ATP Geneva/WTA Strasbourg: Road to Roland Garros Starts Here
by Bradley Gibbs | by Bradley Gibbs
Geneva Open history
One of several tournaments taking place this week, the Geneva Open is a clay-court tournament played in Geneva, Switzerland, where the conditions are fast. Played significantly above sea level, this tournament offers players a similar test to what is found in Gstaad, Houston and Madrid.
Aggressive play can be handsomely rewarded on Geneva’s fast courts, especially during the day.
Here are the recent winners and finalists of this event:
2021 - Novak Djokovic defeated Hubert Hurkacz
2022 - Casper Ruud defeated Tomas Machac
2023 - Nicolas Jarry defeated Grigor Dimitrov
2024 - Casper Ruud defeated João Sousa
2025 - Casper Ruud defeated Denis Shapovalov
As we can see from the above, Casper Ruud loves to get down to business in Geneva, where he has won three of the last four renewals of this event. Quite clearly, the speedy conditions that this tournament throws up suit the Norwegian.
Can Casper do it again?
The big question is can Casper Ruud improve on what is already a hugely impressive record and get the job done for a fourth time in five years in Geneva?
Well, we know that he has what it takes to thrive in Switzerland, and let’s face it, he hasn’t exactly been in terrible shape since the beginning of the 2026 European clay-court season.
It took Ruud a little while to get going on the clay this year, but after a decent run in Madrid, the man who is now ranked at 25th in the world came to life in the Italian capital of Rome last week, reaching the final. OK, he lost to world number one Jannik Sinner, but there’s no shame in that.
Sinner won’t be involved this week, and with conditions to suit, the time is now for a man who knows all about winning in Geneva. He couldn’t ask for a better chance to prepare for Roland Garros, that’s for sure.
Our ATP 250 Geneva Pick: Casper Ruud to Win the tournament.
Internationaux de Strasbourg history
Serving nicely as a preparation event for the French Open, which follows the Internationaux de Strasbourg on the WTA calendar, this tournament gives some of the top players a chance to get their clay-court game in perfect working order ahead of the only Grand Slam to be played on clay.
Since 2024, this event has been categorized as a WTA 500 event, so it’s certainly a big deal, which is why we’ve seen some of the best in the business scoop the prize in the last couple of years.
Recent winners and finalists of the WTA event in Strasbourg:
2021 - Barbora Krejcikova defeated Sorana Cirstea
2022 - Angelique Kerber defeated Kaja Juvan
2023 - Elina Svitolina defeated Anna Blinkova
2024 - Madison Keys defeated Danielle Collins
2025 - Elena Rybakina defeated Liudmila Samsonova
The current world number two came out on top last season, winning as the fourth seed. Despite being the top seed, Jessica Pegula failed to make it beyond the second round, while first and second seeds Emma Navarrro and Paula Badosa went no further than the quarterfinals, so upsets can certainly happen in Strasbourg.
Elena’s title is up for grabs, but who can claim it?
This year, Elena Rybakina will not be in attendance, which means that the crown is up for grabs.
Victoria Mboko will be the top seed this time around, and she’s clearly got a strong chance, with the Canadian certainly showing no fear on the big occasion, though it may be another of the young contingent that thrives the most.
In 2026, Iva Jovic has shaped like a player with a huge future, and she hasn’t exactly done badly on clay, reaching the semi finals in Charleston back in April.
Since getting down to business on the European clay-court swing, Jovic hasn’t been perfect, but she’d been building steadily, improving on her Madrid effort, by winning two matches in Rome in good style, before putting up a serious fight against eventual tournament runner-up Coco Gauff.
The waters in Strasbourg are a little calmer, which means that someone like Iva Jovic can make a serious splash. Put it this way, there would be much bigger surprises than the world number 17 warming up for Roland Garros by going all the way this week.
Our WTA 500 Strasbourg Pick: Iva Jovic to win the title
