{"id":104944,"date":"2026-05-18T00:12:52","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T04:12:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/?p=104944"},"modified":"2026-05-18T00:12:52","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T04:12:52","slug":"wta-french-open-kraus-naef","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2026\/05\/18\/wta-french-open-kraus-naef\/","title":{"rendered":"WTA French Open Qualifying Best Bets Including Sinja Kraus vs Celine Naef"},"content":{"rendered":"

The WTA French Open women\u2019s qualifying tournament begins. These matches won\u2019t receive the same attention that the main draw of the tournament will get, but these are huge moments for tour professionals. Getting into the main draw of a major tournament means a bigger paycheck and an opportunity to make a huge gain in the rankings. A lot of players are pursuing money, points, and the important opportunity to be able to directly qualify for smaller tournaments later this season and in the future. These are season-defining moments for many of the players involved. LWOS has our best bets for three matches. Post your best bets and thoughts in the comments.<\/span><\/p>\n

.<\/span><\/p>\n

WTA French Open qualifying<\/b><\/h2>\n

Iatcenko \u2013 Monnet : Time 13:30 EST<\/b><\/h4>\n

H2H: 0-0<\/b><\/p>\n

Polina Iatcenko faces Carole Monnet. The two players are very close in the WTA rankings, with Iatcenko at 165 and Monnet not that far behind at 181. Monnet, notably, has six match wins on clay this year while Iatcenko has none. However, Iatcenko has played only one clay match in 2026. Monnet is 6-9 in 15 matches, so it\u2019s not as though she is winning most of her clay matches overall. She has simply played a lot more clay matches than Iatcenko in 2026. It\u2019s a small sample size. Which data points matter more?<\/span><\/p>\n

Best Bet to Make<\/b><\/p>\n

Monnet having more match wins and a lot more matches played on clay (15 to 1) makes it natural to want to pick Monnet to win. Monnet is the clear favorite in this match, so the betting markets seem to agree with Monnet winning. However, Monnet\u2019s 6-9 clay record shows there is a low ceiling to what she can do. She isn\u2019t a better clay player than Iatcenko. She just plays more on clay. There\u2019s a difference. We\u2019re not picking Iatcenko to win, but we are predicting a close match. This feels like the kind of match which will go three sets. Take the over 2.5 sets here. It\u2019s a fantastic price.<\/span><\/p>\n

That being said, <\/span>betting on over 2.5 sets is a value bet for sure.<\/b><\/p>\n

Value bet\/ the best odds: over 2.5 sets @2.60 @Betsson<\/b><\/p>\n

Gorgodze \u2013 Zidansek: Time 13:30 EST<\/b><\/h4>\n

H2H: 1-1<\/b><\/p>\n

Ekaterine Gorgodze plays Tamara Zidansek. In a comparison of the two players, Zidansek is ranked 69 spots higher, 133 to 202. Zidansek is also a former French Open semifinalist, having made the last four in Paris in 2021. Zidansek has not been playing especially well, but she still has that achievement in her past. Gorgodze is 1-5 in her last six matches. Zidansek is a modest 3-3 in her last six matches.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Best Bet to Make<\/b><\/p>\n

Zidansek, having had success at this tournament in the past, probably gives her some good feelings going into this match. She is the higher-ranked player by more than just a few spots. She has a better record in her last six matches. Getting Zidansek to win in straight sets doesn\u2019t offer a great price, so you need to go to the game spread instead. The most evenly-priced game spread is 5.5 games. Zidansek can and will cover that number.<\/span><\/p>\n

That being said, <\/span>betting on Zidansek -5.5 games is a value bet for sure.<\/b><\/p>\n

Value bet\/ the best odds: Zidansek -5.5 games @1.91 @Bet365<\/b><\/p>\n

Kraus \u2013 Naef: Time 13:30 EST<\/b><\/h4>\n

H2H: 0\u20130<\/b><\/p>\n

Sinja Kraus plays Celine Naef. Kraus is ranked 113 spots higher than Naef, 103 to 216. Kraus\u2019s much higher ranking is based on her strong runs in both the Madrid and Rome qualifying tournaments. Kraus won each of her two qualifying matches at both tournaments. That\u2019s four wins in qualifying for two 1,000-point tournaments. Kraus made the main draws of two prestigious events. Naef has played in ITF challengers and did not get to Madrid or Rome over the past month.<\/span><\/p>\n

Best Bet to Make<\/b><\/p>\n

Kraus\u2019s better results in bigger tournaments against better competition, combined with the much higher ranking, which reflects clear overall superiority, make her an easy choice here. The price for Kraus winning in straight sets is surprisingly generous, so you should be very happy to make this bet. Kraus is a better player, and her recent form shows it. It\u2019s the kind of bet you should feel very confident about.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That being said, <\/span>betting on Kraus winning 2:0 is a value bet for sure.<\/b><\/p>\n

Value bet\/ the best odds: Kraus winning 2:0 @1.91 @Coral<\/b><\/p>\n

Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The WTA French Open women\u2019s qualifying tournament begins. These matches won\u2019t receive the same attention that the main draw of the tournament will get, but these are huge moments for tour professionals. Getting into the main draw of a major tournament means a bigger paycheck and an opportunity to make a huge gain in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5481,"featured_media":55925,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17400,5,4],"tags":[43776,17399,17655,18886,7463,43417,17010,3501,15,5922],"class_list":["post-104944","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-best-bets","category-french-open","category-wta","tag-2026-wta-french-open","tag-best-bets","tag-carole-monnet","tag-celine-naef","tag-ekaterine-gorgodze","tag-polina-iatcenko","tag-sinja-kraus","tag-tamara-zidansek","tag-wta","tag-wta-french-open"],"modified_by":"Kane Webb","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104944","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5481"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=104944"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104944\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":104945,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104944\/revisions\/104945"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55925"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=104944"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=104944"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=104944"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}