Elena Rybakina and Coco Gauff are in very different positions ahead of the clay court season.
Rybakina has just hit a ranking milestone after her impressive start to the 2026 season, highlighted by her victory at the Australian Open.
The two-time Grand Slam champion will now have her sights set on catching Aryna Sabalenka, with Rybakina stating that becoming world number one is a big goal of hers this year.
Rybakina could close in on achieving this goal during the clay court season, while Gauff risks a significant drop down the rankings.
How many ranking points every top 10 WTA player is defending on clay this year
Gauff was the standout player on clay last year, having reached the final of both the Madrid Open and the Italian Open, before winning her second major at the French Open.
As a result of these achievements, Gauff will have a huge 3,408 ranking points to defend during the clay court season this year, which is nearly half of her current points total.
This means that Gauff is currently forecast to fall down to world number six after the clay court season, but she could prevent this by repeating her results on the surface last year.
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Rybakina is in a different situation to Gauff, as she has just 870 ranking points to defend on clay from last year.
The gap between Sabalenka and Rybakina is currently at 2,917 points, but this could reduce down to within 1,000 points after the clay court season.
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There are also opportunities for Amanda Anisimova and Victoria Mboko, who have just 455 and 235 points to defend on clay, respectively.
However, like Gauff, Elina Svitolina and Jasmine Paolini both have pressure on them ahead of the clay court season, with over 30% of their ranking points to defend over the coming weeks.
| Top 10 WTA Players | Total Ranking Points | Points defending during the clay court season | Percentage of ranking points defending on clay | Points confirmed after the French Open |
| 1. Aryna Sabalenka | 11,025 | 2,840 | 25.8% | 8,185 |
| 2. Elena Rybakina | 8,108 | 870 | 10.7% | 7,238 |
| 3. Coco Gauff | 7,278 | 3,408 | 46.8% | 3,870 |
| 4. Iga Swiatek | 7,263 | 1,343 | 18.5% | 5,920 |
| 5. Jessica Pegula | 6,243 | 979 | 15.7% | 5,264 |
| 6. Amanda Anisimova | 6,180 | 455 | 7.4% | 5,725 |
| 7. Elina Svitolina | 3,965 | 1,285 | 32.4% | 2,680 |
| 8. Jasmine Paolini | 3,907 | 1,500 | 38.4% | 2,407 |
| 9. Victoria Mboko | 3,531 | 235 | 6.7% | 3,296 |
| 10. Mirra Andreeva | 3,121 | 920 | 29.5% | 2,201 |
Elena Rybakina really underperformed on clay last year
It could be argued that Rybakina is unlikely to close much of the gap on Sabalenka due to her clay court form last year, but she has shown herself as a dangerous player on the surface before.
Rybakina had a relatively poor clay court season last year, but she did actually win her fourth title on the surface in Strasbourg.
One of Rybakina’s four clay court titles came at the WTA 1000 tournament in Rome, but she suffered a disappointing result last year after winning just one match.
Rybakina’s best result at the French Open came when she reached the quarterfinals in 2021 and 2024, but she should be boosted this year as the likely second seed.
| Elena Rybakina on Clay | Win-loss Record | Best Result | 2025 Result |
| Stuttgart Open | 6-2 (75%) | Won the title (2024) | Did not play |
| Madrid Open | 8-5 (61.5%) | Semifinal (2024) | Third Round |
| Italian Open | 11-3 (78.6%) | Won the title (2023) | Third Round |
| Strasbourg Open | 8-1 (88.9%) | Won the title (2025) | Won the title |
| French Open | 16-6 (72.7%) | Quarterfinal (2021 & 2024) | Fourth Round |
The clay court season is already underway, but Rybakina will not play her first tournament until the WTA 500 event in Stuttgart, where she won the title in 2024.
Rybakina is one of seven top 10 players entered into the Stuttgart Open, which also features Sabalenka, Gauff and Swiatek, with the tournament beginning on April 13.
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