Gstaad 2026 - ATP 250 Preview

Gstaad is played on very quick clay courts. Why? 

Because it is located at an altitude of more than 1000 meters over sea level.

Speed Data

These are the statistics of the last five years:

• 72.4% Points won on first serve
• 81.7% Service games held
• 0.47 Aces/Game
• 0.26 Tie-breaks/Set

If we take the average of the last 5 years, Gstaad is the fastest clay court tournament on the circuit.

Previous winners

• 2025: Bublik d. JM Cerundolo
• 2024: Berrettini d. Halys
• 2023: Cachín d. Ramos
• 2022: Ruud d. Berrettini
• 2021: Ruud d. Gaston

 Ruud and Berrettini have won this tournament twice.

Berrettini also reached another final, and Feliciano López won it in 2016. This speaks by itself about the particular conditions of this clay court tournament.

Weather 

This week in Gstaad is expected to be warm to hot for the Alps, with daytime temperatures mostly between 27–31°C (81–88°F) and overnight lows around 14–17°C (57–63°F). The first half of the week should be mostly sunny and dry, while the risk of afternoon or evening thunderstorms increases slightly from midweek onward, which is typical of alpine summers. Humidity will generally remain moderate, and light winds of around 5–15 km/h (3–9 mph) are expected on most days.

Player's quotes

Majchrzak, 2025: "I really enjoy playing in altitude conditions. It’s more difficult to make the adjustment from grass to clay. I could feel I was hitting the ball long at times, but I’m happy with my match."

Comesana, 2025: "I feel the altitude. But I played really well. I came here because of the altitude, because I know I can serve very well and come to the net."

JM Cerundolo, 2025: "We love clay. The ball here bounces a lot, which is nice because we like to play with spin."

Tsitsipas, 2024: "When you’re playing on altitude it gives you a little bit of an extra feeling as you’re hitting the ball compared to being level with the sea. You don’t have to go for as much on your shots at altitude and it helps my serve a lot."

Halys, 2024: "It is such a fast court, especially when the sun is out. When you serve big, like we both did today, it’s very difficult to get he breaks. There have been a lot of tiebreaks here this week."

Berrettini, 2024: " It's very important on these courts to be ready when the chances come. A lot of wind, tough conditions, so some ugly points I would say, but I was feeling better and better with the passing of the match."

Struff, 2024: "It's not easy to play, you need some days to adjust a bit. It's tough from the baseline, some balls are flying much more. The serve - it's not easy, but in general it suits my game pretty well. I like to play aggressive, I like to play serve-and-volley and it helps my game. So I really enjoy it here, it's beautiful."

Kecmanovic, 2023 (after beating Stricker): "It feels pretty good to win. He’s definitely not an easy opponent to play as he plays at home and likes altitude. I’m happy I played well. The altitude didn’t really bother me that much as I’ve been here for a week and I’ve gotten used to it. I usually do okay in these conditions so hopefully I can continue." 

Bagnis, 2023 (after beating Rinderknech): “I’m so happy. It was a tough match against a great server, especially with the altitude. But I felt so good in qualifying and I was prepared for today. Coming through the qualifying helps with the altitude adjustment.”

Altmaier, 2023: “I enjoy playing in these circumstances. With my experience playing in Madrid and Kitzbuhel, I was really looking forward to playing here. I feel very comfortable and my tennis was flowing.”

Ruud, 2022: "The conditions here are quite challenging and difficult with altitude – and the ball can fly. You really need to serve and return well."

Delbonis, 2022: "Yes of course the conditions here are so fast and the ball bounce so high. I feel my performance today was pretty good.".

Lehecka, 2022: “I haven't played at altitude for a long time, so it's hard to adapt.”

Munar, 2022: “Here with altitude and, maybe, the fastest court we play on tour, it’s difficult .”

Summary

Gstaad is the fastest clay court tournament on tour.

Players with a big serve and a powerful first shot can do well here, so don't let the fact that it's a clay tournament influence you too much. Hard court players can succeed here, as we have seen above.

Having time to adapt to a new surface and a new tournament is always important, but adapting to the altitude is specially important. Many players who don't have enough time to adapt notice this, and many of their shots go long.

Moreover, this week will be very hot and dry, so the ball will fly through the air and kicks up high after the bounce.

Draws

Here’s the link to the tournament draw, which you can check for updates at any time:

• Main draw: https://www.protennislive.com/posting/2026/314/mds.pdf
• Qualifying Draw: https://www.protennislive.com/posting/2026/314/qs.pdf