The Stat Sheet: Clay's slippery for WTA top 10

With defending champion Kiki Bertens falling earlier in the week and Sloane Stephens dropping her quarterfinal match at the Volvo Car Open in Charleston, S.C., the WTA’s Top 10 missed an opportunity to add to its overall clay-court title haul.

Among that elite group, the slower surface has required more adjustments to master compared with hard courts: Collectively, the players have 26 titles on clay, which averages out to nearly three victories apiece. However, three players among the group have yet to slide their way into the winners’ circle, including the world No. 1.

Naomi Osaka, who in little more than a year has captured three of the game’s biggest hard-court events, hasn’t won on the dirt yet. This week’s Top-10 debutant, Ashleigh Barty, who’s coming off her most prestigious title in Miami, has been shut out, as has the woman behind her in the standings, Aryna Sabalenka.

Stephens won Charleston in 2016 for her first clay-court title—and only one to date. The rest of the players in the Top 10—Simona Halep, Karolina Pliskova, Petra Kvitova, Elina Svitolina, Angelique Kerber and Bertens—have two or more victories on the surface. Halep leads the way with seven, which includes the French Open title she won last year for her first major.

While Halep might have the most tournament triumphs, Bertens would have to be considered the closest thing to a “specialist,” claiming five of her eight career titles on the clay, making her the only player in the Top 10 with more than 50 percent of her titles won on the surface.

For the majority of the women in this group, the faster surfaces are where there powerful baseline games prove to be the most rewarding, particularly on the hard courts, where everyone has had success, with each of them winning two or more titles—including five Grand Slams.

As the younger players continue to develop, and if they maintain their place among the game’s elite, the clay-court haul is sure to grow.

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