The WTA season is heating up quickly with the first Clay Masters 1000 coming up next week at the Mutua Madrid Open. Without an event of this magnitude in Europe yet, like the ATP in Monte-Carlo, this is where the road to Rolland Garros symbolically begins for the women on tour. Speaking of symbolism, the Madrid Open caught the eyes of many non-traditional tennis fans in Episode 4 of the inaugural season of BreakPoint on Netflix. This episode of the show (which follows both ATP and WTA players behind the scenes during Masters and Grand Slam events) featured two women who will be highlighted in this article: Ons Jabeur and hometown favorite Paula Badosa during their journey of the 2022 version of the Madrid Tournament. 

The WTA Clay Court season has a whole different look and feel than the men's tour. Figuratively and literally. Two weeks ago, a 500 level event was held in Charleston South Carolina where the event is held on the non-traditional green clay instead of red, which is unique to the United States and the WTA. Also, this week's 500 level tournament in Stuttgart Germany, is an indoor clay court tournament which is also unique to just the WTA tour. In fact, indoor clay is almost counter productive to the idea of dealing with dirt and the elements of nature, as the indoor conditions create a hard court-like atmosphere and reward power hitters. Nonetheless, they are intriguing events to have on the tour, as they spice up the traditional calendar and conditions that the rest of the season possesses.

Related: 2023 Men's Clay Tennis Season Preview: Who Can Compete with Spain's Superstars?

In recent years, the WTA has not had that symbolic player that dominates certain court surfaces like the men do: Rafael Nadal on clay, Roger Federer on Grass and Novak Djokovic on hard courts. In fact, it is much harder to find that highest level of consistency in women's players, making the careers and grand slam title counts of 23 for Serena Williams and 7 for Venus Williams–both so impressive for the modern era. Of the next active players, Noami Osaka has 4, world number 1 and young polish sensation Iga Switaek has 3. Former world number 1 and arguably one of the most consistent and talented players in the last few years: Ash Barty, also only had 3 before retiring last year. 

While there might not be some great generational idol to replicate as we speak, the rankings race is the next spot to look. 21 year old Iga Swiatek is sitting in first place with a 1,820 point lead over world number 2 Aryna Sabalenka. To put this in perspective, there is only an 820 point difference between Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz who are 1 and 2 respectively for the men. Also, Sabalenka has a 951 point lead over world number 3: Jessica Pegula which is also a very large cushion. As we head into the two masters events of the women's clay court season and Rolland Garros (French Open), who can begin to close the gap in the women's rankings and who can establish themselves as dominant clay court players for years to come? Here are three stars to look out for:

1. WTA 4: Ons Jabeur 

Tunisian World Number 4, Ons Jabeur is a very special player in the tennis world in many facets. First, she is the face of African tennis, as she is the most recognizable player for both genders by a very wide margin. She is also the face of tennis in the Arab world, and a beacon of hope and inspiration for many little girls in an area of the world that has kept many of its old-fashioned and patriarchal views. When it comes to her style of play, not many people have the skillset she possesses, coupled with power and variety that works on every surface.Ons is pretty much an all surface player due to her high level on a consistent basis, and has had lots of success on the dirt in recent years. In 2021, she didn't win a clay court title, but went 13-4 on the surface (76% win rate).

Related: Pro Tennis Player Kristie Ahn's Advice on Academics, Recruiting, and More

 In 2022, Ons achieved much more, going 17-4 (81% win rate) and an 11 match win streak (spanning from the round of 64 in Madrid to the final in Rome). This high rate of winning saw her a runner up spot in Charleston and Rome and her largest title in Madrid which was well documented in Netflix's Breakpoint. While her path to closing the rankings gap is a tough task, especially due to her Madrid title to defend and a final in Rome to defend as well, there is one place where she can truly earn her bread and butter: The French Open. After having such a successful season last year, Jabeur lost in the first round of Roland Garros as a -833 favorite. While it was a bitter way to end such a great swing on the clay, the good news is she can only earn points with a huge run towards her first major title. 2022 was a difficult year for Ons in the respect that she lost in the final of both Wimbledon and the US Open. 

This year's French is a perfect opportunity for her to win her first grand slam after coming so close to glory multiple times, and so far Ons has come out of the gate sprinting. Jabeur's 2023 has already been a roller coaster, as she only won one match at the Australian Open in Melbourne in January. Right after the Aussie, she had to miss almost two months of actions with a non-disclosed injury and surgery, that did not let her to play in the Middle East swing in February which is a big deal as she would have been the fan favorite as the face of Arab tennis. Her return from injury was also sub par for a player of her caliber, as she also only won one match in the Sunshine Double.

The move from Florida to South Carolina and the change in court surface has lifted Ons' spirits and confidence considerably. She got her revenge against rival and fellow top ten player Belinda Bencic in the Charleston final (Belinda beat Ons in the 2022 final). Belinda is another player who would have been poised to do a lot of damage on the dirt this season, but news broke out today that an injury will force her out of Madrid and Rome. With today's win in Stuttgart over Latvian star Jelena Ostapenko, Jabeur has started the clay season 6-0. In the match, she displayed her entire arsenal with 9 aces and 34 winners. Ons Jabeur has a tough two weeks in front of her, but her current form proves she is up to the challenge and this type of form can bring her the desired grand slam metal to add to her trophy cabinet. 

2. WTA 22: Jelena Ostapenko

The 25-year-old Latvian star is one of the great mysteries of the tennis world. Her inconsistency is puzzling, but when she is playing her best and is motivated, she might be the best player on the WTA Tour. In her recent loss to Jabeur, she showed her talent with her power and baseline ability: painting lines and hitting winner after winner. Jelena is one of the best examples of proving that tennis is mostly a mental sport, as she loses focus when she faces the slightest adversity and tends to self-destruct. This happened today against Ons, but should be discounted a tiny bit as Ons is an elite player who finally found her footing deep in the second set of the match.

Related: Daily Grind: A Day in the Life of a Brown University Tennis Player

Ostapenko is no stranger to the clay, as she is actually a grand slam champion: raising the 2017 French Open title. That season she went 21-4 on clay, but for some unknown reason, her best record for a season on clay since then has been 5-4 twice (2018 and 2021). Actually, a common theme on the women's tour is girls winning a major title at the very beginning of their careers, and then not being able to replicate or find that same game for many years. 24 year old American Sofia Kenin is another great example of that, as she won the Australian open in 2020, and has not won a title or had a relatively successful season since. World number 10, Petra Kvitova, is a similar case as she won Wimbledon as a 21 year old in 2011 and won again in 2014, and hasn't won another slam in close to ten years (although she actually won the last Masters title in Miami three weeks ago).

 Jelena just hasn't been able to change her clay narrative, as she went a horrid 1-3 last season, but as we know the good news from a stat like this, is that available points are in abundance. Jelena's talent is undeniable and when the upcoming Masters events come up, her first round draws will not be as challenging as a player like Ons, which should give her the mental confidence to win and once she feels comfortable, she is an unstoppable force, and tough matchup for anyone as the weeks progress. With her powerful serving and elite level groundstrokes, this is the season where Ostapenko changes the tone and re-establishes herself as a competent clay court player who can compete for large titles on this surface (starting in Madrid where her powerful hitting will fly through the thin air in high altitude)…..as long as she is mentally present. 

3. WTA 31: Paula Badosa

Since bursting out on the scene in 2021, Spaniard Paula Badosa has shown that the clay is where she does her best work. In a year that catapulted her from the 80s of the world rankings to the top 10, she won Indian Wells (hard court) and went 17-3 on clay (85% win rate) with a title in Belgrade. She hasn't won a clay title since, but has had a winning record on the dirt every year since 2018. Consistent poor form since the end of the clay swing last year has dropped her from number 2 in the world at the beginning of her home tournament of Madrid last year, to 31 officially and 43 in the live rankings, as she made the semifinals of Stuttgart last year. Seeing the court underneath her feet should do wonders for Paula. Since the start of Charleston, she is 4-1 this season and the only sets she dropped were in her 2-0 loss to world number 3 and number 1 American Jessica Pegeula.

Related: Looking Ahead to Spring: 6 Tips For Getting Recruited in College Tennis

Badosa is quite certainly going to make it 5-1 as she is a -1400 favorite in her next match against fellow Spaniard and fellow 25-year-old Cristina Bucsa. Looking forward to the bigger tournaments; Madrid is going to be crucial for the Spanish number 1. Paula was featured alongside Ons in episode 4 of Netflix's Breakpoint, and in the show she expressed her disappointment in losing in the second round as the home favorite and #2 seed. Given the circumstances, she shouldn't have as much pressure on her shoulders and she should see Madrid as the perfect opportunity for redemption and crucial ranking points for her journey back to the top 10 (where she belongs talent-wise). Other than Madrid, points are wide open everywhere as she only won one match in Rome last year as well, and two matches in Roland Garros. Her power game is suited for clay, and her athleticism coupled with familiarity as she grew up on the surface is a great recipe for success. Just like Jelena Ostapenko, this season has all the makings of a comeback season for the Spaniard. 

Have an idea for a story or a question you need answered? Email us at [email protected]

Image Credit: SportsDigest/WTA Tennis/Tennis Majors

* Originally published on April 21, 2023, by AJ Rosenberg