Warning, these results might surprise you!
Forget the top-10 rankings as they currently stand, we’ve re-ordered them based only on clay performances this season to find out who the most in-form players are heading into Roland Garros.
The 2018 “clay rankings” are listed below – and only half of the current top 10-ranked men and women feature. Win-loss records include Davis Cup and Fed Cup matches, with top-10 record highlighting each player’s win-loss record against top 10-ranked opponents.
| Clay rank | ATP rank | Player | Ranking points | Win-loss record | Top-10 record |
| 1 | 1 | Rafael Nadal | 2680 | 19-1 | 5-1 |
| 2 | 3 | Alexander Zverev | 2210 | 17-3 | 4-2 |
| 3 | 8 | Dominic Thiem | 1265* | 17-5 | 2-2 |
| 4 | 21 | Kei Nishikori | 790 | 8-4 | 3-1 |
| 5 | 12 | Diego Schwartzman | 725 | 13-6 | 0-1 |
| 6 | 19 | Fabio Fognini | 710* | 13-7 | 1-1 |
| 7 | 9 | David Goffin | 630 | 9-4 | 1-3 |
| 8 | 4 | Marin Cilic | 585 | 8-4 | 0-1 |
| 9 | 40 | Stefanos Tsitsipas | 530 | 14-5 | 2-3 |
| 10 | 11 | Pablo Carreno Busta | 505 | 9-7 | 1-1 |
* = Can earn more ranking points this week.
It is no surprise to see world No.1 Rafael Nadal top the clay-court rankings considering the 19-1 record he has built in winning titles in Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Rome. But world No.3 Alexander Zverev – the Madrid and Munich champion who is 17-3 on clay this season, is not far behind.
READ MORE: Nadal labels Zverev a threat
With three top-10 wins, world No.21 Kei Nishikori is someone the highest-ranked players will want to avoid early at Roland Garros. As is Greek teen Stefanos Tsitsipas, who looms as the most dangerous unseeded man in Paris. The world No.40 has posted 14 wins on clay in 2018, a record only bettered by three other players.
| Clay rank | WTA rank | Player | Ranking points | Win-loss record | Top -10 record |
| 1 | 8 | Petra Kvitova | 1282 | 13-2 | 1-0 |
| 2 | 18 | Kiki Bertens | 1152* | 12-3 | 2-2 |
| 3 | 4 | Elina Svitolina | 1065 | 7-2 | 1-1 |
| 4 | 1 | Simona Halep | 900 | 9-3 | 1-2 |
| 5 | 6 | Karolina Pliskova | 861 | 10-3 | 3-1 |
| 6 | 7 | Caroline Garcia | 820 | 10-4 | 2-1 |
| 7 | 25 | Anett Kontaveit | 656 | 9-4 | 3-3 |
| 8 | 16 | Elise Mertens | 625 | 13-1 | 0-1 |
| 9 | 29 | Maria Sharapova | 566 | 7-3 | 1-2 |
| 10 | 11 | Julia Goerges | 427 | 7-5 | 1-2 |
* = Can earn more ranking points this week.
Petra Kvitova has only advanced past the French Open fourth round once in nine attempts – but arrives in Paris this year on an 11-match winning streak, having won back-to-back titles in Prague and Madrid.
Only Belgian world No.16 Elise Mertens has a better winning record on clay, having won 13 of her 14 matches. The 22-year-old swept titles in Lugano and Rabat, but did not have to face a top 50-ranked opponent in either event.
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Dutch world No.18 Kiki Bertens is a quiet achiever who doesn’t have a high profile like some of her rivals – but her form suggests she is a legitimate French Open title contender.
Champion in Charleston and a finalist in Madrid, the 26-year-old will enter Roland Garros as the best performer on clay if she makes the final in Nurnberg this week.
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