Ben Shelton, Frances Tiafoe, Learner Tien, Tommy Paul among others headline a heavy American contingent in the line-up.
Draw/Schedule and Results U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship
Second Round
| Player 1 | Score | Player 2 |
| Ben Shelton | 7-6(5), 7-6(3) | Zhizhen Zhang |
| Thiago Agustín Tirante | 6-2, 6-0 | Mackenzie McDonald |
| Learner Tien | v | Nishesh Basavareddy |
| Román Andrés Burruchaga | 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 | Brandon Nakashima |
| Tomás Martín Etcheverry | 6-7(5), 6-0, 6-3 | Alex Bolt |
| Tommy Paul | 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 | Alejandro Daniel Vallejo |
| Alex Michelsen | v | Alexei Popyrin |
| Rinky Hijikata | 4-6, 6-3, 2-6 | Frances Tiafoe |
First Round
| Player 1 | v | Player 2 |
| Ben Shelton [1] | v | Bye |
| Jack Pinnington Jones [Q] | 1-6, 3-6 | Zhizhen Zhang [WC] |
| Colton Smith [WC] | 0-6, 3-6 | Thiago Agustin Tirante |
| Mackenzie McDonald | 6-4, 6-2 | Jenson Brooksby [8] |
| Learner Tien [3] | v | Bye |
| Nishesh Basavareddy [WC] | 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 | Liam Draxl [Q] |
| Roman Andres Burruchaga | 6-2, 6-3 | Adam Walton |
| Martin Damm | 6-7, 2-6 | Brandon Nakashima [5] |
| Tomas Martin Etcheverry [6] | 1-6, 6-1, 6-4 | Federico Agustin Gomez [Q] |
| Alex Bolt [Q] | 7-6, 6-2 | Yibing Wu |
| Adolfo Daniel Vallejo | 6-1, 6-4 | Zachary Svajda |
| Bye | v | Tommy Paul [4] |
| Alex Michelsen [7] | 6-4, 6-2 | Coleman Wong |
| Alexei Popyrin | 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 | Patrick Kypson |
| Aleksandar Kovacevic | 4-6, 2-6 | Rinky Hijikata |
| Bye | v | Frances Tiafoe [2] |
Entry List U.S Men’s Clay Court Championship
| # | Player | Ctry |
| 8 | Ben Shelton | USA |
| 22 | Frances Tiafoe | USA |
| 24 | Tommy Paul | USA |
| 27 | Learner Tien | USA |
| 30 | Brandon Nakashima | USA |
| 31 | Tomás Martín Etcheverry | ARG |
| 40 | Alejandro Tabilo | CHI |
| 41 | Jenson Brooksby | USA |
| 44 | Alex Michelsen | USA |
| 68 | Reilly Opelka | USA |
| 69 | Marcos Giron | USA |
| 72 | Aleksandar Kovačević | USA |
| 74 | Thiago Agustín Tirante | ARG |
| 78 | Eliot Spizzirri | USA |
| 87 | Jacob Fearnley | GBR |
| 90 | Cristian Garín | CHI |
| 91 | Adam Walton | AUS |
| 97 | Patrick Kypson | USA |
Prize Money U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship
The winner receives $106,480 for winning the title with $62,115 for reaching the final. It amounts to a full breakdown of $700,000.
| Outcome | Points | Prize money |
| Winner | 250 | $106,460 |
| Finals | 165 | $62,115 |
| SF | 100 | $36,520 |
| Quarter Finals | 50 | $21,155 |
| Round 16 | 25 | $12,285 |
| R28 | 0 | $7,510 |
Predictions US Men’s Clay Court Championship Houston
Samuel GIll, Head Editor for TennisUpToDate sees Ben Shelton or Frances Tiafoe as the champion.
Ben Shelton or Frances Tiafoe for me for the win here. Both have had recent success either in match wins or titles and for me are the outstanding players.
Not many come close and given they are the top seeds I’m estimating even that they get to the final against each other. Throw Tommy Paul and Brandon Nakashima with a good run for Martin Damm too at that.
*** Ben Shelton
** Frances Tiafoe, Tommy Paul
* Brandon Nakashima, Martin Damm
Ben Shelton roars in Dallas Open final.
Lucas Michael, Editor for TennisUpToDate sees Tommy Paul as the champion.
The competition is sticking around in America for slightly longer as the clay swing gets underway. The faster setting will suit certain players in the field for the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship.
Out of the last eight finalists, only one was not American. This makes me want to lean into the heavily stacked American field, traversing to Houston to kick off their clay season. 2024 champion Ben Shelton is an obvious choice for silverware. He has grown into a very solid clay player and has already tasted glory on home soil once this year in the form of the Dallas Open. He will be hungry and motivated for more.
Someone who knows a thing or two about going deep in this competition is Frances Tiafoe. Last year’s Roland Garros quarterfinalist had a surprisingly solid clay swing, similar to Shelton showing signs of improvement on the surface. He is showing vast signs of improvement from an average 2025. One of the highlights was losing in the final for a second year on the spin. He will be hoping to make a fourth final in a row and grab a second title.
Also improving after injury issues is Tommy Paul. Somehow not featuring in the Miami Open semi-final, he will be motivated to get back onto the winning path after bitter disappointment against Arthur Fils. The positive signs are that he is playing well.
Learner Tien, Brandon Nakashima and the reigning champion Jenson Brooksy will hope to have their say at the business end of the tournament. Tomas Martin Etcheverry will be an outside shot for glory with his clay expertise. As for my prediction, I am going to edge Paul for glory in Houston.
*** Tommy Paul
** Frances Tiafoe, Tomas Martin Etcheverry
* Ben Shelton, Learner Tien, Brandon Nakashima