Who in the WTA top 10 defends the most during clay court season? Good signs for Anisimova, Mboko as Gauff in huge danger
WTA
As we head towards Roland Garros season, it gleams a host of different outcomes for a lot of the top names when it comes to the amount of points they have to defend going into the new season with some defending a hefty chunk of their WTA Rankings in the coming weeks.
Coco Gauff in particular as can be somewhat expected defends the vast majority. She defends nearly 50% of her total ranking in the coming weeks at 46.8% overall and so could drop massively in the rankings especially if she fails to defend her Roland Garros crown.
Given current form the likelihood of that happening is minimal as of right now. But she came from nowhere to win the title last year. Jessica Pegula is one of the leading winners, as is Elena Rybakina. Both were winners when it came to titles last clay court season but Pegula was on a losing run being defeated by the surprise contender in Lois Boisson who herself defends a lot of ranking points this time around.
While Rybakina won Strasbourg but lost early in Madrid and Rome and then lost in the fourth round to Swiatek in Paris. Aryna Sabalenka at the top of the shop also defends a lot but she herself would only lose a 25.8% dent which would only account for 2,840 points in the end so is unlikely to even lose the World No.1 spot even if she doesn't win a game until grass.
Queen of Clay, Paolini and Svitolina under threat
She won Madrid defeating Gauff, another chunk of points for the latter to defend and in Rome, she lost in the Quarter-Finals to Zheng Qinwen. At the French Open, it was Zheng again who won in the Quarter-Finals. So she has some points to defend but not enough to make a sheer dent.
Iga Swiatek has nearly 20% of her total. A sizeable less amount compared to usual given she had a poor clay court foray last year. She has 1,343 to defend which if she lost it all would likely see her only finish just under sixth spot compared to the rest. Her big chunk is Wimbledon in the summer. Amanda Anisimova's total mainly comes from a fourth round at the French Open so like Swiatek, she has a pretty breezy Spring.
Amanda Anisimova a real beneficiary.
In the Summer she has to defend both finals in Wimbledon and US Open so her total rises. While Elina Svitolina and Jasmine Paolini are the big losers in all of this. Paolini won Rome last year and has a huge 1,500 points off her 3,907 to defend. That is 38.4% of her ranking so potentially after sitting top 10 and holding her own after her emergence two years ago. It could finally be the end point for Paolini.
Svitolina has also over 30% to defend albeit she is a player who has shown more form as of late than others so in reality she will likely fall but has been consistent throughout her top 10 return. Victoria Mboko has only 235 points to defend so will be the player to gain and could feasibly be top five very soon. Mirra Andreeva too is another who defends very little.
Karolina Muchova it has to be said too who sits just outside the top 10 struggled with injury last year and so barely won a game losing to Parks in round one in Paris. She is one of the best players in the world on current form and keeps rising again so she will definitely benefit post all the ranking shuffles.
Ranking Defence WTA during clay court season
| Rank | Player | Points to Defend | Current Points (30 Mar) | % of Current Points |
| 1 | Aryna Sabalenka | 2,840 | 11,025 | 25.8% |
| 2 | Elena Rybakina | 870 | 8,108 | 10.7% |
| 3 | Coco Gauff | 3,408 | 7,278 | 46.8% |
| 4 | Iga Świątek | 1,343 | 7,263 | 18.5% |
| 5 | Jessica Pegula | 979 | 6,243 | 15.7% |
| 6 | Amanda Anisimova | 455 | 6,180 | 7.4% |
| 7 | Elina Svitolina | 1,285 | 3,965 | 32.4% |
| 8 | Jasmine Paolini | 1,500 | 3,907 | 38.4% |
| 9 | Victoria Mboko | 235 | 3,531 | 6.7% |
| 10 | Mirra Andreeva | 920 | 3,121 | 29.5% |
Samuel GillEditor-in-Chief
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.
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