Americans Tommy Paul and Frances Tiafoe will be the top two seeds for the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship following the release of the tournament’s draw on Friday. Paul and Tiafoe are among the 11 Americans in the field for next week’s tournament at River Oaks.
Paul, 27, returns for his third appearance at River Oaks, the site of his first career ATP Tour match win nine years ago. Paul broke into the Top 10 this January following a career-best 2024 season highlighted by three ATP Tour titles and a personal-best 45 match wins. Currently ranked 13th, he was a 2025 Australian Open quarterfinalist and will seek his first ATP clay title this year in Houston.
Tiafoe, 27, the 2023 U.S. Clay champion and 2024 finalist, will make his seventh career appearance at River Oaks, where he owns a 10-5 record and has won seven of his last eight matches. Like Paul, Houston was also a crucial stepping stone for Tiafoe early in his career. In 2017, he reached his first ATP final of any kind when he finished doubles runner-up with Dustin Brown. Ranked 17th, Tiafoe played his best tennis of 2024 on U.S. soil with a finals run in Cincinnati and a semi-final finish at the US Open.
Joining Paul and Tiafoe among the American seeded players is a pair of rising stars in 23-year-old Brandon Nakashima, seeded fourth, and 20-year-old Alex Michelsen, seeded fifth. Michelsen, at a career-high No. 32, will take on his friend and fellow U.S. Next Gen standout, 19-year-old Learner Tien, in one of the most anticipated first-round matchups
Rounding out the top eight seeds includes No. 3 Alejandro Tabilo, No. 6 Jordan Thompson, No. 7 Tomas Martin Etcheverry and No. 8 Kei Nishikori, the 2011 U.S. Clay finalist. Each of the top four seeds will receive first round byes.
Wild cards were awarded to Christian Garin of Chile, the 2019 U.S. Clay champion, along with Americans Ethan Quinn and Michael Mmoh. Reilly Opelka, the 2022 US Clay champion, and Marcos Giron both withdrew from the tournament before the draw was published.
Main draw action begins Monday, March 31, following a 16-player qualifying tournament over the weekend, where four players will earn main draw spots through two rounds of play.
