The biggest WTA title contenders in Madrid

The clay-court season has hit its full stride with the biggest tournament on the Road to Roland Garros underway in Madrid. With all top clay-court contenders in the draw, it should be a thrilling week.

Here are the five players on the women’s side who could hold the Mutua Madrid Open trophy in a week’s time:

1

Simona Halep

The two-time defending champion, and arguably the best clay-court player on the women's tour right now, Halep will be under pressure this week – not just to defend her title, but also her No. 1 ranking. The top-ranked Romanian will be looking to definitively assert herself as the French Open favorite, and the Spanish clay has allowed her to do that the last two years.

If she can use her superior dirt game against big hitters in her quarter, including Karolina Pliskova, Sloane Stephens, and Victoria Azarenka, Halep should be back in the Madrid last four.

2

Garbine Muguruza

Muguruza, the 2016 French Open champion and a local favorite, will be looking to go deep for the first time. The two-time major champion has a comfortable quarter, with Petra Kvitova and Daria Kasatkina her primary threats. If the Spaniard can take advantage of the faster conditions, her power game could pay dividends for her to reach the semifinals.

3

Petra Kvitova

Fresh off a title run at home in Prague and a two-time Madrid winner, Kvitova loves the faster clay and has a solid early draw. With Venus Williams already having fallen to Anett Kontaveit, the Czech is the high seed in her section, and has a strong chance of claiming her third Madrid trophy if she's well rested.

4

Elina Svitolina

A natural clay-court player, Svitolina’s strong movement and defense make her a threat on the dirt, and after a convincing straight-sets win Saturday over Alize Cornet, the Ukrainian is off to an impressive start in Madrid. Caroline Garcia, the woman who took out Svitolina in Stuttgart, is in her quarter but expect more encouraging signs from the world No. 4 this week.

5

Kristina Mladenovic

Despite having struggled since last year's clay-court season, Mladenovic’s form has been steadily improving in 2018. The Frenchwoman is no stranger to success on clay, having reached the Madrid final and the Roland Garros last eight in 2017. After navigating a popcorn-worthy first round match against Stuttgart runner-up Coco Vandeweghe, Mladenovic is looking good for another deep run again.

First round matches for the WTA got underway Saturday and Sunday while the men began their Madrid campaigns on Sunday.

THIS WEEK ON TENNIS CHANNEL PLUS:

ATP Madrid (5/7-5/13)

-Tennis Channel Plus features five courts of live action from the Mutua Madrid Open beginning Sunday, May 6 at 6:30am ET!