After the WTA players were all around the world last week playing for their country in the Billie Jean King Cup, the individual play has returned with the tournament in Stuttgart. The Porsche Tennis Grand Prix is held in Stuttgart, Germany, and is the oldest women’s indoor tournament in Europe, founded in 1978.
In 2009 it was upgraded to a premier tournament, meaning 500 ranking points are on the line. There is $758,000 of prize money up for grabs and the winner also receives a Porsche.
Our defending champion, Ashleigh Barty, has retired so we are guaranteed to have a new champion this year. Let’s take a look at today’s matches to find winning tennis picks.
Storm Sanders vs. Emma Raducanu
Wednesday, April 20, 2022 – 04:00 AM EDT at Porsche Arena
Storm Sanders
Storm Sanders is an Australian player ranked 197 in the world. Australian players also do not grow up on the clay, but at 27 years old, Storm Sanders is a WTA veteran who has played the European swing many times.
Sanders was forced to qualify for the clay but did not drop a set, dispatching Mara Guth and Tamara Korpatsch in her two qualifying matches. While this is not Sanders' best surface, she has been on the tour for many years and understands what it takes to play on the clay.
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Emma Raducanu and Storm Sanders have faced each other once. It was in an ITF tournament last year in Nottingham, England, Raducanu’s home country. Raducanu was able to prevail 7-6, 6-2. As Radacanu had a home-court advantage and was on a surface that she is comfortable on, these results are not predictive for tonight's match.
Emma Raducanu
Emma Raducanu is the reigning US Open Champion, but she has struggled so far in her 2022 season. She played her first-ever clay court tennis match ever against Tereza Martincova in the Billie Jean King Cup last week. After not playing on clay, she was able to win her first match 7-5, 7-5.
Unfortunately, in her next match at the Billie Jean King Cup, accomplished clay court player Marketa Vondrousova easily beat her 6-1, 6-1. Still, it was an important experience for Raducanu to get time playing on the surface, which can be a tough adjustment for American and British players.
The on-court balance is different and the sliding is something that most hardcourt players are not used to. European players, who grow up playing on clay, are quite comfortable in the dirt. Raducanu has the game to become a strong clay court player, so it is up to her willingness to train her body and to make her mind comfortable upon the currently foreign surface.
The Prediction
Regardless of an experience shortcoming, the talented Raducanu will get the victory today. Because of her lack of experience on the clay, the oddsmakers of the WTA odds are giving us a very favorable price on the defending US Open champion.
Raducanu will have problems against players who are clay-court specialists but against other players who do not see this as their best surface, she has a chance to get the victory on her talent alone.
This will be a great learning experience for Raducanu and she will get the victory. Our first best bet for today’s WTA Stuttgart event is Emma Raducanu ML.
WTA Pick: Emma Raducanu ML (-149) with BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)
Petra Kvitova vs. Karolina Pliskova
Wednesday, April 20, 2022 – 04:00 AM EDT at Porsche Arena
Petra Kvitova
Petra Kvitova is a 32-year-old former grand slam champion ranked number 28 in the world. Kvitova has not had the best season so far by her standards. She is 9-10 on the year. Petra Kvitova is a tall left-handed player who also prefers the power style of tennis just like her opponent Karolina Pliskova today.
The difference is that Kvitova, being left-handed, allows her to pull players off the court in the opposite direction to which they are accustomed. That advantage will not be as great today as Kvitova and Pliskova have played four times in their career.
Kvitova is 3-1 against Pliskova, but those matches were all from 2018 or earlier, and Pliskova won their most recent meeting. Previous results are not predictive for this match since they happened such a long time ago.
Karolina Pliskova
Petra Kvitova will be playing her countrywoman Karolina Pliskova today. Pliskova has not had the best results so far in the 2022 season. She has only played four matches and she is 1-3. Pliskova was injured in the offseason and it definitely hindered her training and conditioning going into the year. Pliskova hopes that with consistent time on the court she can improve her results to protect her current number 7 ranking.
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Karolina Pliskova is a hard-serving player who has a huge forehand. She definitely plays the power style tennis. You would think that her style is not well suited to clay, but with her lack of mobility, the clay actually gives her more chance to run down balls on the defensive end.
At the same time, Pliskova has so much power that she can hit through even the slower surfaces. Stuttgart is also an indoor clay tournament that plays faster than outdoor clay. These are great conditions for Karolina Pliskova to get her form back.
The Pick
I like Karolina Pliskova to get it done today with underdog WTA odds. Pliskova's slow start to the season is making her undervalued, and she's always been a better clay player than Petra Kvitova.
At this point of her career, Pliskova is also playing better tennis as Kvitova is definitely on the downside of her career as an athlete. Pliskova has one or two more years left in her athletic prime and I expect that now that she is fully healthy we will see that demonstrated.
This should be a great match, and the over is possibly a good look, but the best bet for this match is the Karolina Pliskova ML.
WTA Pick: Karolina Pliskova ML (+136) with Bovada (visit our Bovada Review)
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.
