Clay-Court Swing 411: Dates, draws, prize money and everything you need to know

Author: Cole Bambini

8m read 24 Mar 2026 3d ago

Jimmie48/WTA

Summary

Ten WTA tour-level events will take place in the Clay-Court swing across the Americas, Europe and Africa, culminating in the season's next Grand Slam at Roland Garros.

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With the Sunshine swing wrapping up, the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz changes surfaces for the first time this season with the Clay-Court swing.

Ten tour-level events will take place across the Americas, Europe and Africa, highlighted by the season's next two WTA 1000s in Madrid and Rome as well as the next Grand Slam in Roland Garros.

Here's how last year's clay-court swing finals unfolded:

Charleston (WTA 500): Jessica Pegula def. Sofia Kenin 6-3, 7-5
Bogota (WTA 250): Camila Osorio def. Katarzyna Kawa 6-3, 6-3
Stuttgart (WTA 500): Jelena Ostapenko def. Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 6-1
Rouen (WTA 250): Elina Svitolina def. Olga Danilovic 6-4, 7-6 (8)
Madrid (WTA 1000): Sabalenka def. Coco Gauff 6-3, 7-6 (3)
Rome (WTA 1000): Jasmine Paolini def. Gauff 6-4, 6-2
Strasbourg (WTA 500): Elena Rybakina def. Liudmila Samsonova 6-1, 6-7 (2), 6-1
Rabat (WTA 250): Maya Joint def. Jaqueline Cristian 6-3, 6-2
Roland Garros (Grand Slam): Gauff def. Sabalenka 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-4

From dates, seeds, storylines and more, here’s everything you need to know about the 2026 Clay-Court swing:

*Hamburg and Iasi, which follow the grass-court swing, will be previewed closer to their tournament dates

Week 1: March 30-April 5

Credit One Charleston Open (WTA 500)

Singles final: Sunday, April 5, not before 3:00 p.m.
Doubles final: Sunday, April 5, 12:30 p.m.
Time zone: Eastern Standard Time (GMT -4)

Charleston: Scores | Order of Play | Draws | Entry List

After a quarterfinal run in Miami, Pegula will head to Charleston seeking to defend her title from a year ago. Recently announcing that it will offer $2.3 million in prize money and $200,000 in player welfare, it's the first standalone WTA 500 event to offer equal prize money in line with an ATP 500 event. Among other Americans in the mix are Amanda Anisimova, Iva Jovic and Madison Keys, while wild cards feature Bianca Andreescu, Jennifer Brady, Paula Badosa and Sloane Stephens.

Colsanitas Cup (WTA 250)

Singles final: Sunday, April 5, 12:00 p.m.
Doubles final: Saturday, April 4 -- Third match. First match begins at 11:00 a.m.
Time zone: Colombia Standard Time (EST -1, GMT -5)

Bogota: Scores | Order of Play | Draws | Entry List

The swing's lone tournament in South America is also the swing's first 250 event. Camila Osorio, champion in 2024 and 2025, seeks to win the trophy for the third consecutive year, and is joined by Emiliana Arango as the current Colombians in the draw. Marie Bouzkova, Jessica Bouzas Maneiro and Tatjana Maria are the top three ranked players in the field, which will consist of a 32-player singles draw. There is also a 16-team doubles draw.

Bogota ranking points and prize money

Week 2: April 6-12

Upper Australia Ladies Linz Open (WTA 500)

Singles final: Sunday, April 12, 2:00 p.m.
Doubles final: Sunday, April 12, follow singles
Time zone: Central European Summer Time (EST +6, GMT +1)

Linz: Scores | Order of Play | Draws | Entry List

Celebrating its 35th anniversary as a stop on the WTA Tour as the second-oldest indoor tournament, Linz is scheduled to feature three past champions in Ekaterina Alexandrova, Jelena Ostapenko and Karolina Pliskova. The tournament is in its third straight year as a WTA 500 event, and will feature a 28-player singles and 16-team doubles draw. Alexandra Eala is set to make her debut, while Emma Raducanu, Emma Navarro and Sorana Cirstea are among other players currently in the field.

Week 3: April 13-19

Porsche Tennis Grand Prix (WTA 500)

Singles final: Sunday, April 19 at 1:00 p.m.
Doubles final: Sunday, April 19, follows singles
Time zone: Central European Summer Time (EST +6, GMT +1)

Stuttgart: Scores | Order of Play | Draws | Entry List

The top four in the PIF WTA Rankings in Sabalenka, Rybakina, Swiatek and Gauff headline a stacked field in Stuttgart that also includes last year's champion Ostapenko. There are seven top 10 players in the 32-player singles draw that features German wild cards Ella Seidel, Eva Lys and 2017 champion Laura Siegemund. Doha champion Karolina Muchova, Zheng Qinwen and Linda Noskova add the high-quality lineup.

Open Capfinances Rouen Métropole (WTA 250)

Singles final: Sunday, April 19, 3:30 p.m.
Doubles final: Sunday, April 19, 1:00 p.m.
Time zone: Central European Summer Time (EST +6, GMT +1)

Rouen: Scores | Order of Play | Draws | Entry List

The French indoor clay tournament is the second WTA 250 event of the swing, and features a 32-player singles and 16-team doubles draw. Entering its fifth year, there will be a new champion as Svitolina is not on the current entry list. World No. 28 Marta Kostyuk is the highest ranked player in the singles field, which also includes Janice Tjen, Hailey Baptiste and Daria Kasatkina. Lois Boisson, Varvara Gracheva and Elsa Jacquemot are among the French players competing.

Rouen ranking points and prize money

Weeks 4 & 5: April 20-May 3

Mutua Madrid Open (WTA 1000)

Singles final: Saturday, May 2, not before 5:00 p.m.
Doubles final: Sunday, May 3, 2:00 p.m.
Time zone: Central European Summer Time (EST +6, GMT +1)

Madrid: Scores | Order of Play | Draws | Entry List

The season's fifth WTA 1000, and first of back-to-back 1000s, features the entirety of the top 10 in the 96-player singles draw. Sabalenka has won three out of the last five tournaments, and Swiatek is the only other past champion in the field. Gauff, who reached the finals in both 1000s during the swing last year, is seeking to continue her strong performance on the surface, where her 18 wins on clay were the most of any WTA player from last season. The 32 seeded players will receive byes into the second round, and there will be eight wild cards and 12 qualifiers.

Weeks 6 & 7: May 4-May 17

Internazionali BNL d'Italia (WTA 1000)

Singles final: Saturday, May 16, not before 5:00 p.m.
Doubles final: Sunday, April 17, 12:00 p.m.
Time zone: Central European Summer Time (EST +6, GMT +1)

Rome: Scores | Order of Play | Draws | Entry List

The top storyline will be if Jasmine Paolini can defend her 2025 title in her home country when she became the first Italian in 40 years to win Italy's premier event. Paolini has had an up-and-down start to the 2026 season in singles, with early exits in Doha, Dubai and Miami, but reaching the semifinals in Merida.

Rome ranking points and prize money (to be determined)
First round: 10
Second round: 35
Third round: 65
Fourth round: 120
Quarterfinal: 215
Semifinal: 390
Finalist: 650
Champion: 1000

Week 8: May 18-24

Internationaux de Strasbourg (WTA 500)

Singles final: Saturday, May 23, not before 2:00 p.m.
Doubles final: Saturday, March 23, 11:00 a.m.
Time zone: Central European Summer Time (EST +6, GMT +1)

Strasbourg: Scores | Order of Play | Draws | Entry List

The small southeastern French city was where Rybakina won her lone title during the clay-court swing, which kickstarted a strong rest of 2025 for the Kazakh. It's still unknown she'll be in the mix for this year's edition as the entry list is not finalized, but past winners also include Madison Keys, Svitolina, Barbora Krejcikova and Yastremska. Entering it's third year as a 500 event, the draws will feature 28 players for singles and 16 teams for doubles.

Grand Prix Son Altesse Royale La Princesse Lalla Meryem (WTA 250)

Singles final: Saturday, May 23, 1:00 p.m.
Doubles final: Friday, May 22 -- Third match. First match begins at 1:00 p.m.
Time zone: Western European Summer Time (EST +5, GMT +0)

Rabat: Scores | Order of Play | Draws | Entry List

Australian No. 1 Maya Joint won her first career WTA title in Rabat, before winning her second just a few weeks later in Eastbourne during the grass-court swing. The soon-to-be 20 year old has battled a lower back injury as of late, forcing withdrawals from Miami and Charleston. With the tournament still a couple months away, the entry list is not finalized but there will be a 32-player singles and 16-team doubles draw in the Moroccan capital.

Rabat ranking points and prize money

Weeks 9 & 10: May 25-June 8

Roland Garros (Grand Slam)

Singles final: Saturday, June 6, not before 3:00 p.m.
Doubles final: Sunday, June 7, 11:00 a.m.
Time zone: Central European Summer Time (EST +6, GMT +1)

Paris: Scores | Order of Play | Draws

The season's second Grand Slam concludes a long stretch on clay, and will once again, bring the world's best to the French capital. Gauff won her second career Grand Slam last year at Roland Garros last season, but could Sabalenka win her first Slam on surface other than hard court? Plus, Swiatek will be eyeing to get the Suzanne Lenglen Cup back in her hands after a stretch of Roland Garros titles from 2020 and 2022-24, before falling in last year's semifinals.

Paris ranking points and prize money (TBD)
First round: 10
Second round: 70
Third round: 130
Fourth round: 240
Quarterfinal: 430
Semifinal: 780
Finalist: 1300
Champion: 2000

Summary

Ten WTA tour-level events will take place in the Clay-Court swing across the Americas, Europe and Africa, culminating in the season's next Grand Slam at Roland Garros.

features