It’s clay time for the WTA Tour, which is a significant shift from the hardcourts of North America. Can Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina continue their monopoly on the women’s game, or will we see a shift in power over the coming 10 weeks on the red dirt of Europe?
Below, I breakdown my WTA clay power rankings heading into this year’s clay swing. To be clear, these aren’t my predictions. Instead, they’re an attempt at objectively balancing form, recent clay results and overall pedigree on the surface. It’s tough to keep opinion out of any list like this entirely, but I’ve tried my best. You can also check out our rankings for the men’s tour on clay in 2026 here.
Here’s who the numbers say are the best 10 WTA players on clay right now.
- Aryna Sabalenka
2026 form: 23-1
2025 clay results: 17-3
Overall clay record: 87-35 (71%)
The top three women on this list are hard to separate, but Sabalenka gets the top spot here, just.
The Belarusian is in searing form so far this year, losing just the once (in the Australian Open final). She arrives on clay having just won the Sunshine Double in dominant fashion, so confidence couldn’t be higher.
Last year was Sabalenka’s best on clay. She made the final of Stuttgart, won Madrid, quartered in Rome then made the Roland-Garros final. Across this stretch, she beat the likes of Jasmine Paolini, Elina Svitolina, Coco Gauff, Qinwen Zheng and Iga Swiatek – names you’ll see in and around these power rankings.
Sabalenka does lack a clay Grand Slam, which the two players below her do have. However, her run to the Roland-Garros final last year and brilliant form currently are enough to get her top spot. Read more about Aryna Sabalenka’s new racquet.
- Coco Gauff
2026 form: 16-6
2025 clay results: 18-3
Overall clay record: 68-23 (75%)
Choosing between Gauff and Swiatek was tough, but the numbers ever so slightly favor Gauff.
The American was the best woman on clay last year, bagging the most wins, making two WTA 1000 finals and claiming the trophy everyone is after in Paris. She’s got a decent resume on the surface overall, having also made the French Open final in 2022 as well. While she’s only got one other title on clay, the 22-year-old’s game is clearly well-suited to the surface with her heavy topspin and incredible defence.
But what sneaks Gauff into the No 2 spot here isn’t so much her career achievements, but her form. She’s 16-6 in 2026, having just made the final of Miami and pushed Sabalenka to three sets. Want to know what racquet Gauff is playing with?
- Iga Swiatek
2026 form: 12-6
2025 clay results: 11-4
Overall clay record: 103-15 (87%)
Discount Swiatek at your peril. The Pole has been the WTA Tour’s best clay player for the past half a decade by a country mile.
However, her aura is beginning to wear off, and it shows in the stats. Not only is she 12-6 for the year so far – quarter-final exits in Melbourne, Doha and Indian Wells her best results – but last clay swing was her worst in her career since joining the WTA Tour full-time. She went titleless for the first time in six years, not even making a final, with semis in Paris and Madrid her best results.
Still, we’re talking about a four-time Roland-Garros champion here, who owns 10 clay titles and holds an 87% win rate on the surface, despite last season’s poor results. She gets the benefit of the doubt for a dip in form and is unlucky to be as far down as No 3 in these WTA clay power rankings.
- Elena Rybakina
2026 form: 21-5
2025 clay results: 9-3
Overall clay record: 70-26 (73%)
One player not lacking in form is Rybakina. The Kazakh has been red-hot for six months now, winning the Australian Open and going deep in both events across the Sunshine Double too. This is reflected in her rise to No 2 in the world.
While clay isn’t Rybakina’s best surface, she still has a decent resume. She’s got four career titles and has beaten Swiatek on it twice, as well as Serena Williams once. However, she’s never been beyond the last eight in Paris.
Last clay swing she went a modest 9-3 with a title in Strasbourg but early exits in Rome and Madrid before Swiatek got her in the round of 16 at Roland-Garros.
- Elina Svitolina
2026 form: 20-5
2025 clay results: 16-3
Overall clay record: 109-55 (66%)
Another of 2026’s in-form players is Svitolina, who’s unlucky to not pip Rybakina for fourth spot on these rankings.
She arrives to clay this season having won a title in Auckland, made the semis of the Australian Open and Indian Wells, and finaled in Dubai. With wins over Swiatek, Gauff (2) and Mirra Andreeva, Svitolina is 4-0 against top 10 players in 2026.
Last year on clay, she won a title in Rouen before making the Madrid semis, then quarters in Rome and Roland-Garros. Overall, the Ukrainian has seven clay titles and has beaten the likes of Sabalenka, Paolini, Jessica Pegula, Rybakina and Simona Halep on the surface.
However, she too has never been past the quarters in Paris.
- Jelena Ostapenko
2026 form: 9-8
2025 clay results: 9-4
Overall clay record: 71-44 (62%)
Ostapenko won’t be sixth on many people’s lists coming into this year’s clay swing, and that’s fair enough. She’s in pretty patchy form with just nine wins to eight losses so far in 2026.
Last year’s clay swing was equally as patchy. At times she lit the world on fire, beating Swiatek and Sabalenka in the same tournament to win Stuttgart. Then, she had early exits in Madrid, Rome and Roland-Garros, albeit the latter two to Paolini and Rybakina.
It’s this quality that gets Ostapenko to No 6 on this list, however. She’s not the most consistent quantity, but there’s a proven track record of the Latvian being able to beat anyone in the world on her day. Nine years ago, that came at Roland-Garros, where she steam-rolled her way through the draw to win the title.
The odds of her doing so this year aren’t high, but the potential is always there, and she showed that as recently as last year.
- Jessica Pegula
2026 form: 19-4
2025 clay results: 11-5
Overall clay record: 55-36 (75%)
Pegula isn’t typically seen as a clay courter, but the American has a sneaky-good record on the surface.
In 2025, she won Charleston, picked up a win in each of Stuttgart, Madrid and Rome, before making the round of 16 in Paris until French wildcard Lois Boisson stopped her. Nothing amazing, but 11 wins on the dirt is more than a lot of WTA players can claim. The past four seasons she’s made the semis or better at at least one event. Admittedly, plenty of this was in Charleston, but she’s also got a Madrid final and a Roland-Garros quarter on her resume.
For a 32-year-old, Pegula is playing excellent tennis this season. She won Dubai, made the last four in Brisbane and Melbourne, and quartered at both of the Sunshine Double events. We’re talking wins over Madison Keys, Amanda Anisimova, Svitolina, Ostapenko, Iva Jovic, Belinda Bencic – no mean feat.
She’s unlikely to win the French Open, but a run to the final weekend of any clay tournament certainly feels on the cards for Pegula this year.
- Jasmine Paolini
2026 form: 8-7
2025 clay results: 13-3
Overall clay record: 66-52 (56%)
Paolini would be above the likes of Pegula and Ostapenko on this list if it wasn’t for her poor form in 2026.
The Italian is just 8-7, with six of those losses coming to players outside the top 20. Her best result so far this year is a semi-final run in Merida, but even there she didn’t face a single top-50 player and lost to the world No 63.
Still, her clay credentials are clear. Paolini is a former Roland-Garros finalist, and last year she backed that up by winning Rome, beating Gauff in the championship match. She also made the semis in Stuttgart (losing to Sabalenka) and the fourth round in Paris (losing to Svitolina).
Her heavy topspin thrives on the surface, and with double-digit wins on clay the past two years, she’ll be looking to rekindle her form again.
- Mirra Andreeva
2026 form: 14-6
2025 clay results: 11-4
Overall clay record: 36-12 (75%)
Andreeva is unlucky to be at No 9 in this list. The Russian has only played two full clay seasons on the WTA Tour, and in that time she’s won a title in Iasi, made the Roland-Garros semis (and quarters the other time), made the Madrid quarters twice and Rome quarters once. That’s an impressive record for someone so early on in their career.
Her season began well in 2026, winning Adelaide and before making the Australian Open round of 16. She’s dampened since then though, with just a quarter-final run in Dubai mixed in alongside early exits in Doha, Indian Wells and Miami.
All that’s holding her back from being higher in this list is the lack of a truly deep run at a big clay event. However, her consistency across the past two swings have her in the mix, even if her form is a little down right now. More on Mirra Andreeva’s racquet and gear.
- Karolina Muchova
2026 form: 18-4
2025 clay results: 0-1
Overall clay record: 28-17 (62%)
Rounding out our top 10 is Muchova, who has been hit and miss when it comes to health.
She all but missed the entire clay swing last year, playing just one match. When she’s been healthy, however, the Czech has made a few good runs on the dirt – the final of Roland-Garros in 2023 sticking out as her most notable achievement.
What gets Muchova into the No 10 spot, besides that 2023 final, is her strong form in 2026. Right now, she’s healthy and playing great tennis. She’s won at least two matches in every event this season, with a title in Doha and semis in Brisbane and Miami. Her victories include scalps like Rybakina and Victoria Mboko (twice).
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Honorable mentions
- Qinwen Zheng – 4-3, 10-4, 46-18 (72%)
- Paula Badosa – 8-8, 3-2, 69-35 (66%)
- Victoria Mboko – 19-6, 3-2, 3-2 (60%)
- Amanda Anisimova – 11-6, 6-4, 40-27 (60%)
- Belinda Bencic – 12-4, 3-3, 53-37 (59%)
- Madison Keys – 8-5, 9-4, 89-51 (64%)
- Daria Kasatkina – 4-5, 5-5, 87-51 (63%)
There’s an argument to be made for each of the players above to be included on this list too. The likes of Mboko and Bencic are playing top-10 tennis right now but the former is an unknown quantity on clay while the latter had a poor showing in 2025.
Ansimova and Keys are both giant-slayers on their day, but aren’t in great form and haven’t done much on clay in recent years. Zheng and Badosa are both seasoned vets with clear credentials on this surface, yet both come into this year’s swing hampered by injury and having not played a lot.
Then there’s Kasatkina – a player that seems like she should be amazing on the dirt based on how she moves, but simply hasn’t been able to back that up with results just yet.
Think these WTA clay power rankings align with how results will unfold in 2026?
Keep an eye out for my early Roland-Garros predictions as well, which will draw from these power rankings but skew a lot more on my gut feel based on how certain players are shaping up in 2026.