even in life.”

“We had just started, there wasn’t a special bond, and it was harder to split from Manu (Planque).

“But it took me half a day to process it. Was it my fault? Not really.

“I had nothing to do with it, especially considering the videos that came out quickly (with Swiatek). But personally, I don’t think this project was put together in 24 hours.”

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He also spoke warmly about Rusedski joining his team as he added: “We were in touch when I was looking for a coach. He was very interested.

“Additionally, he had a playing style similar to mine: big server, net presence, and offensive. I was convinced he could help me. And I thought, ‘Why not give it a try?’”

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Iva Jovic and Madison Keys both fell at the penultimate hurdle at the Charleston Open and only the latter earned a small boost in the rankings with her run to the semi-final.

The fourth-seeded Jovic beat Alycia Parks, 16th seed Sofia Kenin and eighth seed Anna Kalinskaya to reach the last four, but she came up against a determined Jessica Pegula and the defending champion was not going to be denied a second consecutive final.

The top seed kept her title defence going with a fourth consecutive three-set win as she beat the rising star 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 to deny her a third WTA Tour final.

But Pegula had nothing but praise for her fellow American after the match when she was asked what impressed her about the 18-year-old in her post-match press conference, she replied: “I think it’s her mentality and her maturity.

“I mean, she’s already a very good player, but I do think that in this sport, you know, being able to stay very poised and mature, especially for her age and where she’s at and how everything’s so new, she seems to be handling it exceptionally exceptionally hat’s going to take her very far especially at such a young age.”

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Fifth seed Keys, meanwhile, went down in straight sets against the unseeded Yuliia Starodubtseva.

After a battling three-set win over third seed Belinda Bencic in the quarter-final, the American lost 6-1, 6-4 against the Ukrainian.

“Maddie is a great opponent,” Starodubtseva said after the match. “I’ve watched a lot of her matches. It’s not easy to take on someone like that.

“Staying solid, staying aggressive is the key. I know I had a shaky moment at (5-3) where I didn’t hold, but I had to get through it and play aggressively.”

WTA Ranking Points Earned In Charleston

Jovic started the WTA 500 event at a career-high No 16 in the rankings, but her run to the semi-final was not good enough to move up.

A semi-final appearance is worth 195 points, but with the WTA using a rolling 52-week cumulative system, the teenager dropped 30 points from Bogota 12 months ago at the start of the tournament.

It means she will add only 165 points to her tally and will remain at No 16, but she is now just 54 points behind Naomi Osaka in 15th place.

Former world No 5 Keys was defending 60 points from her round of 16 appearance at Charleston in 2025 so she effectively earned 135 points and that helped her to move up one place to No 18 and she is 109 points behind Jovic.

Prize Money Earned In Charleston

Jovic – who finished runner-up at the Hobart International and reached the quarter-final of the Australian Open this year – had earned $693,498 so far this year before the Charleston Open with her career tally sitting at $1,819,246.

The 18-year-old will add another $110,370 to her total following her semi-final appearance, as will Keys.

2025 Australian Open champion Keys was on $419,116 prize money for the year while her career total was just over $23m.

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Iga Swiatek’s ex-coach, Wim Fissette, has spoken out for the first time since their sudden split, stating that the move is ‘part of the job’ and that he is ‘really happy’ to have been part of the Pole’s team.

The six-time Grand Slam champion announced the split just days after her shock opening-match loss at the Miami Open.

Since then, Swiatek has teamed up with Spaniard Francisco Roig, who coached 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal for nearly two decades.

In recent days, the trio have been seen in action at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca.

The Pole and Fissette first came together in October 2024, after Swiatek parted ways with Tomasz Wiktorowski, continuing for 17 months.

Prior to his most recent coaching role, Fissette also worked with the likes of Kim Clijsters, Naomi Osaka, Angelique Kerber, Victoria Azarenka, Simona Halep, and Johanna Konta.

“There are some teams that can stay really calm under, let’s say, difficult conditions,” analysed Fissette during his interview with The Athletic.

“Others feel like something needs to change.

“As in every sport, it’s always first the coach that has to go. At the highest level in sports, this is part of the job. You have to accept that.

“They were almost unbeatable for a few years. The expectations are going to be super high. Every loss will hurt extra. I was aware of the difficulties in this project.

“It was impossible to do better. But I was still really happy that I took the challenge, and happy with what we achieved. Iga is such an extraordinary player and athlete.”

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Swiatek and Fissette’s parting of ways was rumoured for months, after a disappointing 2026.

Whilst the pair won their first Grand Slam together at Wimbledon in 2025, this season produced quarter-final losses at the Australian Open (to Elena Rybakina), Qatar Open (Maria Sakkari), and Indian Wells (Elina Svitolina).

At the Miami Open, compatriot and world No 50 Magda Linette battled from a set down to snap Swiatek’s streak of 73 consecutive opening-match victories.

“If you look at the best players in the world in the past 20 years, it’s, ‘How can I learn to improve and to develop? ‘” added Fissette.

“Especially after losses, it was difficult to look at the development instead of like, OK, ‘Let’s just keep trying to do what was working.’

“She has been working with the same people for a lot of years, and she’s been super successful for years.

“It’s normal that in, let’s say, challenging times, that she kind of goes back to these people or maybe wants more from these people.

“Sometimes it just takes a hard time. It takes something that happens to make you do it.”

Swiatek’s announcement of the split remarked upon both their successes and the more recent challenges.

“After many months of working together with my coach I’ve decided to take a different path,” the Pole stated on social media.

“It was an intense time full of challenges and many important experiences.

“I’m grateful for his support, experience, and everything we achieved together – including one of my biggest dreams in sport.

“Wim, thank you for this time and for the lessons I’ve learned thanks to you. I wish you all the best — both professionally and personally.”

Swiatek’s next event is scheduled to be the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, taking place from April 13 – 19.

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Jannik Sinner believes his success over the Sunshine Double will pay dividends during the clay-court season, though he insists his focus is not on the world No 1 ranking.

The Italian made history in the United States by becoming the first male player to win both the Indian Wells Masters and the Miami Open in the same season without dropping a set.

Sinner bounced back from tough defeats at the Australian Open (to Novak Djokovic) and the Qatar Open (to Jakub Mensik), entering the clay-court season on a 12-match winning streak.

Additionally, he has now been victorious in 34 consecutive sets in ATP Masters 1000 matches.

Sinner will next compete at the Monte-Carlo Masters, which takes place from April 5 – 12 and marks the beginning of the clay-court season.

“We have worked hard,” analysed the world No 2 during his pre-tournament press conference.

“It is a different surface; we all know that it is more physically demanding.

“Last year I played well on this surface, so we’ll see how it goes for me this year.

“But I believe that doing very long sessions under the heat helped me a lot, and in the United States, I didn’t struggle with that.”

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12 months ago, Sinner was forced to withdraw from events in both Monte Carlo and Madrid, due to accepting a 90-day ban after failing two doping tests.

He returned at the Italian Open and reached the final, before doing the same at the French Open – losing both showpiece matches to Carlos Alcaraz.

At his first clay-court event of the year, the four-time Grand Slam champion will open against either Ugo Humbert or Moise Kouame, with a potential third-round clash with Stefanos Tsitipas.

Sinner’s best result in Monaco came via semi-final appearances in both 2023 and 2024, losing a nail-biter to the Greek in the latter after an incorrect line call proved crucial.

“It is a good tournament to play in any case,” commented the world No 2.

“It is a good tournament as preparation for the upcoming tournaments.

“Having the opportunity to play at least one official match is important, and then sleeping at home, feeling at home here, is a very positive thing.”

At the moment, Sinner is just 1190 ranking points behind world No 1 Alcaraz.

If the Italian were to lift the trophy in Monaco, he would surpass the Spaniard – who is defending 1000 points – in the rankings and claim the top spot for the first time since September 2025.

Despite the close race, Sinner insists that his focus lies on tournament results and self-improvement, rather than his ranking.

“When you are an elite player, you play to win trophies,” added the two-time semi-finalist.

“The ranking points, in a way, are secondary. It is not a single tournament that defines if someone is number one or number two.

“For me, it is a tournament that I enjoy playing, and I am very happy to be here.

“Of course, I try to win as many matches as possible.”

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Iga Swiatek has cut a frustrated figure in recent months, but she was all smiles as she started the next chapter of her career under the watchful eye of new coach Francisco Roig and the great Rafael Nadal.

The six-time Grand Slam winner has endured a difficult start to the 2026 season as she started the year at No 2, but has slipped to No 2 with Elena Rybakina and Coco Gauff overtaking her. Swiatek has a win-loss record of 12-6 as she is yet to make it past the quarter-final of a WTA Tour event.

There have been several incidents of annoyance and exasperation on court from the Pole in recent months and it all came to head at the Miami Open when she was stunned in the second round by Magda Linette.

After the tournament, she announced her decision to split from coach Wim Fissette, who joined her setup in October 2024, and earlier this week she announced that Roig, who was part of Nadal’s team for all 22 of his Grand Slam titles, as her new mentor.

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Swiatek’s first training session with Roig took place at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca and tennis great Nadal was on hand to provide some tips.

The academy’s official social media channels took an opportunity to post photos and videos of Swiatek, Roig and Nadal on the clay courts, stating: “It’s not just training, it’s a whole vibe.”

It shows a different picture from the Swiatek that has been quite downcast in recent months, as if a weight has been lifted off her shoulders.

And the former world No 1 took took to Instagram to thank King of Clay Nadal for “making her feel at home”.

“Training, learning and embracing each day here in Mallorca. Thank you @rafaelnadal for making me feel at home,” she wrote.

The Pole admitted during an interview with Sport.pl ahead of the Roig announcement that she “wasn’t feeling good on court”.

“I felt it was simply time for a change. Yes, it wasn’t a decision made in Miami — it was a longer process during which I carefully considered everything,” she said.

“During the tournament in Doha, I realised I wasn’t feeling as good on court as I had before.

“Of course, different tournaments can have different reasons for a poor performance – sometimes I just know I wasn’t focused that day, sometimes my forehand was failing, sometimes something else. It happens. But I felt like I wasn’t playing as well, and that’s why I started losing confidence.

“After my loss to Maria Sakkari [in Doha], we sat down and had a long talk. We discussed what to change and how to approach the following week so I could get back to my solid game.

“And indeed, we made some progress before Indian Wells. But when I considered the whole picture, I decided I needed a change.”

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World No 1 Carlos Alcaraz could face the retiring Stan Wawrinka in his opening match at the Monte Carlo Masters while second seed Jannik Sinner faces a tricky path.

Defending champion Alcaraz – who is coming off a shock third-round exit from the Miami Open – has a bye into the second round and he will face the winner of the Wawrinka-Sebastian Baez match.

Alcaraz is yet to meet Wawrinka – who is retiring at the end of the year – in a top-level match while he has a 3-0 record against Baez.

Although both players are lowly ranked with three-time Grand Slam winner Wawrinka sitting at No 94 and Argentine Baez at No 50, they are formidable on clay as both have won seven titles on the surface.

Former No 3 Wawrinka, of course, won the 2014 Monte Carlo Masters and the 2015 French Open on clay while six of Baez’s seven titles have been on the red dirt.

If the seedings hold, then Alcaraz will face 14th seed Frances Tiafoe in the third round and eighth seed Alexander Bublik in the quarter-finals, although the latter will likely have to get past 11th seed Jir Lehecka in the third round.

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Alcaraz beat Lorenzo Musetti in the 2025 final, but there won’t be a repeat of that in the 2026 final as they are projected to meet in the semi-final.

Mussetti is seeded fourth and will face either Valentin Vacherot or Kamil Majchrzak in the second round while he could take on fifth seed Alex de Minaur – who opens his campaign against either Cameron Norrie or Miomir Kecmanovic – in the last eight.

World No 2 Sinner could replace Alcaraz at No 1 in the ATP Rankings if he outperforms the Spaniard, but he has a difficult path.

The four-time Grand Slam winner will take on either Ugo Humbert or rising French teenager Moise Kouame in the second round while he could face three-time Monte Carlo Masters champion Stefanos Tsitsipas or Francisco Cerundolo in the third round.

Sixth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime – who faces either Marin Cilic or a qualifier first up – is a potential quarter-final opponent for Sinner, but the Canadian will most likely have to get past ninth seed Casper Ruud in the third round.

Third seed Alexander Zverev headlines Section 3, but it is a real nightmare as it also contains seventh seed Daniil Medvedev and 13th seed Andrey Rublev.

Zverev will start against either Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard or a qualifier and could face 2023 Monte Carlo champion Rublev in the third round. If he gets past those players, then he is projected to meet Medvedev in the quarter-final.

Medvedev leads his rivalry with Zverev 14-8, having won 13 of the last 16 matches between the pair, although the German did win their most recent match at the 2025 Paris Masters.

But whoever comes through that section will likely face Sinner for a place in the final before a potential clash with Alcaraz on the Sunday.

Projected Quarter-Finals

Alcaraz v Bublik
Musetti v De Minaur
Medvedev v Zverev
Auger-Aliassime v Sinner

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The clay court season is upon us and for five of the game’s biggest names, the stakes are about to get very high.

With the tennis ranking system based around a model that sees players attempting to defend the points they collected from the same phase of the previous year, there could be some high-profile dips in fortune on the agenda over the next few weeks.

Here is your Tennis365 guide to the players with the most to lose in the clay court phase of the ATP Tour.

Carlos Alcaraz

Points to defend on clay: 4,300

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The world No 1 will face huge pressure as he heads to Monte Carlo trying to defend the title he won so impressively last year.

Anything less than another victory in that tournament will see Alcaraz’s ranking take a hit and he will then have 330 points to defend from his run to to the final of last year’s Barcelona Open.

Throw in his 1,000 ranking points from his win at the Rome Masters last year and the 2,000 points on his record from his second successive Roland Garros title and this is a period of the year when Alcaraz will struggle to improve on his ranking.

If he fails to match the remarkable standards he achieved last year, it will open the door for Jannik Sinner to close the gap further in the race for top spot in the ATP Rankings.

Verdict: Alcaraz will lose the world No 1 ranking at some point in the clay court season.

Jannik Sinner

Points to defend on clay: 1,900

Even though Sinner missed a chunk of last year’s clay court swing on the ATP Tour as he served a doping ban, the Italian still has a sizeable points haul to defend.

That total could have been even healthier if he had won one of the match points he held against Carlos Alcaraz in their epic French Open final last June, but he still has plenty of peril heading into this part of the season.

A run to the Rome final and then at Roland Garros confirmed Sinner is mastering clay courts after struggling to play his best tennis in the early phase of his career and this year, he can add the Monte-Carlo and Madrid Masters to his schedule as he looks to boost his points haul.

Verdict: Sinner will be world No 1 again soon and probably in double quick time.

Lorenzo Musetti

Points to defend on clay: 2,300

This Italian enjoyed a breakthrough year in 2025 and he was especially impressive when he set foot on his favoured clay courts.

A run to the final of last season’s Monte-Carlo Masters added 650 ranking points to his record and he then added another 400 points with a semi-final appearance at the Madrid Masters.

Another 400 points came his way as he made the semi-finals in front of his home fans in Rome and he collected 800 points from his semi-final appearance at Roland Garros.

Musetti has been struggling with injury since he was forced to pull out of the Australian Open when he was on the brink of beating Novak Djokovic and if he is not fully fit, some early defeats could have a brutal impact on his ranking.

Verdict: Alarm bells will be ringing for Musetti, as he could have a big rankings fall over the next few weeks.

Casper Ruud

Points to defend on clay: 1,500

The Norwegian won the Madrid Masters last year, beating Britain’s Jack Draper in a brilliant final in the Spanish capital and he could face a rankings slide if he fails to match that display in May.

With two appearances in the French Open final on his record, Ruud is a master of weaving his spell on clay courts when his game is firing, but confidence appears to have been an issue for this experienced performer in recent months.

Ruud has suffered an inconsistent season, but he has long been one of the more prolific performers on clay courts and will hope he can find his best form in this phase of the season.

Verdict: Ruud has a lot of ranking points to defend and he has not shown the form that will allow him to protect those points in 2026.

Alexander Zverev

Points to defend on clay: 1,410

Zverev was in the midst of a slump in form at this stage of last season, with a return to clay courts not enough to fire his burners.

A French Open finalist in 2024, Zverev has his chances to beat Carlos Alcaraz in what was an epic Roland Garros championship match and this German has produced some of his best performances on clay.

He won an ATP 500 tournament in front of his home fans in Munich on clay last year and will be keen to defend those points, but the world No 3 will dare to believe he can build on his ranking during the clay court run as he has shown some signs of a return to form in recent weeks.

Verdict: After months of concern, Zverev showed signs of improvement at the Miami Open and he needs to continue his more aggressive approach to hold onto the world No 3 ranking.

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