World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka returns to action after a two-week break following her Miami Open success.
2025 WTA Tour
WTA 500
Porsche Tennis Grand Prix- Stuttgart Open
Porsche Arena, Stuttgart, Germany (Indoor Clay)
Selected Round of 32 and Round 16 Matches- 15th -16th April
Round of 16- 16th April
Aryna Sabalenka (1) vs Anastasia Potapova
World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka returns to action after a two-week break following her Miami Open success. The huge-hitting Belarusian is 23-4 for the year, winning titles in Brisbane and Miami. She
came close to capturing her 4th Grand Slam title in Melbourne, going down to an inspired Madison Keys in an epic final. She will be starting her clay-court campaign this week, looking to build up momentum in her quest to capture that elusive French Open crown. The hardcourt dynamo has improved immeasurably on clay these past few years, reaching seven clay-court finals since 2021 (winning two titles). She has been the 2nd best clay-court player in the world for some time (she lost to Swiatek in the Madrid and Rome finals last year). She also has a true pedigree in this event, finishing runner-up from 2021 to 2023. These courts are quick by clay standards and Sabalenka gets decent purchase for those gargantuan groundstrokes. Could this be the year that she finally breaks through in Stuttgart?
Russian Anastaisa Potapova pulled off a bit of a surprise in her opener, overcoming the versatile Clara Tauson in three sets. Potapova had to dig deep, saving a match-point in the 2nd set before eventually overpowering the Dane from the back of the court. An aggressive baseliner by nature, Potapova won an impressive 70% of her first-serve points in the match. Her reward for her excellent performance: a meeting with the World No.1. Potapova has enjoyed an up-and-down season, winning her 3rd WTA title in Romania but largely underperforming in the other events. She has some clay-court pedigree, winning her maiden WTA Tour title at the Istanbul Cup back in 2022. She reached the 4th round at last year’s French Open (her best result in a Slam to date). She also has some tournament credentials, beating Gauff and Garcia en route to a semifinal finish back in 2023.
The Verdict: Sabalenka to win in straight sets at – Sabalenka leads the head-to-head 1-0, thrashing Potapova 6-1, 6-2 on these surfaces back in 2023. Potapova is an adept clay-court operator who, on her day, possesses the ability to wrongfoot more illustrious opponents. She will be hoping that Sabalenka takes a little time to adjust in her first clay-court match of the campaign. Potapova hit the ball cleanly against Tauson and could catch the Belarusian out in the early stages. Still, Sabalenka is too powerful and will ultimately persevere.
