How many points are Sabalenka, Swiatek, Pegula & Gauff defending during the clay season?
Six of the top seven players in the WTA Rankings are set to defend over 1,000 points during the clay-court season.
A number of top women’s stars will play their first clay event of the season at the Porsche Grand Prix in Stuttgart, a WTA 500 that will begin on April 14. The WTA 250 in Rouen will be held in the same week.
This will be followed by the two clay-court 1000 tournaments on the WTA calendar in Madrid and Rome, before a 500 in Strasbourg and a 250 in Rabat in the week before the French Open.
Here is a look at how many points the top seven players on the WTA Tour are defending on clay.
Aryna Sabalenka – 1,838 points
Aryna Sabalenka has a sizeable tally of points to defend in the coming months after some strong results on clay in 2024.
The 26-year-old Belarusian earned 108 points for reaching the quarter-finals of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix last year — and she will start her 2025 clay campaign at the same event.
Sabalenka then collected 1,300 points across Madrid and Rome (650 at each) as she was a runner-up to Iga Swiatek at both of the WTA 1000 events.
The three-time major champion was a quarter-finalist at the French Open — a run worth 430 points.
The world No 1 could extend her lead at the top over Swiatek as she has the potential to gain points — particularly at Roland Garros.
Iga Swiatek – 4,195 points
Iga Swiatek will be defending a mammoth total of 4,195 points from last year at the four clay tournaments she is set to play again in 2025, which is just 305 points short of the 4,500 points available.
The only tournament Swiatek did not win during the 2024 clay-court season was the WTA 500 in Stuttgart, where her semi-final result saw her pick up 195 points.
The 23-year-old Pole earned 1,000 points at each the Madrid Open and the Italian Open, where she claimed the titles.
Swiatek then secured 2,000 points for winning her fourth French Open crown in five years — which was the last final she reached.
A huge 56% of the world No 2’s overall point tally of 7,470 is made up of her points from these four upcoming tournaments.
Jessica Pegula – 0 points
Jessica Pegula missed the entire clay-court season last year through injury and, therefore, has no points to defend until the grass-court campaign in June.
The American returned to her career-high ranking of world No 3 after her runner-up result at the Miami Open and title win at the Charleston Open.
The 31-year-old trails Swiatek by 1,369 points, and a strong clay swing could see her take the world No 2 spot from the Pole given the massive disparity in the amount of points the duo are defending.
WTA Tour News
Jessica Pegula vs Iga Swiatek: US star challenges Pole for world No 2 ranking
Alex Eala primed for huge clay-court swing after Miami Open exploits
Coco Gauff – 1,398 points
Coco Gauff is set to drop 1,398 points from her clay results in Stuttgart, Madrid, Rome and Roland Garros in 2024.
The world No 4 picked up 108 points for making the last eight in Stuttgart and 120 for reaching the last 16 in Madrid.
The 21-year-old American then progressed to the semi-finals at both the Italian Open and the French Open, which earned her 390 and 780 points respectively.
The 2023 US Open champion holds a 1,064-point lead over fifth-ranked Madison Keys.
Madison Keys – 1,235 points
Madison Keys is defending 1,235 points from the four European clay tournaments she competed in last year.
The Australian Open winner gained 390 points for her semi-final run in Madrid and 215 points for a quarter-final showing in Rome.
The American won 500 points for her triumph at the Strasbourg Open, while her Roland Garros third round result was worth 130 points.
Jasmine Paolini – 1,538 points
Jasmine Paolini is due to drop 1,538 points during the clay season, with 1,300 of this total a result of her 2024 French Open final effort.
The Italian, who is ranked sixth, picked up 238 points across Stuttgart (108), Madrid (120) and Rome (10).
Mirra Andreeva – 1,059 points
Mirra Andreeva will defend 1,059 points before the grass season, with 780 of these points from her semi-final run at Roland Garros last year.
The 17-year-old Russian earned 54 points at the WTA 250 in Rouen, 215 at the Madrid Open and 10 at the Italian Open.
READ NEXT: 2025 WTA Stuttgart Entry List: All 4 of the world’s best players to participate
