Clay Season: Alcaraz, Swiatek still leaders? Rybakina, Ruud, Tsitsipas rasing their game

This week, Vansh and Andre have a chat about their thoughts on the current clay season progress. Notably, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Casper Ruud have reached the Monte Carlo and Barcelona finals back to back, with the Greek winning Monte Carlo and the Norwegian taking the Barcelona crown for his biggest title to date. On the women's side, Elena Rybakina fought hard to win the Stuttgart indoor clay title, with a win over two-time defending champion Iga Swiatek in what was possibly the best match of the week.With Carlos Alcaraz's withdrawals due to injury, Novak Djokovic's current lack of proper form (and a title in 2024,) ths ATP side of things is looking rather intriguing ahead of Madrid, and, most of all, Rome, as it is the closest in conditions to Roland Garros. Who will emerge as the top contender? Can Rafael Nadal find yet another title on the Parisian clay?And though Iga Swiatek lost, it's still the same: Rome will define who is truly in the best form for the French Open - although so far we feel pretty confident in the 3-time Roland Garros champion to win the title. That is, if one of Elena Rybakina, Aryna Sabalenka, and Coco Gauff don't step up to dethrone the World Number 1, or even a rising star in potentially Marta Kostyuk and a finally stable Emma Raducanu.We also have a quick look back into the achievements and career of Garbine Muguruza, who just announced her retirement from professional tennis in a press conference this past week. Happy retirement!Talk to us on social media :)Follow Tennis and Bagels: Twitter @TennisAndBAGELSAndre Rolemberg @RolembergAndreVansh Vermani @vanshv2kOwen Lewis @tennisnationDownload the TennisONE APP for scores, stats, news, videos, player content, fan contests, and more https://t1.app.link/VanshOwen's The Golden Rivalry: follow all chapters as they are released on substack!Check out Popcorn Tennis!Twitter: @Popcorn_Tennis1Website: popcorntennis.comFavourite this podcast if you like our work :)SUBSCRIBE to the YouTube channel!Follow TENNIS AND BAGELS!Twitter/X: https://x.com/TennisAndBAGELSAndre:Twitter/X - https://x.com/RolembergAndreBlueSky Social: https://bsky.app/profile/andrerolemberg.bsky.socialVansh: https://x.com/vanshv2kOwen (BlueSky Social): https://bsky.app/profile/owensports.bsky.socialSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/tennis-and-bagels. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.