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Photo Credit: Jessie Alcheh/US Clay
HOUSTON (March 4, 2026) — The 2026 Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship has unveiled its entry list with five former champions and nine players inside of the ATP Top 50 set to compete on March 28-April 5 at River Oaks Country Club.
“We are always counting down the days until the Men’s Clay Court Championship and receiving the entry list from the ATP is a sure sign that River Oaks is about to come to life for the tournament,” said Tournament Director Bronwyn Greer. “It is extremely rewarding to see so many players choosing to return to play in Houston again, and we cannot wait to welcome them and our wonderful fans back for another exciting edition of US Clay.”
World No. 8 and 2024 Houston champion Ben Shelton leads the 11 Americans on the entry list. The 23-year-old is seeking his second title on Texas soil this year, having won the ATP 500 in Dallas last month.
Defending champion and world No. 41 Jenson Brooksby will return to the site of his first ATP title where he became the fourth American in a row to win US Clay. Brooksby, who was a qualifier last year, saved match points in three matches en route to the trophy.
World No. 22 Frances Tiafoe, Houston’s 2023 champion, returns in a bid to reach his fourth straight US Clay final and second final of the year (after Acapulco). Other top-ranked Americans on the entry list include last month’s Delray Beach finalist world No. 24 Tommy Paul, and world No. 30 Brandon Nakashima, a finalist in Brisbane at the start of the season.
Reilly Opelka returns to River Oaks, the home of the ATP Tour’s only clay-court tournament in North America, for the first time since winning the trophy in 2022. Chile’s Cristian Garin is the fifth returning champion, having won the US Clay crown in 2019.
This year’s field has won a combined 31 ATP titles, led by Garin with five titles (all on clay), and followed by Shelton, Paul, and Opelka, who are tied with four each.
Metz and Next Gen ATP Finals champion Learner Tien enters US Clay with a world No. 27 ranking. The 20-year-old Californian, who is coached by former Roland Garros champion Michael Chang, is the youngest player in the draw and reached the Australian Open quarterfinals in January.
While Florida’s Shelton is the most decorated college player in the draw, he’s far from the only one. There are seven more former college players, including former Texas Longhorn Eliot Spizzirri and former TCU star Jacob Fearnley, along with Nakashima (Virginia), Tien (USC), Marcos Giron (UCLA), Aleksandar Kovacevic (Illinois), and Adam Walton(Tennessee).
Shelton is also not the only 2026 titlist in the player field: Argentina’s Tomas Martin Etcheverry, a former US Clay finalist, won his first ATP crown on red clay courts in Rio de Janeiro last month to propel his ranking back inside the Top 35.
The main draw also features Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo, the runner-up in Rio last month who notched a win over Novak Djokovic last year on the red clay of Monte Carlo. Australia’s Thanaski Kokkinakis enters on a protected ranking as he continues a comeback to the tour from a shoulder injury.
Here’s a closer look at the initial entry list:
(Rank) Name, Age, Country — Mini-Bio
(8) Ben Shelton, 23, USA — ‘24 US Clay champ; two-time Grand Slam semifinalist
(22) Frances Tiafoe, 28, USA — ‘23 US Clay champ; ‘26 Acapulco finalist
(24) Tommy Paul, 28, USA — 4 ATP titles; ‘25 Australian and French Open QFs
(27) Learner Tien, 20, USA — ‘25 Metz and Next Gen champion; ‘26 Australian Open QF
(30) Brandon Nakashima, 24, USA — ‘26 Brisbane finalist, Acapulco SF
(31) Tomas Martin Etcheverry, 26, Argentina — ‘26 Rio champion; ‘23 US Clay finalist
(40) Alejandro Tabilo, 28, Chile — 3-time ATP winner; ‘26 Rio finalist
(41) Jenson Brooksby, 25, USA — Defending US Clay champion
(44) Alex Michelsen, 21, USA — 3-time ATP finalist; ‘26 Brisbane SF
(68) Reilly Opelka, 28, USA — ‘22 US Clay winner
(69) Marcos Giron, 32, USA — ‘24 Newport champion; two ATP SF in ‘26
(72) Aleksandar Kovacevic, 27, USA — ‘26 Brisbane SF; 6-time Challenger winner
(74) Thiago Agustin Tirante, 24, Argentina — 6-time Challenger champion (all on clay)
(78) Eliot Spizzirri, 24, USA — ‘25 Top 100 debut; 2 ATP Challenger titles; former UT star
(84*) Thanasi Kokkinakis, 29, Australia — ‘22 Adelaide singles champion
(87) Jacob Fearnley, 24, Great Britain — 4 clay Challenger titles; former TCU standout
(90) Cristian Garin, 29, Chile — ‘19 US Clay winner; five career ATP titles on clay
(91) Adam Walton, 26, Australia — First ATP SF in ‘25 Los Cabos
*Protected ranking
More players will be added to the 2026 field, with three wild card entrants yet to be announced and four players entering from the qualifying tournament, set to take place on March 28-29.
The 2026 Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship will air on Tennis Channel 2 and the Tennis Channel app in the United States.
