Road to Roland Garros, presented by ZipRecruiter: The clay season ramps up in Stuttgart, Barcelona, Belgrade and Istanbul

PRESS CONFERENCE: Stefanos Tsitsipas—in action this week on Barcelona—after his Monte Carlo Masters title on Sunday

The women join the men on European clay this week, with the first leg of their run-up to Roland Garros in Stuttgart. After gathering in Monte Carlo over the last seven days, some of the ATP’s best head west, to Barcelona, while others go east, to Belgrade. In a rarity, both world No. 1s, Novak Djokovic and Iga Swiatek, will be in action in a week when there are no majors or Masters 1000s on the schedule.

Porsche Tennis Grand Prix (WTA)

• Stuttgart, Germany
• $757,900; WTA 500
• Red clay
• Draw is here

Stuttgart is small—just 28 players—but it packs a punch for its size. Six of the WTA’s top seven players are in the field. Iga Swiatek, Paula Badosa, Aryna Sabalenka, Maria Sakkari, Anett Kontaveit, Karolina Pliskova, Ons Jabeur and Emma Raducanu—yes, Emma Raducanu, who is still ranked No. 12—comprise the eight seeds.

The first question will be: Can anyone beat, or even take a few games, from Swiatek? She lost a total of one in her two Billie Jean King Cup wins for Poland on Friday and Saturday.

The next question may be: Is it time for Sabalenka to find her game and turn her season around? She made the final in Stuttgart last year, but has struggled mightily in 2022. She had to watch from the sidelines as Belarus was banned from the BJK Cup this weekend.

First-round matches to watch:

• Kontaveit vs. Angelique Kerber
• Pliskova vs. Petra Kvitova
• Coco Gauff vs. Daria Kasatkina

Returning: Bianca Andreescu, who will start against Germany’s Julie Niemeier

Barcelona Open (ATP)

• Barcelona
• $3,200,000; ATP 500
• Red clay
• Draw is here

A year ago, Stefanos Tsitsipas won the title in Monte Carlo and came a point away from doing the same thing against Rafael Nadal in the Barcelona final. It was a back-to-back performance that pointed toward his run to the Roland Garros final two months later. With his successful defense in Monte Carlo on Sunday—the first of his career—Tsitsipas is halfway to repeating that performance. He’s the top seed in Barcelona, followed by Casper Ruud, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Cam Norrie and Carlos Alcaraz—remember him? Tsitsipas and Alcaraz could meet in the round of 16, which would be an interesting and explosive preview of potential Roland Garros happenings to come.

Possible second-round matches to watch: Alejandro Davidovich Fokina vs. Frances Tiafoe; Felix Auger Aliassime vs. Sebastian Korda

Wild card: 39-year-old Tommy Robredo

Serbia Open (ATP)

• Belgrade, Serbia
• $750,000; ATP 250
• Red clay
• Draw is here

Belgrade has half as many players, half as many ranking points, and less than half as much prize money as Barcelona. But it does have one big thing going for it: Novak Djokovic. Behind him in the seedings are three Russians: Andrey Rublev, Karen Khachanov, and Aslan Karatsev. Last year Karatsev upset Djokovic in the semifinals here. This year his opposition may come from a countryman: Miomir Kecmanovic has had a breakout 2022, and is scheduled to face Djokovic in the third round.

TEB BNP Paribas Tennis Championship Istanbul (WTA)

• Istanbul
• $239,477; WTA 250
• Red clay
• Draw is here

Rounding out the week is this 250 in Istanbul. Elise Mertens, Sorana Cirstea, and Veronika Kudermetova are the top three seeds. Since reaching the fourth round at the Australian Open, Mertens has been one of the WTA’s underperformers, and has inched down to No. 23 in the rankings. Kudermetova, meanwhile, hopes to build on a solid start to the year.