Clara Burel (; born 24 March 2001) is a French professional tennis player. She has a career-high WTA singles ranking of world No. 42, achieved on 10 June 2024 and a best in doubles of No. 246, reached on 9 May 2022. She has won two WTA 125 titles in singles.
Career
Juniors
In 2018, Burel reached the junior singles final at three major events, the Australian Open, the US Open and the Youth Summer Olympics (YOG). Partnering with compatriot Hugo Gaston, she also won the mixed-doubles bronze medal at the YOG.
In October, Burel qualified for the ITF Junior Masters, where she captured her first major title. She became the junior world No. 1 the following week, on 29 October 2018.
Grand Slam performance - Singles: Australian Open: F (2018) French Open: 3R (2018) Wimbledon: 3R (2018) US Open: F (2018)
Grand Slam performance - Doubles: Australian Open: 2R (2018) French Open: 2R (2017, 2018) Wimbledon: QF (2018) US Open: 2R (2018)
2018: First ITF Circuit final
Following her final in Melbourne, Burel was selected as an alternate in the French Fed Cup team for the 2018 first round against Belgium. In September, she reached her first final on the ITF Women's Circuit at Clermont-Ferrand, falling to Lesley Kerkhove.
2019: Major debut Burel was a wildcard entrant at the Australian Open where she lost in the first round to Carla Suárez Navarro.
2020: French Open debut and third round In March, Burel was given a wildcard entry into the Lyon Open but she lost in the first round to Jil Teichmann. In September in Strasbourg, she knocked out Kateryna Bondarenko, before falling in the second round to Zhang Shuai.
At the French Open the following week, she again entered thanks to a wildcard and defeated Arantxa Rus in the first round and Kaja Juvan to reach the third round of a major for the first time in her career, becoming the youngest Frenchwoman since 18-year-old Alizé Cornet did so in 2008. Burel lost to Zhang Shuai for the second successive tournament.
2021: WTA Tour final, Wimbledon and top 100 debuts Burel qualified for the Australian Open, but lost to Alison Van Uytvanck in the first round. She made her top 200 debut on 8 March 2021, raising 37 positions to world No. 181, following reaching the quarterfinals in Lyon.
She also qualified for Wimbledon, making her first appearance in the main draw at the grass-court Grand Slam, where she defeated Ellen Perez, before losing in the second round to Kaja Juvan.
Burel reached her first WTA Tour final at the Ladies Open Lausanne, losing to Tamara Zidanšek in three sets. As a result, she made her top 100 debut, at world No. 98, on 19 July 2021.
She made her WTA 1000 debut at the Canadian Open as a qualifier but lost to 13th seed Ons Jabeur in the first round.
2022: Top 75, first WTA 1000 win, US Open third round Burel reached a new career-high WTA singles ranking at No. 74 on 21 February 2022. She recorded her first WTA 1000 win at the Miami Open against qualifier Magdalena Fręch, but then lost to 28th seed Petra Kvitová in the second round.
Burel qualified for the US Open and reached the third round defeating 25th seed Elena Rybakina, and Alison Van Uytvanck, before losing to sixth seed Aryna Sabalenka.
2023: Maiden WTA 125 title Burel qualified for the Australian Open and defeated wildcard Talia Gibson in the first round, her first win at this major. In April, she also qualified into the main draw of the WTA 1000 Madrid Open, losing to Camila Osorio in the first round. She lost to 20th seed Barbora Krejčíková in the second round.
She reached the final at the Ladies Open Lausanne, losing to Elisabetta Cocciaretto.
Burel won her first WTA 125 tournament at the Open Angers in December, defeating compatriot Chloé Paquet in three sets in the final.
2024: Three WTA Tour quarterfinals, top 10 win & top 50 Burel reached the third round at the Australian Open for the first time at this major defeating Aleksandra Krunić and fifth seed Jessica Pegula, her first top-10 win, before losing to Océane Dodin. As a result, she recorded a new career-high singles ranking of world No. 44, reaching the top 50 for the first time on 5 February 2024.
At the Upper Austria Ladies Linz, she reached the quarterfinals defeating Sinja Kraus and Kateřina Siniaková, before losing to the third seed, Donna Vekić.
At the newly upgraded WTA 500 in Strasbourg, Burel also reached the quarterfinals defeating wildcard player Karolina Plíšková and seventh seed and defending champion, Elina Svitolina, her second career top-20 win, before also losing to third seed Danielle Collins.
Burel recorded a first round win over Eva Lys at Wimbledon, losing her next match to qualifier Sonay Kartal.
At the Cleveland Open, she reached the quarterfinals defeating lucky loser Elvina Kalieva and eighth seed Sofia Kenin. Burel lost to top seed Beatriz Haddad Maia. Moving on to the US Open, she defeated former champion Sloane Stephens, but lost to 20th seed Victoria Azarenka in the second round.
On her debut at the China Open, Burel recorded a first-round victory over lucky loser Tamara Korpatsch, before being defeated by fourth seed Coco Gauff in the second round.
2025: ACL injury Having missed the first two months of the season, Burel returned in March at the WTA 125 event in Antalya, defeating seventh seed Nuria Párrizas Díaz Darja Semeņistaja and Chloé Paquet to make it through to the semifinals. She retired due to a back injury after losing the first set of her last four match against sixth seed and eventual champion Anca Todoni.
The following month, while playing for France in their BJK Cup Europe/Africa Zone tie with Turkey, Burel suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in her right knee when she fell during the first set of her match against Ayla Aksu. In November, after having surgery and extensive rehabilitation, she revealed in a post on social media that she had resumed on-court practice.
2026: Comeback, second WTA 125 title A year after her last match, Burel returned to the tennis courts in April at the WTA 125 Saint-Malo Open, losing to fourth seed Viktorija Golubic in the first round. She was given a wildcard entry into the main draw at the French Open, again losing in the first round, this time to Katie Volynets.
In June, Burel won her first title since 2023 at an ITF event in Nice, defeating fellow French player Jenny Lim in three sets in the final. The following month, at the Iași Open, she recorded wins over lucky loser Varvara Lepchenko, and eighth seed Elsa Jacquemot to reach her first WTA Tour quarterfinal since August 2024, at which point she lost to third seed Oleksandra Oliynykova.
In September, Burel won her second WTA 125 singles title at the BBVA Open Internacional de Valencia, defeating Alicia Herrero Liñana in the final.
Performance timelines
Only main-draw results in WTA Tour, Grand Slam tournaments, Billie Jean King Cup, United Cup, Hopman Cup and Olympic Games are included in win–loss records.
Singles Current through the 2024 Wuhan Open.
Tournament2018201920202021202220232024SRW–LWin %Grand Slam tournaments Australian OpenA1RA1R1R2R3R0 / 53–5 French OpenQ1A3R1R1R1R1R0 / 52–5 WimbledonAANH2R1RQ22R0 / 32–3 US OpenAAA1R3R3R2R0 / 45–4Win–loss0–00–12–11–42–43–34–40 / 1712–17National representationSummer OlympicsNHANH2R0 / 11–1Billie Jean King CupAARRARR0 / 11–0WTA 1000Qatar OpenANMSANMSANMSA0 / 00–0DubaiNMSANMSANMSQ11R0 / 10–1Indian Wells OpenAANHA1RA2R0 / 21–2Miami OpenAANHA2RA1R0 / 21–2Madrid OpenAANHAQ21R1R0 / 20–2Italian OpenAAAAAA1R0 / 10–1Canadian OpenAANH1RAAA0 / 10–1Cincinnati OpenAAAAAA1R0 / 10–1Guadalajara OpenNHAANTI0 / 00–0Wuhan OpenAANH1R0 / 10–1China OpenAANHA2R0 / 11–1Win–loss0–00–00–00–11–20–12–80 / 123–12Career statistics2018201920202021202220232024SRW–LWin %Tournaments01312111022Career total: 59Titles0000000Career total: 0Finals0001010Career total: 2Hard win–loss0–00–10–14–84–57–50 / 2015–20Clay win–loss0–00–03–25–33–59–50 / 1520–15Grass win–loss0–00–00–01–10–10–00 / 21–2Overall win–loss0–00–13–310–127–1116–1016-220 / 5952–59 Year-end ranking612871235771356174$2,747,463
Doubles Current through the 2024 US Open.
Tournament2018201920202021202220232024SRW–LWin %Grand Slam tournaments Australian OpenAAAA1RA1R0 / 20–2 French Open1RA1R3R1R1R1R0 / 62–6 WimbledonAANHA1RAA0 / 10–1 US OpenAAAAA1R1R0 / 20–2Win–loss0–10–00–12–10–30–20–30 / 112–11National representationBillie Jean King CupAARRARR0 / 10–3Career statisticsTournaments1022421Career total: 12Titles000000Career total: 0Finals000000Career total: 0Overall win–loss0–10–00–22–40–40–20–10 / 122–14 Year-end ranking1121n/a7412651010644660
WTA Tour finals
Singles: 2 (2 runner-ups) LegendWTA 250 (0–2)Finals by surfaceClay (0–2)Finals by settingOutdoor (0–2)
ResultW–LDateTournamentTierSurfaceOpponentScoreLoss0–1Ladies Open Lausanne, SwitzerlandWTA 250Clay Tamara Zidanšek6–4, 6–7(5–7), 1–6Loss0–2Ladies Open Lausanne, SwitzerlandWTA 250Clay Elisabetta Cocciaretto5–7, 6–4, 4–6
WTA 125 finals
Singles: 2 (2 titles) ResultW–LDateTournamentSurfaceOpponentScoreWin1–0Dec 2023Open Angers, FranceHard (i) Chloé Paquet3–6, 6–4, 6–2Win2–0Internacional de Valencia, SpainClay Alicia Herrero Liñana 4–6, 6–0, 6–2
ITF Circuit finals
Singles: 11 (5 titles, 6 runner-ups) Legend$80,000 tournaments (0–1)$60,000 tournaments (2–1)$40,000 tournaments (0–1)$25,000 tournaments (3–2)$15,000 tournaments (0–1)Finals by surfaceHard (2–3)Clay (3–3)
ResultW–LDateTournamentTierSurfaceOpponentScoreLoss0–1Sep 2018ITF Clermont-Ferrand, FranceW25Hard (i) Lesley Kerkhove3–6, 6–4, 4–6Loss0–2Nov 2019ITF Monastir, TunisiaW15Hard Carole Monnet2–6, 0–6Win1–2Feb 2020Open de Grenoble, FranceW25Hard (i) Eléonora Molinaro5–7, 7–5, 6–2 Loss1–3Feb 2021ITF Poitiers, FranceW25Hard (i) Daria Snigur3–6, 6–2, 5–7 Loss1–4Apr 2021Oeiras Ladies Open, PortugalW60Clay Polona Hercogw/oWin2–4May 2021Open Saint-Gaudens, FranceW60Clay Alexandra Dulgheru6–2, 1–6, 6–2Loss2–5Sep 2021Wiesbaden Open, GermanyW80Clay Anna Bondár2–6, 4–6Win3–5Oct 2021ITF Cherbourg, FranceW25+HHard (i) Émeline Dartron6–4, 6–2Win4–5Jul 2023Open de Montpellier, FranceW60Clay Astra Sharma6–3, 7–5Win5–5Jun 2026ITF Nice, FranceW25+HClay Jenny Lim6–1, 3–6, 6–3Loss 5–6 Aug 2026ITF Saint-Palais-sur-Mer, FranceW50 Clay Fiona Ferro 6–2, 3–6, 5–7
Junior Grand Slam tournament finals
Singles: 2 (2 runner-ups) ResultYearTournamentSurfaceOpponentScoreLoss2018 Australian OpenHard Liang En-shuo3–6, 4–6Loss2018US OpenHard Wang Xiyu6–7(4–7), 2–6
Wins against top-10 players Burel has a 1–4 record against players who were, at the time the match was played, ranked in the top 10. Season 2024 Total Wins 1 1
#OpponentRankEventSurfaceRoundScore20241. Jessica Pegula5Australian OpenHard2R 6–4, 6–2 51
Notes
References
External links