At this point, we all know who the dominant forces are on hard courts on the WTA Tour. Aryna Sabalenka just completed the Sunshine Double, having reached the Australian Open final earlier this year. She is 23-1 on the season.<\/p>\n
Elena Rybakina is having a phenomenal start to the year too and, through the first three months of the season, appears to be the only woman able to challenge Sabalenka.<\/p>\n
But the shift to clay provides an opening for the rest of the tour. While both big-hitters are no slouches on the dirt, there are more questions as to their vulnerability on this surface. The National Bank Open power rankings dive into the tour\u2019s clay-court dynamics.<\/p>\n
(Brackets indicate change in position since the last edition of the Power Rankings<\/a> from before Indian Wells.)<\/p>\n *Note: Results from events the week of March 30 are not included.<\/p>\n 1. Aryna Sabalenka (-)Actual Ranking: 12026 Record: 23-1Notable Recent Result: Indian Wells and Miami ChampionBest Big Clay Result: Madrid Champion (Three times)<\/p>\n Sabalenka is extending her stay atop the Power Rankings as she brings a few shiny souvenirs into the clay season. After losing in the Australian Open final then sitting out the Middle East swing, the recharged world No. 1 became the fifth woman to achieve the Sunshine Double.<\/a><\/p>\n The 27-year-old conceded just one set in each of her title runs in Indian Wells and Miami, both coming in the final. However, the pair of trophies might not have outshone Sabalenka\u2019s 12-carat engagement ring, which she remains unbeaten with since first wearing it on court.<\/p>\n Sabalenka will be determined to keep the ring\u2019s streak going and add even more lustre to her 2026 campaign. The two-time reigning WTA Player of the Year enters Madrid as the defending champion, hoisting the trophy twice in the last three years, but has yet to clinch the Rome title after losing in the quarters in 2025.<\/p>\n – Francesco<\/p>\n 2. Coco Gauff (+4)Actual Ranking: 32026 Record: 16-6Notable Recent Result: Miami Runner-upBest Big Clay Result: Roland-Garros Champion (2025)<\/p>\n It\u2019s hard to forget how impressive \u2013 and somewhat unlucky \u2013 Gauff was on the dirt last year. The 22-year-old reached all the \u201cBig\u201d clay finals in 2025, beginning with a runner-up finish in both Madrid and Rome. However, Gauff left the clay season with the biggest prize, winning her maiden Roland-Garros title.<\/p>\n Read also: National Bank Open\u2019s Most Notable Recent Upsets<\/a><\/p>\n The American has been solid in the back half of the WTA 1000s pairs this year, reaching the semis in Dubai and her first final in Miami just last week. Rome has been the better of the two upcoming big events for Gauff as she made at least the semis the past two years, but she has shown that she can excel throughout the entirety of the clay season.<\/p>\n – Francesco<\/p>\n 3. Elena Rybakina (-1)Actual Ranking: 22026 Record: 21-5Notable Recent Result: Indian Wells FinalBest Big Clay Result: Rome Champion (2023)<\/p>\n Rybakina\u2019s consistency across the Sunshine Double showed that she could be destined for a deep run at the next two WTA 1000s, no matter the change in surface.<\/p>\n Following a retirement in Dubai, the Australian Open champion used that much-needed rest to get back to her best in Indian Wells. Rybakina earned convincing straight-set wins over Jessica Pegula and Elina Svitolina before falling to Sabalenka in the final. Then in Miami, the Kazakhstani came back from a set down to defeat Pegula again in the quarters but was stopped by Sabalenka once more in the semis.<\/p>\n Rybakina doesn\u2019t have many points to defend in Madrid and Rome, finishing in the third round at both events in 2025. But the 26-year-old wasn\u2019t near the same form as she is heading into this year\u2019s clay season.<\/p>\n – Francesco<\/p>\n 4. Iga Swiatek (-1)Actual Ranking: 42026 Record: 12-6Notable Recent Result: Indian Wells QFBest Big Clay Result: Madrid (2024), Rome (Three times), Roland Garros (Four times) Champion<\/p>\n Once the \u201cQueen of Clay\u201d, Swiatek is back on the surface that she had a hold over for multiple years. Since 2020, the Pole had won at least one Big clay title per year, earning a total of eight including three-straight Roland-Garros triumphs. However, that run came to an end in 2025 as her best result was the Madrid and French Open semifinals.<\/p>\n Read also: Tennis Quirks and Superstitions That Players May Bring to the NBO<\/a><\/p>\n Now with a new coach, that refresh, coupled with a determined Swiatek looking to get back into the winner\u2019s circle on her favourite surface, might be the recipe for the start of another wave of clay dominance for the former world No. 1.<\/p>\n – Francesco<\/p>\n 5. Jessica Pegula (-1)Actual Ranking: 52026 Record: 19-4 \u00a0Notable Recent Result: Indian Wells and Miami QFBest Big Clay Result: Madrid Runner-Up (2022)<\/p>\n After an up-and-down 2025, Pegula is right back to her consistent self in 2026. Heading into the clay season, the veteran has reached the quarter-finals or better at every event she has played, including her fourth WTA 1000 title in Dubai. \u00a0<\/p>\n While she may not have had as much success in her career on clay as on hard courts, she is no slouch on the surface. She has a title to her name and a runner-up finish at the 1000 level in Madrid. Given her strong recent results, Pegula should be confident heading onto the dirt. \u00a0<\/p>\n As long as she can avoid Rybakina, who took her out in the quarter-finals at both legs of the Sunshine Double and in the semifinals of the Australian Open, she should be a threat at every tournament she plays. \u00a0<\/p>\n – Pete<\/p>\n 6. Victoria Mboko (-1)Actual Ranking: 92026 Record: 19-6Notable Recent Result: Indian Wells and Miami QFBest Big Clay Result: Roland-Garros Third Round (2025)<\/p>\n What does the rising star have in store for us on the clay?<\/p>\n Mboko has now passed the one-year mark since making the jump to the WTA Tour, although 2026 should be a fuller clay-court season than 2025. The teen played five WTA Tour main-draw matches on the dirt last year, going 3-2 with one of those losses being a three-setter to Gauff, who was the best player in the world on the surface last year. She also reached a WTA 125 final on clay last spring just before making her Grand Slam debut at Roland-Garros, where she reached the third round as a qualifier.<\/p>\n Since the start of the season, Mboko has been one of the most consistent players on tour, being one of only three women (along with Rybakina and Pegula) to reach the quarter-finals<\/a> at three of the four WTA 1000 events so far. While her big hitting may be more suited to hard courts, the Canadian\u2019s athleticism should allow her to keep rolling on the dirt.<\/p>\n – Pete<\/p>\n 7. Elina Svitolina (+2)Actual Ranking: 72026 Record: 20-5Notable Recent Result: Indian Wells SFBest Big Clay Result: Rome Champion (Twice)<\/p>\n Svitolina is ranked as high as she has been since 2021, and her current form is showing shades of her former world No. 3 self. The Ukrainian made the semis at the Australian Open and in Indian Wells, plus she reached her first WTA 1000 final in eight years in Dubai.<\/p>\n Read also: Busy Start to the Clay Season<\/a><\/p>\n Svitolina won back-to-back titles in Rome in 2017-18 and, in 2025 alone, she made at least the quarters at every Big clay event, highlighted by a semifinal finish in Madrid. With the 30-year-old back at her very best, her impressive clay record is sure to be boosted this season.<\/p>\n – Francesco<\/p>\n 8. Jasmine Paolini (New)Actual Ranking: 82026 Record: 8-7Notable Recent Result: Indian Wells Fourth RoundBest Big Clay Result: Rome Champion (2025)<\/p>\n Jasmine Paolini is back on her preferred surface, entering the clay season as a sure title (and fan) favourite in Rome once again. The 30-year-old swept the silverware on home soil last year, hoisting both the singles and doubles trophies, and became just the second Italian in the Open Era to win the individual crown.<\/p>\n Paolini\u2019s history in Madrid and Roland-Garros isn\u2019t too bad either. The Italian made the fourth round in the Spanish capital in just her third main-draw appearance there in 2024, and her maiden Grand Slam final came in Paris that same year.<\/p>\n – Francesco<\/p>\n 9. Amanda Anisimova (-2)Actual Ranking: 62026 Record: 11-6Notable Recent Result: Indian Wells and Miami Fourth RoundBest Big Clay Result: Roland-Garros SF (2019)<\/p>\n Amanda Anisimova hasn\u2019t quite rediscovered her early-career form on clay, but there\u2019s always the chance that the memories will roll in once the American hits the dirt. The world No. 6 made her breakthrough at Roland-Garros in 2019, making the semis at just 17 years old, then she reached back-to-back quarters in Madrid and Rome three years later.<\/p>\n Read also: Get to Know National Bank Open\u2019s Executive Chef Ashtad Dadachanji<\/a><\/p>\n Anisimova was eliminated in round four at the French Open in 2025 \u2013 her joint-best Big clay result since 2022 \u2013 so the 24-year-old could build off that following a start to 2026 that\u2019s highlighted by an Australian Open quarter-final and Dubai semi.<\/p>\n – Francesco<\/p>\n 10. Karolina Muchova (-)Actual Ranking: 112026 Record: 18-4Notable Recent Result: Miami SFBest Big Clay Result: Roland-Garros Runner-Up (2023)<\/p>\n Fun fact, Muchova is undefeated in 2026 against players ranked outside the Top 4. The only players to beat her this year: Sabalenka, Swiatek, and Gauff (twice). \u00a0<\/p>\n For many years now, the Czech has been a bit of a \u201cwhat if\u201d-type player. Injuries have held her back but when she is healthy, she is easily one of the best players in the world. So far this year, she has been healthy and just look at how good she has been. A WTA 1000 title<\/a>, round of 16 or better at every event she has played, 18-0 against non-Top 4 players. \u00a0<\/p>\n Muchova has not played a full clay-court season since 2023. Over the last two years, she has only played one main draw match at one of the \u201cBig\u201d events. But the last time she was healthy on the dirt, not only did she reach the Roland-Garros final, she gave then-Queen of Clay Swiatek the toughest test the Pole ever faced in a French Open final.<\/p>\n – Pete<\/p>\n The National Bank Open Power Rankings are a group collaboration by the Power Rankings Panel which includes:<\/p>\n Pete Borkowski \u2013 Manager of Editorial and Player Coverage, Tennis CanadaMelissa Boyd \u2013 Content Writer, Tennis CanadaSarah-Jade Champagne \u2013 Content Specialist, Tennis CanadaJonathan Chan – Content Contributor, Tennis CanadaJulie Gravel – Marketing Director, Tennis CanadaEdward Lee \u2013 Content Contributor, Tennis CanadaHugues Leger \u2013 Producer, Podcast Sur La LignePatrick Steski – Content Contributor, Tennis CanadaFrancesco Tosini – Content Writer, Tennis CanadaRavi Ubha – Content Contributor, Tennis CanadaBold Prediction for the clay season:Pete: None of Sabalenka, Rybakina, or Swiatek win a 1000 in the leadup to Roland-Garros… but then one of them will win in Paris.Mel: Andreeva will turn her 2026 season around by winning a title during the clay court swing.Jonathan: Mboko wins Madrid and heads into RG with a chance to move into the Top 5.Eddie: Swiatek does not move past the quarter-finals in any of the clay court lead-ups heading into Roland-Garros.Pat: Swiatek wins at least three titles before Roland-Garros.Francesco: Mboko wins her second WTA 1000 title.Ravi: Sabalenka wins the French Open.\u00a0<\/p>\n