The men\u2019s and women\u2019s European clay-court seasons have always differed considerably. The men\u2019s season is longer, starting with the showpiece Monte Carlo event that continues to be men-only; no woman has ever dominated clay courts in the way that Rafael Nadal did over the last 20 years; and in general women\u2019s clay-court tennis has been far more competitive, with many more different winners of the biggest events not least Roland Garros, than men\u2019s clay-court tennis. And all the evidence from the WTA Madrid Open suggests that that situation will at least continue in the future, if it does not become even more pronounced.<\/p>\n
Less than two years ago, it had appeared that a \u201cfemale Rafa\u201d had emerged to annex the European clay-court season in the same way that Nadal had done for so long. When Iga Swiatek won in Paris in 2024 to complete a hat-trick of French Open wins and claim her fourth Roland Garros title in five years, it appeared absolutely inevitable that she would maintain a stranglehold over the greatest clay-court event in tennis in a manager comparable to that of the great Spaniard. Even Chris Evert, who still holds the record for most French Open women\u2019s singles titles with seven, confidently predicted that Swiatek would soon overtake her.<\/p>\n
Yet since Swiatek clinched that hat-trick of French Open titles in June 2024, her form, especially on the red dirt that she had dominated for so long, has virtually fallen off a cliff. Perhaps the decline began when she lost, surprisingly if not astonishingly, to China\u2019s Quinwen Zheng in the semifinal of the Paris Olympics women\u2019s singles event less than two months later. That was Swiatek\u2019s first loss at Roland Garros in any singles match in over three years, since she had lost to Maria Sakkari in the quarterfinal of the 2021 tournament, and it was as if the shock was so great that nearly two years on she has still not recovered from it completely.<\/p>\n
\u2026.Long Live The New Queen of Clay?<\/strong><\/p>\n Swiatek still reached the semifinals last year, where she lost to Aryna Sabalenka in three sets<\/a>. The first set went to a tiebreak, which Sabalenka won, and Swiatek fought back to win the second set 6-4. However, the Pole then completely collapsed in the third set, being bagelled 6-0 and effectively suffering the same kind of destruction that she herself had inflicted on so many opponents in Paris.<\/p>\n That total evisceration of the defending champion in the final set of the semifinal had appeared to confirm Sabalenka\u2019s replacement of Swiatek as the new queen of clay at Roland Garros, which would have completed her total usurpation of Swiatek as the world #1 and dominant player on the WTA Tour. However, she then suffered a major upset herself as she lost to Coco Gauff in the final, surrendering control in a wind and dirt-swept last set to go down 7-6 6-2 6-4.<\/p>\n If it had been thought that Gauff might be ready not only to replace Swiatek on clay but to replace or at least challenge Sabalenka as the new world #1, those thoughts were soon proven to be incorrect. The American has endured a largely turbulent 12 months since her Roland Garros triumph, culminating in all the problems on serve that she is still continuing to deal with.<\/p>\n The truth is that over the last year or so neither Sabalenka nor Gauff have been anything like as dominant on clay as Swiatek had been in the first half of this decade. Consequently, although they will both undoubtedly be among the main contenders in Paris in a few weeks\u2019 time, neither one of them can be considered anything like a certainty, as Swiatek was at her best.<\/p>\n Swiatek\u2019s decline and the failure of both Sabalenka and Gauff to really replace her as the dominant female player on clay mean that many other women will hope to do well, if not win, in Paris. And that feeling will only be enhanced by the events in Madrid, which, in the continuing absence of a Monte Carlo-type event for women, remains one of the three biggest events on the women\u2019s clay court tour.<\/p>\n Marta Kostyuk<\/a> won in Madrid, but having just won her first WTA 1000 event it is surely unlikely that she will instantly become a Major contender in Paris. The woman she beat in the final, Mirra Andreeva, who had already won two WTA 1000 titles, might be a more realistic challenger at Roland Garros. But perhaps the biggest potential contender in Paris to emerge from the Spanish capital is Hayley Baptiste, who thrillingly defeated Sabalenka, the defending champion and indeed three-time winner in Madrid, in the quarterfinals, saving six match points in the process.<\/p>\n The truth is that there is no shortage of possible winners of the women\u2019s singles in Paris. Elena Rybakina\u2019s serve might not be quite as devastating on clay as it is on grass or hardcourt, but it is still sufficiently devastating to give her a strong chance; American hard-hitters Madison Keys and Amanda Anisimova (who reached the semifinal in Paris in 2019 when she was only 17) will always have the power to compete on any surface; and Karolina Muchova, who has enjoyed her best ever start to a season this year<\/a>, might just be ready to go one better than reaching the final in Paris, as she did in 2023.<\/p>\n Whoever eventually wins the women\u2019s singles in Paris in a few weeks\u2019 time, what seems certain is that it will be more entertaining and competitive than the men\u2019s singles event at Roland Garros. In decimating Alexander Zverev, yet again, in the Madrid final, Jannik Sinner surely proved that only injury can stop him winning his first French Open title and completing the Career Grand Slam at Roland Garros<\/a>. In the continuing absence of Carlos Alcaraz because of his wrist problems, he bestrides the world of men\u2019s tennis like a colossus.<\/p>\nThe Other Contenders <\/strong><\/h3>\n
Whoever Wins, It Will Be More Exciting Than The Men\u2019s Event in Paris <\/strong><\/h3>\n