After a long clay season, the Hologic WTA Tour heads to grass this week with tournaments in the Netherlands and England.
Here's what you need to know about the next five weeks, where the tour's best look to dig into the turf.
What constitutes the grass-court swing?
The five-week grass season is comprised of six tournaments leading into the third Grand Slam of the season at Wimbledon.
Week of June 12:
Libema Open in s'Hertogenbosch, Netherlands
Tournament level: WTA 250
Reigning champion: Ekaterina Alexandrova
Rothesay Open in Nottingham, Great Britain
Tournament level: WTA 250
Reigning champion: Beatriz Haddad Maia
Week of June 19:
bett1open in Berlin, Germany (WTA 500)
Tournament level: WTA 500
Reigning champion: Ons Jabeur
Rothesay Classic in Birmingham, Great Britain
Tournament level: WTA 250
Reigning champion: Beatriz Haddad Maia
Week of June 26:
Rothesay International in Eastbourne, Great Britain
Tournament level: WTA 500
Reigning champion: Petra Kvitova
Bad Homburg Open in Bad Homburg, Germany
Tournament level: WTA 250
Reigning champion: Caroline Garcia
Week of July 3:
The Championships in Wimbledon, Great Britain
Tournament level: Grand Slam
Reigning champion: Elena Rybakina
French Open finals reaction
- 'The final of her life': Media buzz on the Roland Garros championship
- 'I gave my everything on the court today': Muchova reflects on first Slam final
- Swiatek holds off Muchova to win French Open title; fourth major overall
- Amid high stakes, Swiatek found another way to win the French Open
- Champions Corner: A last-minute alliance the winning formula for Hsieh and Wang
- Champions Corner: How low-energy mode in pressure situations helped Swiatek to victory
What makes grass-court tennis unique?
The move to grass is a return to tennis' roots. The soft, natural surface yields a lower and, at times, irregular bounce. The slicker surface favors flatter shots that skid off the grass. It also requires more delicate movement around the court. And, because the surface wears down with each match, the wear and tear on the court can alter the conditions on the court as each day goes by.
Because of the potential for irregular and awkward bounces, grass rewards a more aggressive game style that creates short points. It favors players with big serves, flat groundstrokes and good skills at the net.
Who are the WTA Tour's best grass-court players?
Only five active players have won more than two grass-court titles in their career: Venus Williams (5), Petra Kvitova (5), Angelique Kerber (3), Caroline Garcia (3), and Karolina Pliskova (3).
Winning Percentage on Grass (active players)
1. Liudmila Samsonova: 80% (8-2)
2. Elena Rybakina: 75% (18-6)
3. Petra Kvitova: 75% (66-22)
4. Beatriz Haddad Maia: 73.7% (14-5)
5. Simona Halep: 73.4% (47-17)
6. Angelique Kerber: 73% (84-31)
7. Ons Jabeur: 73% (27-10)
8. Madison Keys: 72.9% (35-13)
9. Sabine Lisicki: 71.4% (45-18)
10. Coco Gauff: 70.6% (12-5)
Who is defending the most points during the grass season?
With Wimbledon not awarding points last year and points from s'Hertogenbosch and Nottingham already falling off the WTA rankings because of the calendar shifting back one week, here are the players with the most points to defend on grass:
1. Beatriz Haddad Maia: 745 points
2. Petra Kvitova: 471 points
3. Ons Jabeur: 470 points
4. Belinda Bencic: 365 points
5. Caroline Garcia: 340 points
