Clay court chances and French Open predictions for Simona Halep

Simona Halep might be the player to beat on the WTA Tour as we head into the clay court season. Here’s how she stacks up against the field.

The WTA Tour released clay court power rankings and former world number one Simona Halep is atop the list. That’s well-deserved for the Romanian tennis star. As of writing, Halep sits in the world number two ranking in women’s singles and is coming off of a semifinals run at the 2019 Miami Open where she fell to eventual runner-up Karolína Plíšková.

Halep has fared well so far on the year and is heading into a part of the season where she has previously excelled. She is also, of course, the defending champion at the French Open.

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2018 at Roland Garros marked Halep’s first ever Grand Slam singles title. She defeated American tennis star Sloane Stephens in the finals, winning 3–6, 6–4, 6–1. Halep was due to take home a major tournament title and now she has it. Can she defend her French Open title this year?

Halep has roughly a 72 percent winning percentage on clay. Last year, she went an impressive 16-3 during the clay court portion of the year, winning the French Open, finishing second in Rome, and reaching the semifinals in Madrid.

Prior to 2018, Halep also reached the finals at Roland Garros back in 2017 and won Madrid in both 2017 and 2016.

The Romanian tennis star is such a dominant player on clay. Combine that with her already strong play on the 2019 WTA Tour and she could very well be the frontrunner in women’s singles tennis right now. Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka is barely clinging onto the world number one ranking and is in second in the WTA Race to Shenzhen.

We like Simona Halep to be the top contender on the 2019 WTA Tour heading into the clay court season. She should be considered the favorite at the upcoming French Open. Other players to watch out for include Kiki Bertens, 2016 Roland Garros winner Garbine Muguruza, WTA Finals champion Elina Svitolina, and 2017 French Open champ Jelena Ostapenko. Some previous French Open champions should assert themselves during the upcoming weeks and we could see some new names shakeup the top rankings in the sport.