Week in Preview: 2025 clay swing begins in Charleston, Houston

And just like that, it’s clay season. Less than 12 hours after the Sunshine Double ended in less-than-sunny conditions in Miami, the pros have put on their sliding shoes and dug into the dirt in Charleston, Houston, Bogota, Marrakech, and Bucharest.

Most of the game’s bold-faced names—Alcaraz, Djokovic, Sabalenka, Swiatek, and others—aren’t in action yet. But the two U.S. events, in Charleston and Houston, will be of interest to fans of American players, and anyone looking to see who might be ready to surprise people in the long lead-up to Roland Garros.

Here are three highlights from those two draws:

No rest for Jess

Jessica Pegula, who lost the Miami final on Saturday, may experience the positives and negatives of tour life in equal measure this week.

Read more: Can Pegula step out of her comfort zone on clay?

From a physical standpoint, she won’t have any time to recover, or get many reps in on clay, before she plays her opener in Charleston against either Heather Watson or Iryna Shymanovich. From a mental standpoint, though, the quick turnaround should keep her from lingering on her loss to Aryna Sabalenka for too long.

Pegula has spent time training in the Charleston area over the years, but she has never reached a final there. She’s obviously in form; going deep this time may be a matter of avoiding burnout or exhaustion after a long two weeks in Miami. Her quarter includes Danielle Collins and Jelena Ostapenko.

Other Charleston surprises in store?

2025 has been season of firsts on the WTA Tour. Madison Keys won her first major. Mirra Andreeva and Amanda Anisimova won their first 1000s. Ashlyn Krueger made her first 500 final and her first appearance in the Top 40. McCartney Kessler cracked the Top 50 for the first time. Will we see that trend continue in Charleston?

It’s a little harder to imagine than it was in, say, Doha and Dubai. This tournament is a 500, offers more than a million dollars in prize money, and gives players a head start on dirt—even if it is the green kind. Which means that, as always, it has a strong field. This year the draw includes seven players in the Top 16—Pegula, Keys, Zheng Qinwen, Emma Navarro, Daria Kasatkina, Diana Shnaider, and Anisimova, as well as Collins, the defending champion.

Collins, Keys, Kasatkina, and Belinda Bencic have won the title here before. Navarro, who grew up in the area and whose father owns the tournament, would seem to be a likely contender. Anisimova likes clay, and has a decent draw into the round of 16.

Potential third-round matchups to watch:

• Collins vs. Ostapenko
• Navarro vs. Krueger
• Bencic vs. Kasatkina
• Zheng vs. Elise Mertens
• Keys vs. Anna Kalinskaya

Who's ready for the red stuff in Houston?

While the women spend a week on green clay before heading for Europe, the men go full red in Houston—it seems especially earthy at the venerable River Oaks Country Club.

The tournament used to be called the U.S. Clay Courts, and with most Europeans eager to get home after Indian Wells and Miami, the field is often cleared for an American to get a rare title on red dirt. Steve Johnson, Reilly Opelka, Frances Tiafoe, and Ben Shelton are among the Yanks to take home winner’s trophies in recent years.

This year 15 of the 28 players in the draw are from the States. Tommy Paul and Tiafoe are the top two seeds, and Brandon Nakashima and Alex Michelsen are fourth and fifth. Other Yanks of note include Jenson Brooksby, qualifier Colton Smith, and wild card Ethan Quinn.

First-round all-American match to watch: Michelsen vs. Learner Tien

Paul and Tiafoe, neither of whom was at his sharpest in Indian Wells or Miami, could use a title run.