Last year’s WTA Bad Homburg runner-up, Donna Vekic, exerted revenge over the final loss to Diana Shnaider, defeating the defending champion in straight sets, and she will be looking to go one better this season. But first, she has to get past Linda Noskova in what promises to be a match to look forward to, as are the three other matches billed for Day 4. As always, we offer our predictions on who will make the cut.
WTA Bad Homburg Day 4 Predictions
Ekaterina Alexandrova vs Maria Sakkari
Head–to–Head: Alexandrova 1 vs 4 Sakkari
This clash between familiar opponents promises to be a fascinating battle of styles. Sakkari arrives as a wild card and has defeated Alexandrova six times at all levels. However, her season has been volatile, marred by a 15–18 win–loss record and inconsistency on grass, where she’s lost half of her recent matches. She barely scraped through her first-round victory over Yulia Putintseva, even though she showed flashes of brilliance.
On the other side, Alexandrova has looked strong and confident on grass, posting a 23–12 season record and dismantling Belinda Bencic 6–1 6–2 in her opening match–powered by an aggressive serve and well-placed first strikes. She’s brought rhythm from Stuttgart and Rosmalen into Germany, wielding one of the sharpest aces stats on tour this grass
While Sakkari has dominated their past meetings, none were on grass, and that surface could allow the Russian to grab a first win in this contest.
Prediction: Alexandrova in 2
Donna Vekic vs Linda Noskova
Head–to–Head: Vekic 0 vs 1 Noskova
Donna Vekić reached the final in 2024 and opened this year’s campaign with a solid straight-sets victory over Diana Shnaider. Her powerful serve and aggressive baseline game suit the surface well, and she enjoys the conditions at this venue.
Opposite her, Linda Nosková has found some sort of consistency this grass season, winning three of the four matches she’s been involved in this year, including a defeat of Ajla Tomljanović in straight sets in the first round. While she has yet to progress beyond the second round of Bad Homburg in previous visits, she’s shown poise and an ability to grind through tight matches this season, as evidenced by her quarterfinal run in Nottingham.
Predicting how the match unfolds depends on which player asserts their strengths, but I’m leaning toward Vekic as the better and more experienced player on the lawn.
Prediction: Vekic in 3
Elina Svitolina vs Beatriz Haddad Maia
Head–to–Head: First Meeting
Statistically, Svitolina has enjoyed a stronger season than Haddad Maia. The Ukrainian continued her solid form with a battling win over Rosmalen champion Elise Mertens in straight sets to secure her 30th win of the season.
Haddad Maia ended the pattern of losing to Americans in her last three tournaments by comfortably dispatching Ashlyn Krueger in straight sets. The Brazilian carries an air of unpredictability, often capable of stunning top players, as evidenced by previous victories over Top 10 opponents like Swiatek, Kasatkina, and Jabeur. However, she has struggled on grass this season, with just a 50 % win rate in her two matches.
Svitolina may have only played one match on grass this season–which she won–but she displayed more control with her serve and pressure point, and she just requires a repeat performance to make it to the next round.
Prediction: Svitolina in 2
Mirra Andreeva vs Clara Tauson
Head–to–Head: Andreeva 3 vs 0 Tauson
Despite a phenomenal start to the year with two WTA 1000 titles in Dubai and Indian Wells, Mirra Andreeva’s transition to grass has been shaky–a straight-sets loss to Magdalena Frech in Berlin highlighted that her footwork and nerves on the lower-bouncing surface remain a work in progress
Tauson, on the other hand, carries momentum too, and she showed some of her famed resilience in Nottingham, grinding out wins with flat groundstrokes and a steady serve to make a quarterfinal run. That mental strength was displayed in Bad Homburg, where she bounced back from a tight first round to defeat Frech.
Andreeva leads 3–0, including two recent wins in Dubai and Rome. This marks their first duel on grass, where both must adjust their patterns, timing, and movement. On that basis, expect Tauson to dig in and win their first encounter on the green.
Prediction: Tauson in 3
Main Photo Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
