Aryna Sabalenka takes her first crack at Iga Swiatek's clay-court supremacy in Stuttgart

The clay season expands this week. After keeping our attention focused on Monte Carlo for the past seven days, we’ll spread it around to Barcelona, Munich, and Stuttgart over the next seven.

There are no 1000-level events among them, but there’s still a lot to watch. In Stuttgart, the women slide into their clay swing in proper style, with the world’s Top 4 players—Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula—in the field. In Barcelona, Carlos Alcaraz tries to follow the old path of his countryman Rafael Nadal by backing up his Monte Carlo title on home soil. In Munch, Alexander Zverev will look to finally get back on track at home.

Here are three storylines to follow as we make our second stop on the road to Roland Garros.

Aryna Sabalenka takes her first crack in Iga Swiatek’s clay crown

Spring isn’t just clay season; it’s also the season when the Swiatek vs. Sabalenka becomes a living, breathing, often-exciting rivalry. Half of their 12 matches, and all five of their finals, have come on dirt. Two of those finals happened in Stuttgart, in 2022 and 2023. Swiatek’s straight-set wins in both laid the foundation for her Roland Garros title runs two months later.

As they return to Stuttgart in 2025, there’s a different pecking order between the longtime No. 1 and No. 2. In the past, it was Swiatek who was ranked first and who was coming off at least one Sunshine Double title. Now it’s Sabalenka who has both of those things. She won in Miami for the first time a few weeks ago; following that up with her first title in Stuttgart would send a major signal about her potential in Paris.

Read more: Aryna Sabalenka takes aim at Iga Swiatek's dominance of the European clay season

But a 1 vs. 2 final is hardly guaranteed. Last year neither of them made it that far, and this year the field may be stronger. Third seed Coco Gauff is bound to find her form at some point this spring. Fourth seed Jessica Pegula has won 17 of 19 matches, and has her own Slam designs this season. Sixth seed Mirra Andreeva already has two WTA 1000 titles in 2025, and wins over both Sabalenka and Swiatek.

Read more: What does Jessica Pegula’s last six weeks say about her next six months?

Sabalenka could start against Clara Tauson, who beat her earlier this season. Swiatek may have to face her nemesis, Jelena Ostapenko, in the third round.

Carlos Alcaraz tries to do the Rafa double

From 2005 to 2018, mid-April was a Peak Rafa time of year. Ten times in those 14 seasons, he won Monte Carlo and Barcelona in back-to-back weeks—call it the La Decima Double. So far Alcaraz has two titles at the latter event; this year he finally won the former. Can he match the feat of endurance and concentration that his countryman made look so routine that we came to think of it as automatic?

Alcaraz will have to earn his Rafa moment, because the field is a typically strong one. Casper Ruud, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Andrey Rublev, Alex de Minaur, and two players who took sets from Alcaraz in Monte Carlo, Arthur Fils and Lorenzo Musetti, are here. Alcaraz could face Frances Tiafoe in the second round, de Minaur in the third, and either Tsitsipas or Fils in the quarters.

Read more: How Carlos Alcaraz put a 'difficult month' behind him with his first Monte Carlo title

Alexander Zverev comes home, and Jakub Mensik comes back, in Munich

What will it take for Zverev to break out of his slump, which has lasted for more than two months now? You might think that making the Australian Open final would have made him feel more optimistic about the season ahead. Instead, each week brings another early loss, and another despondent set of quotes from him. This past week, he also lost his No. 2 ranking to Alcaraz.

Read more: BMW Open: Alexander Zverev happy to keep the faith

Six or seven years ago, a trip to Munich would have been just what the psychologist ordered for Zverev. He won this title twice when he was first climbing the rankings, in 2017 and 2018. Since then, though, the friendly crowd hasn’t been able to help him much. He hasn’t been back to the final, and last year he went out early to Cristian Garin.

Ben Shelton is seeded second in Munich, but more eyes will be on No. 6 Jakub Mensik. The Czech teen, who beat Novak Djokovic in the Miami Open final a few weeks ago, could play Zverev in the the quarters.

First-round match to watch: Gael Monfils vs. Denis Shapovalov