Carlos Alcaraz, Iga Swiatek, Alex Eala and Jack Draper – predictions for week 2 of the clay court season
The European clay court season is moving through the gears after an enticing opening week, with some huge events on the horizon.
The Monte Carlo Masters was a sumptuous opening in the men’s tour, with the first meeting between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner of 2026 the perfect finale for fans around the world.
Now it is the turn of the biggest names in women’s tennis to take centre stage, with the indoor clay court event in Stuttgart always packed with top ranked players.
There is also a big week ahead of British No 1 Jack Draper, who has a lot of ranking points to defend from 2025, as he prepares for his first clay court match in Barcelona.
With the ATP 500 event in Barcelona also on the agenda this week, here is your Tennis365 take on what we can expect from four of the biggest names in the sport.
More Tennis News
Alexander Zverev makes another damning comment about his poor record against Jannik Sinner
Carlos Alcaraz
Next tournament: ATP 500 in Barcelona
Biggest challenge: Recovering from Monte Carlo run to shine again
Alcaraz has been under plenty of pressure over the last few weeks and he has openly admitted it is affecting him.
The Spaniard has a massive number of points to defend from his stunning 2025 clay court run that included wins at Monte Carlo, Rome and the French Open.
His battle with Jannik Sinner for the world No 1 spot has been one of the big talking points in tennis, but his primary focus over the next few weeks will be ensuring he is in the best condition possible by the time he gets to Roland Garros.
Sinner was always likely to take the No 1 ranking as he had limited points to defend from a year ago due to his doping suspension, but these two greats of the game are already focusing on more than rankings.
Grand Slam titles will be how they will be judged in the pantheon of tennis greats and Alcaraz needs to focus on stopping Sinner winning his first French Open and completing a career Grand Slam.
If Alcaraz is fit and motivated to perform in Barcelona, he has a decent draw and will be a strong favourite to win the title.
Verdict: Alcaraz pushed his body to breaking point by playing Monte Carlo and Barcelona last season, forcing him to pull out of the Madrid Open. Avoiding injury and fatigue will be key elements for Carlos in Barcelona, but he has the class to rise to the challenge and take the title.
Iga Swiatek
Next tournament: WTA 500 in Stuttgart
Biggest challenge: Finding her feet under new coach Francisco Roig
This feels like a reset for the Queen of Clay.
After a challenging 12 months, four-time French Open champion Swiatek is about to start a new chapter of her career under coach Francisco Roig and she will be keen to highlight the progress they have made together over the last couple of weeks.
Swiatek’s presence on court with 14-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal at the Spaniard’s Academy in Mallorca has raised plenty of eyebrows and it feels like Iga needs a mental reset as well as a fresh look at her tactics.
At her best, Swiatek’s power from the back of the court and her movement is too much for everyone in the women’s game, but her rivals know she is vulnerable when pressure is applied and that is giving the chasing pack hope.
Verdict: Swiatek may need to get past Elena Rybakina to reach the final in Stuttgart and if that match is on the agenda, it will be a great test of her rebooted mindset.
Alex Eala
Next tournament: WTA 500 in Stuttgart
Biggest challenge: Taking her game to the next level
Eala was expecting to play in a lower ranking event, but withdrawals opened the door for her to mix it with the big-hitters in Stuttgart.
The Filipina star has a big chance to gather ranking points in Germany, but she will also have to raise her game to levels that have proved to be beyond her more often than not during a thrilling breakthrough 12 months.
Her win against Swiatek in Miami in March 2025 was evidence that Eala can test the very best, but she has suffered some heavy defeats in recent weeks and that will have dented her belief.
Elena Rybakina and Iga Swiatek are in her path if she wants to enjoy an extended run in Stuttgart, so we are about to find out if she can push the heavy hitters.
Verdict: Eala is still developing, so even if she doesn’t win against players who hit the ball bigger than her for now, she needs to show she is getting close to the players in the top five of the rankings.
Jack Draper
Next tournament: ATP 500 in Barcelona
Biggest challenge: Staying fit
Draper is in danger of a huge rankings slide if he fails to find his clay court feet quickly.
After a run to the Madrid Open final last year, the British No 1 needs to stay fit for long enough in this phase of the season to ensure he doesn’t drop out of the top 32 in the rankings.
After missing the back end of last season due to an ongoing arm injury problem, Draper will have time to climb the rankings later in 2026, but he could drop out of the seeded positions for upcoming Grand Slams at the French Open and on home soil at Wimbledon if he fails to pick up clay court wins over the next few weeks.
He faces a big test in his opening match in Barcelona as clay court specialist Tomas Martin Etcheverry will test him, but he needs to fight through his injury issues to spend more time on court.
Verdict: The next few weeks offer plenty of peril for Draper and that fall outside of the top 32 of the ATP Rankings may be inevitable.
Want more from Tennis365? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for tennis coverage you can trust.
READ NEXT: Juan Carlos Ferrero reveals if he had contact with Jannik Sinner about coaching Italian
