Elena Rybakina, the world No. 2, is set to compete at the WTA Stuttgart as the top seed. Her first match will be against Diana Shnaider. Rybakina previously won the tournament two seasons ago.
Rybakina’s Return to Stuttgart
Rybakina won this tournament on her last visit two seasons ago. She ended Iga Swiatek’s 10-match undefeated streak in Stuttgart en route to the title. Last year, she missed the event, and there were conflicting reports that she withdrew from this year’s edition. But it was later confirmed that she withdrew from the One Point Challenge exhibition earlier this week. Diana Shnaider earned a straight-set win in her opening match, dropping just four games in cruising past Tamara Korpatsch. While outdoor clay blunts Rybakina’s effortless power, controlled conditions indoors actually help the Kazakh.
Noskova Aims to Avenge Loss
Linda Noskova is also in action, following her Billie Jean King Cup heroics last weekend. Noskova survived a scare in her opening match against Shuai Zhang. The Czech shockingly lost the opening set 7-5 in half an hour, but regrouped and found her range to win the next two sets. The victory is her third in a row. Alexandrova picked up her second win in eight matches as she downed qualifier Gabriela Knutson in straight sets. Alexandrova won the pair’s only meeting in Monterrey last year, but consistency just hasn’t been there lately. Noskova has all the momentum to avenge that loss in Mexico.
Andreeva’s Winning Streak
Mirra Andreeva comes to Stuttgart as a champion after a successful week in Linz. She extended her winning streak to five matches thanks to a comeback victory against defending champion Jelena Ostapenko on Wednesday. Parks has won three matches in Stuttgart, two of them in qualifying. Parks has not lost a set this week, but the only time she faced Andreeva, the American suffered one of the quickest losses of her career at last year’s US Open. Andreeva has shown she can stay stable under pace and serve pressure after handling Ostapenko’s overwhelming power.
The tournament continues with Rybakina’s opening match against Shnaider, and other compelling matches.