🎾 WTA Stuttgart: Sasnovich vs Mertens

🎾 WTA Stuttgart: Sasnovich vs Mertens – Match Preview

🧠 Form & Context

🇧🇪 Elise Mertens

• 2025 Record: Title in Singapore, finalist at another WTA 250
• Clay Form: R3 in Charleston (win over Gracheva, loss to Zheng)
• Stuttgart Record: Last reached QF at WTA 500 level here in 2023
• Strengths: Consistent from baseline, solid all-around game
• Weaknesses: Struggles to back up wins at higher-tier events

🇧🇾 Aliaksandra Sasnovich

• Recent Momentum: SF in Cluj-Napoca (indoor), two Stuttgart qualifying wins
• Clay Record: Adapting well to surface; quick indoor conditions suit her
• Ranking: Outside Top 100 but trending upward with recent form
• Strengths: Flat, aggressive ball-striker, effective on faster courts
• Stuttgart History: Never advanced past R1 until now

🔍 Match Breakdown

This is a matchup between a seasoned WTA mainstay and a surging qualifier. Mertens carries the ranking and experience advantage, but she’s been vulnerable in early rounds—especially against aggressive, lower-ranked opponents. Sasnovich has the momentum and timing, having played and won two matches already under Stuttgart’s unique indoor clay conditions.

With both players tied 3–3 in their head-to-head and several of those matches going three sets, expect a close, high-quality encounter. Sasnovich’s flatter ball may do more damage on this quicker surface, while Mertens will look to outlast her in longer rallies.

🔮 Prediction

Pick: Sasnovich in three sets

Mertens’ consistency could carry her far, but Sasnovich looks locked in and better suited to these conditions right now. If she stays mentally steady, the upset is within reach.