Talk About Tennis 2.0

Tournament: Porsche Tennis Grand Prix
Location: Stuttgart, Germany
Dates: April 17 - April 23, 2023
Level: WTA 500
Total Financial Commitment: $780,637
Surface: Clay

Name Country WTA Ranking

1 F Swiatek, Iga Swiatek, Iga Poland POL 1
2 F Sabalenka, Aryna Sabalenka, Aryna 2
3 F Garcia, Caroline Garcia, Caroline France FRA 4
4 F Jabeur, Ons Jabeur, Ons Tunisia TUN 5
5 F Gauff, Coco Gauff, Coco USA USA 6
6 F Rybakina, Elena Rybakina, Elena Kazakhstan KAZ 7
7 F Kasatkina, Daria Kasatkina, Daria 8
8 F Bencic, Belinda Bencic, Belinda Switzerland SUI 9
9 F Sakkari, Maria Sakkari, Maria Greece GRE 10
10 F Kudermetova, Veronika Kudermetova, Veronika 11
11 F Kvitova, Petra Kvitova, Petra Czech Republic CZE 12
12 F Krejcikova, Barbora Krejcikova, Barbora Czech Republic CZE 13
13 F Haddad Maia, Beatriz Haddad Maia, Beatriz Brazil BRA 14
14 F Samsonova, Liudmila Samsonova, Liudmila 15
15 F Pliskova, Karolina Pliskova, Karolina Czech Republic CZE 17
16 F Alexandrova, Ekaterina Alexandrova, Ekaterina 18
17 F Vekic, Donna Vekic, Donna Croatia CRO 20
18 F Ostapenko, Jelena Ostapenko, Jelena Latvia LAT 22
19 F Zheng, Qinwen Zheng, Qinwen China CHN 23
20 F Trevisan, Martina Trevisan, Martina Italy ITA 24

F = Full Member
Q = Qualifier
W = Wild Card


https://www.porsche-tennis.com/prod/pag ... nt_players

Qualifying Singles Entry List

Nr. Name Land Rang

1 ANASTASIA POTAPOVA - 26
2 ANHELINA KALININA UKR 28
3 PAULA BADOSA ESP 29
4 JIL TEICHMANN SUI 32
5 AMANDA ANISIMOVA USA 35
6 BERNARDA PERA USA 37
7 ELISE MERTENS BEL 39
8 PETRA MARTIC CRO 41
9 LINDA FRUHVIRTOVA CZE 50
10 ALYCIA PARKS USA 56
11 ANNA KALINSKAYA - 64
12 KATIE VOLYNETS USA 77
13 LESIA TSURENKO UKR 81
14 CRISTINA BUCSA ESP 82

F = Full Member
Q = Qualifier
W = Wild Card

https://www.porsche-tennis.com/prod/pag ... nt_players

this is the first real clay court tournament of the season.. Charleston is a sort of transition between hard and clay.. I wonder how Rybakina will do on clay - Swaiatek and Sabalenka are proven champions on clay, Rybakina isnt..yet. I somehow feel her movement may not be ideal for clay.. let us see what she does. Ostapenko is one established clay courter who is playing well lately, she may do well (except for the virus she is recovering from).. I wonder about Pegula no reason why she should not do as well on clay as anywhere else but no proof point yet. Kenin will, we know.. Krejcikova of course.. stuttgart shold be a good test, I generally ignore Charleston when it comes to understanding clay court form..

One clue to look for is - is someone performing well on a surface that doesn't really suit him/,her? Sinner, Tiafoe and Krejcikova come to mind..should do well when the clay season begins...also Khachanov and Samsonova (though she has underperformed a bit lately)

Charleston is on har-tru, so indeed it is not "clay". But I always liked that surface and I feel that it has been maligned slightly. It is fun to play on it.
I do not expect to see Elena playing well on clay. Her movement is the worse of the top players, and with that extra flat FH, the errors will pile up.
Ostapenko has a reputation as a clay courter because she won one French, and indeed, that should qualify her. Until you see her record there:
2016 - R128, 2017 - W, 2018 - R128, 2019 - R128, 2020 - R32 (pandemic year, played in October, on very cold days), 2021 - R128, 2022 - R64. She has no other clay court FINALS and her only final on something similar is Charleston. So, she has to be gauged accordingly. I don't see her doing anything on clay.

good point about Ostapenko - she has done better on grass than on clay, actually..

I have played on green clay just once - at the Rock Creek Club in DC (actually Maryland)..didnt like the way it robbed my serve of all its pace..

the thing about Charleston is - it has been won in the past by such red clay stalwarts as Bencic, Kerber, Keys.. so not very good omen for the red clay season..clearly it is not the same as red clay.

Not the same, indeed. I would say that har-tru is the one kind of court that you can alter speed (I am not sure if you worry about this ) the most. A few extra layers of har-tru and you have a very slow court; a few less, and it is very fast.
But you can slide the same as on clay. So, the footwork is the same, as far as I am concerned.
One problem: all courts are different. Even at the same club, two adjacent courts will play differently. But I say it is a fun surface. AND: very soft on your knees, which is a plus.

I think Rybakina can do very well in Charleston, Stuttgart, and Madrid. I'm not sure she'll ever get to the finals of RG, but she has been to the QF already, so in general, I wouldn't rule her out of clay court tournaments no matter the size.

As much as I am getting to be a fan of hers, I think her weakest skill is movement. And her FH is very, very flat.
Hope I am wrong, of course, but (for example) I am not coming close to her for my TSiP team. I don't think her tool set will get her many points during the clay swing.

as we move on to red clay... I would rate the players thusly:
1. Swiatek of course, the bext clay courter n the world today - she should win RG and at least one of the other big ones(madrid/Rome)
2. Sabalenka - better than one would expect on clay - she has a great record and she has the right game - big power, being abit slow on her feet wont hurt her much as she knows hoe to move on clay.. will win at least one of the 1000 series and maybe get to the finals of RG
3. Jabeur - seems to be back, has the game for clay - moves well on clay - has done well last year too, takes confidence from Charleston..

then a couple of wild cards:

4. Samsonova - always great on clay - tremendous power, nearly beat Swiatek last year, will do well this year, I think,
5. Krejcikova - a proven champion, comfortable and confident on clay.. will do well, possibly win one of the 1000 series , go to the semis or better at RG

the ones I do NOT expect much from on clay:
Rybakina, Bencic, and, of course (sorry, American fans out there) Coco and Pegula- Coco needs to find ways to put the ball away, being defensive doesnt help and Pegula, well, she needs some weapons.. though she will get to the QF of almost any tournament she plays (you could call that doing well, but I dont)

Leylah could do well, she has the ability to put the ball away at the net and moves well on clay.. Badosa also will do well enough, QFs and so on.
thoughts? without getting too emotional about anyone, please!

Swiatek? A given. No refutation there, with only one caveat: last player to defend a slam title was Serena at Wimby ('15-'16). So, sure, she will be the favorite. But not at 75%.
Sabalenka. 3 times R32 at RG. That is her best showing. But she has won Madrid, at that altitude (ha!) of 600 mts. Sincerely, don't see her doing much.
Ons. Sure, why not? She likes the surface, and seems to be back after yesterday's win.
Samsonova. You have your soft spot for her.
Krejcikova. I say she will be the second best player of the season.
Rybakina? See you on grass, my dear.
Bencic? Nah, she will do fine, and will be a force in the smaller 500's.
Coco. She is the RG RU from last year. She will do better than you expect. Repeating that final will be tough.
Dark horse. Mademoiselle OTHER. Get ready for some unknown players winning something big (not a 1000).

ponchi101 wrote: ↑Mon Apr 10, 2023 3:36 pm Swiatek? A given. No refutation there, with only one caveat: last player to defend a slam title was Serena at Wimby ('15-'16). So, sure, she will be the favorite. But not at 75%.
Sabalenka. 3 times R32 at RG. That is her best showing. But she has won Madrid, at that altitude (ha!) of 600 mts. Sincerely, don't see her doing much.
Ons. Sure, why not? She likes the surface, and seems to be back after yesterday's win.
Samsonova. You have your soft spot for her.
Krejcikova. I say she will be the second best player of the season.
Rybakina? See you on grass, my dear.
Bencic? Nah, she will do fine, and will be a force in the smaller 500's.
Coco. She is the RG RU from last year. She will do better than you expect. Repeating that final will be tough.
Dark horse. Mademoiselle OTHER. Get ready for some unknown players winning something big (not a 1000).

Agree except mmlle other! Which tournament, ,500 and over, has she won lately?!

Swiatek, if she's healthy, and Krejcikova would be my favorites

Ons & Coco would be in the mix to go deep in the tournament.

Otherwise, I'm with ponchi on the dark horse.

atlpam wrote: ↑Mon Apr 10, 2023 7:46 pm Swiatek, if she's healthy, and Krejcikova would be my favorites

Ons & Coco would be in the mix to go deep in the tournament.

Otherwise, I'm with ponchi on the dark horse.

Ok but which tournament, other than 250 level, has a dark horse actually won?
Curious why you think Sabalenka will not be a major force...do you think the bad sabalenka has returned? She did well last year and is playing better this year than last year....