Simona Halep, second best in WTA’s clay court power rankings

With the French Open just days away, the WTA Insider team got to wondering: Is there really such a thing as a clay court specialist anymore?

We sought to isolate the clay court results over the last three years to see who the best clay court players have been recently. To do that we looked at a player’s results at Premier-level events or higher over the last three seasons, using 100% of their points earned in 2016, 75% earned in 2015, and 50% earned in 2014, wtatennis.com informs.

Taking into consideration the players currently entered in the French Open, here are the Clay Court Power Rankings:

1. Serena Williams (US) – 3,364.25 points; 2. Simona Halep (Romania) – 2,491.25; 3. Angelique Kerber (Germany) – 1,647; 4. Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic) – 1,640.25;
2. Lucie Safarova (Czech Republic) – 1,640.25; 6. Carla Suarez Navaro (Spain) – 1,517.5 ; 7. Sara Errani (Italy) – 1,472.25; 8. Ana Ivanovic (Serbia) – 1,356.5; 9. Garbine Muguruza (Spain) – 1,205; 10. Madison Keys (US) – 1,139.75 points.

– Serena reigns supreme: When you’ve won two of the last three French Opens, it’s hard to argue that you’re not the best.

– Halep jumps to No.2: The former French Open junior champion benefits from her fantastic 2014 clay season, where she made the final of Madrid and the French Open, as well as her title-run in Madrid this year. If she can handle any changing expectations after Madrid, she’ll be in good form in Paris.

– Kerber holds firm: Kerber’s clay court power ranking at No.3 is slightly misleading. She has been a steady force early in the clay season in Charleston and Stuttgart, but her results have tended to taper off afterwards. She has made the French Open quarterfinals just once. But there’s no reason the Australian Open champion can’t flip the script this year.

– Radwanska and Azarenka slip: Two of the Top 5 women barely crack the Top 20 of our power rankings. Agnieszka Radwanska, who will be seeded No.2 in Paris, is down at No.20, while No.5 Victoria Azarenka, the most dominant player on hardcourts this season, is down at No.28.