From Houston to Roland-Garros: the program for the 2022 clay season week by week

Week 1 from April 4 to 10: Houston and Marrakech warming up

• Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship (ATP 250)

• Hassan II Grand Prix (ATP 250)

The Marrakech tournament had not taken place since 2019 either. At the time, Benoît Paire had won there, but, injured, he is not defending his title this year. Richard Gasquet is thus the only Frenchman in the running in Morocco, where Félix Auger-Aliassime is the number 1 seed and the only member of the Top 20 in the running. The talented Lorenzo Musetti is also part of the entries.

Week 2 from April 10 to 17: Monte-Carlo, the first major spring event

• Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters (Masters 1000)

Stefanos Tsitsipas challenges his title on the Rock. But the Greek will have a lot to do with the return to competition of world number 1 Novak Djokovic who was deprived of a North American tour because he was not vaccinated. Alexander Zverev or the Spanish phenomenon Carlos Alcaraz, titled in Miami, will also be there. Injured, Rafael Nadal and Daniil Medvedev will be the two big absentees, the Russian could even miss the whole season on earth due to an inguinal hernia.

Week 3 from April 18 to 24: Catalan goodbyes from Robredo, and Djoko in front of his family

• Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell (ATP 500)

At this stage, the presence of Rafael Nadal, defending champion and 12 times crowned in Barcelona, ​​is still uncertain due to a cracked rib. Beaten on the wire after a huge final last year, Stefanos Tsitsipas is on the entry list, as is Casper Ruud, recent finalist in Miami. Note that Tommy Robredo will bid farewell to high-level tennis in Catalonia.

Organized at the Novak Tennis Center where Novak Djokovic trains regularly, the Belgrade tournament had two editions in 2021: the first won by Matteo Berrettini and the second by the Serbian world number 1. There is only one date left this year and the “Djoker” will perform well in front of his family. Andrey Rublev and Gaël Monfils have also planned to visit it.

Week 4 from April 25 to May 1: Zverev in reconquest in Bavaria, “F2A” in Portugal

• BMW Open by American Express (ATP 250)

Two members of the Top 10 will likely occupy seed ranks 1 and 2 in Munich: Alexander Zverev and Casper Ruud. World number 3, the German will try to win a third title there and to relaunch more generally during this spring on earth after a disappointing start to the season on hard courts. Defending champion, Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili will also be present.

• Millenium Estoril Open (ATP 250)

Won by Richard Gasquet in 2015 for its first edition, the only Portuguese tournament of the year is organized for the 7th time in Estoril. Félix Auger-Aliassime and Diego Schwartzman have notably planned to participate. Last year, it was the Spanish left-hander Albert Ramos Vinolas who won the day.

Week 5 from May 1 to 8: King Nadal a priori back home

• Mutua Madrid Open (Masters 1000)

This is the second major stage of preparation for Roland-Garros. If he recovers as expected from his injury, Rafael Nadal should be able to play and receive encouragement from the Madrid public of the Caja Magica. But the altitude, which makes the balls more difficult to control and favors large servers, could complicate things for the Mallorcan, who was also beaten by Alexander Zverev in 2021. The German then went for the title, beating Matteo Berrettini finally.

Week 6 from May 8 to 15: all roads lead to Rome for the leaders

• International BNL of Italy (Masters 1000)

Third and last Masters 1000 of this spring on ochre, the Masters 1000 in Rome is like a dress rehearsal before Roland-Garros. In conditions that are closer to those of the Parisian Grand Slam, this will probably be the perfect opportunity for Nadal, Djokovic, Tsitsipas and other Alcaraz to fine-tune the final settings. Last year, the Majorcan won a new “decima” against the Serb who had regained confidence on his side.

Week 7 from May 15 to 21: final exchanges on both sides of the Alps before Paris

• Gonet Geneva Open (ATP 250)

Won by Casper Ruud in 2021 in the bucolic setting of the Parc des Eaux-Vives, the Geneva tournament had seen the spotlight shine on him on the occasion of the participation of Roger Federer. The Basel will not be there this time, but the outgoing Norwegian champion and his opponent in the final Denis Shapovalov have announced their participation.

• Open Parc Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Lyon (ATP 250)

It is one of five French tournaments in the ATP calendar and the list of winners of the first four editions – Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in 2017, Dominic Thiem in 2018, Benoît Paire in 2019 and Stefanos Tsitsipas in 2020 – speaks volumes about its power to ‘attraction. Among the already known entrants are Tsonga and Gaël Monfils, as well as Cameron Norrie and Aslan Karatsev.

Weeks 8 and 9 from May 22 to June 5: the grand finale at Porte d’Auteuil

• Roland Garros (Grand Slam)

To end this busy spring on earth in style, it’s time for the second Major of the year. Rafael Nadal will have the opportunity to widen the gap on his two historic Big 3 rivals in the race for the Grand Slams with a hypothetical 22nd coronation. Unless Novak Djokovic, who beat him spectacularly last year in the semi-finals, retains his good, or Carlos Alcaraz continues his mad ascent. One thing is certain: the stakes will be high on Parisian ochre.