The two Grand Slam finalists at risk of tumbling down the ATP rankings during the clay court season

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The 2025 clay court season is well underway as the stars of the ATP Tour look to produce their best tennis on the red dirt.

Several ATP players are currently competing in Houston, Marrakesh, and Bucharest, searching for some valuable points as they aim to climb the rankings.

The clay season will properly kick off in Monte-Carlo next week, however, as the top players in men’s tennis battle it out in the principality.

Masters 1000 events in Madrid and Rome will follow before the French Open begins on Sunday, May 25.

Clay court specialists will be eagerly anticipating their first matches on the surfaces, although two top-ten stars may well be feeling the pressure, knowing that a few bad losses could see them tumble down the rankings.

Stefanos Tsitsipas and Casper Ruud are at risk of falling down the rankings during the clay season

Stefanos Tsitsipas and Casper Ruud are two of the ATP Tour’s most dangerous clay-court players, having enjoyed real success on the surface recently.

Both players have competed in Roland Garros finals, with the Norwegian finishing as the runner-up in Paris twice.

• 2023 French Open final – Casper Ruud lost to Novak Djokovic 6-7, 3-6, 5-7
• 2022 French Open final – Casper Ruud lost to Rafael Nadal, 3-6, 3-6, 0-6
• 2021 French Open final – Stefanos Tsitsipas lost to Novak Djokovic, 7-6, 6-2, 3-6, 2-6, 4-6

However, away from the clay, Tsitsipas and Ruud have struggled to perform during the early months of the 2025 season and currently sit outside the top 15 in the ATP’s Race to Turin.’

As they earned the majority of their ATP points on the clay last year, Tsitsipas and Ruud will have a lot to defend over the coming months.

Failure to do so could result in both players falling out of the world’s top 20.

The clay-court points Stefanos Tsitsipas has to defend in 2025

In 2024, Tsitsipas competed in five clay-court tournaments during this stretch of the season, securing several impressive results.

Tsitsipas and Ruud exchanged victories in Monte-Carlo and Barcelona, as the former won his third Masters 1000 title before losing in Spain.

Solid runs in Rome and Paris followed, with the Greek accumulating an impressive 1,960 points across the five events.

Subtracting those points from his current ATP tally would see him ranked 34th in the world, emphasizing the need for Tsitsipas to get off to a strong start in 2025.

The clay-court points Casper Ruud has to defend in 2025

Winning the Barcelona Open in 2024, Ruud began his clay-court season by taking home the biggest title of his career.

He added another title shortly after in Geneva as he continued to rack up the points on clay.

A run to the last four at the French Open saw Ruud finish on a remarkable points total of 2,330.

Losing those points would see Ruud take a dramatic tumble down the rankings and also see him sat in 34th place.

How likely are Stefanos Tsitsipas and Casper Ruud to fall down the rankings?

The reality is clay-court specialists wouldn’t be known as clay-court specialists if they weren’t expected to pick up results on the surface.

Tsitsipas and Ruud are more than likely to defend a significant chunk of their clay court points in 2025 and may well be considered favorites at certain tournaments.

Traveling to Monte-Carlo next week, few would bet against the Greek picking up a fourth title, as he looks to improve upon his remarkable record at the event.

The question is whether or not the pair will feel the pressure, entering the clay-court season low on confidence and with a lot of work to do.

Only time will tell if Ruud and Tsitsipas can maintain their top-ten status, but they’ll certainly hope to get off on the right foot when the Monte-Carlo Masters begin on April 7.