Naomi Osaka, Ashleigh Barty, Simona Halep and Garbine Muguruza are going to be among the top players that will be part of the main draw in Stuttgart in a couple of months.
The Porsche Tennis Grand Prix will take place on clay from 17 to 25 April. Unfortunately, the event was not staged in 2020 because of the global pandemic. Therefore the 2019 defending champion is Petra Kvitova that defeated Anett Kontaveit in the final 6-3 7-6(2).
The organisation has secured some other top players such as Kvitova, Karolina Pliskova, Angelique Kerber, Belinda Bencic and Vika Azarenka.
Here the official statement.
“Stuttgart. The world’s top players will be competing at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix from 17 to 25 April. The preliminary entry list is headed by the top three players in the WTA world rankings – the number 1 Ashleigh Barty (Australia), the number 2 and current Australian Open winner Naomi Osaka (Japan) and the number 3 Simona Halep (Romania).
Also in the line-up are three players that have already won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix: Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic/2019), Karolina Pliskova (Czech Republic/2018) and Porsche Brand Ambassador Angélique Kerber (2015, 2016). Other top stars set to appear in the Porsche Arena are Garbine Muguruza (Spain), Belinda Bencic (Switzerland) and Victoria Azarenka (Belarus).”
Naomi Osaka in 2021
Ranked world no.2, Naomi played her last match on the 20th of February when she beat Jennifer Brady 6-4 6-3 in the final of the Australian Open to win her 7th career title.
At present, during this year Naomi has achieved a composed 10-0 record. Osaka conquered 1 title at the Australian Open.
Ashleigh Barty in 2021
Now ranked no.1, Barty played her last match on the 24th of February when she was defeated by Danielle Collins 6-3 6-4 in the 2nd round in Adelaide (draw).
Presently, during this year Barty owns a 8-2 record. Ashleigh has won 1 title in Melbourne.
Naomi Osaka and Ashleigh Barty played each other 4 times. Their current record is 2-2. The last time they played, Naomi Osaka won 3-6 6-3 6-2 in the final in Beijing (China Open) in October 2019.
Here the video highlights.
Simona Halep in 2021
Now the world no.3, Halep played her last match on the 16th of February when she was overcome by Serena Williams 6-3 6-3 in the quarter of the Australian Open (draw).
Until now, during this year Halep has a 6-2 record.
Garbine Muguruza in 2021
Now the world no.15, Muguruza played her last match on the 14th of February when she was overcome by Naomi Osaka 4-6 6-4 7-5 in the 4th round of the Australian Open (draw).
This season the Spaniard has a 9-3 match record. Garbine Muguruza’s best result of the current season was reaching the final in Melbourne.
Simona Halep and Garbine Muguruza played each other 7 times. The head to head is 4-3 for Muguruza. The last time they squared off, Simona Halep won 6-3 4-6 6-4 in the semifinal in Rome (Internazionali BNL d’Italia) in September 2020.
In the following video you can watch the key moments of their match.
