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Iga Swiatek, Elena Rybakina and Petra Kvitova lead the field in Stuttgart, the first WTA 500 stop of the European clay swing — the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, scheduled to be played at the Tennis Club Weissenhof between April 17-23.
The three most recent title winners, however, are set to face stiff competition from a packed field. Aryna Sabalenka, Ons Jabeur and Caroline Garcia round out the top 4 seeds alongside Swiatek. Add the likes of Grand Slam champions Emma Raducanu, Barbora Krejcikova, Jelena Ostapenko and other former winners, and tennis fans can expect top-drawer tennis.
With main-draw action set to begin at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix on Monday, here is a look at the prospects of the top names in the fray:
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Top half: Iga Swiatek could face Elena Rybakina in Porsche Tennis Grand Prix title defence
Top seeds: [1] Iga Swiatek, [3] Ons Jabeur, [7] Elena Rybakina, [8] Maria Sakkari
Dark horse: Ekaterina Alexandrova
Iga Swiatek is, in all likelihood, set to open her title defense against the talented Qinwen Zheng in the second round. Back on her beloved clay, the Pole — who has not played since losing to Elena Rybakina in the Indian Wells semifinal — will be keen to bring out her best tennis.
Swiatek will certainly need that, as she could run into either fellow clay court aficionado Maria Sakkari or former winner Karolina Pliskova in the quarterfinals, with 2023 nemesis Rybakina looming next.
That said, Rybakina has a few tricky turns to manouevre of her own first. The Kazakh will take on the big-hitting Jule Niemeier in her opener. If she were to come through that test, the Kazakh could face Beatriz Haddad Maia, who beat her earlier in the year, or two-time Roland Garros semifinalist Martina Trevisan.
Rybakina looked in good touch at the Billie Jean King Cup and the additional match practice on clay will also come in handy heading into the big event. The indoor conditions are also likely to propel her power-packed game further.
Ons Jabeur will also look to build on her title-winning run in Chartleston. She will need to be at her best as she opens her campaign against the winner of a blockbuster opener between Jelena Ostapenko and Emma Raducanu.
Prediction: Elena Rybkaina def. Iga Swiatek
Bottom half: Aryna Sabalenka, Caroline Garcia, Coco Gauff, Petra Kvitova crowd packed half
Top seeds: [2] Aryna Sabalenka, [4] Caroline Garcia, [5] Daria Kasatkina, [6] Coco Gauff
Dark horse: Barbora Krejcikova
Coco Gauff and Daria Kasatkina, both of whom had big seasons on clay last year, find themselves in two separate quarters in Stuttgart. The American faces a tough opener against the big-serving Veronika Kudermetova, with the prospect of running into Miami champion Petra Kvitova in the next round.
For Kvitova, a former Porsche Tennis Grand Prix winner, the first round against a vastly-improved Anastasia Potapova will hold the key. A win here would inspire the sort of confidence needed to flip the script on Gauff, who beat her in the Middle East.
Caroline Garcia, who has a relatively straightforward path up to the quarterfinals, awaits the winner of that section.
Fans can also expect another installment from the burgeoning rivalry between Aryna Sabalenka and Barbora Krejcikova in the second round.
Sabalenka, who reached the final at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix last year, will be the favorite to come through, but the 2021 Roland Garros champion definitely possesses the game to spring a surprise or two.
As for Kasatkina, Sabalenka's projected semifinal opponent, the tests begin right at the start with a clash against Paula Badosa in the opener.
Prediction: Sabakenka def. Kvitova
Prediction for the final
Sabalenka def. Rybakina
