The Hologic WTA Tour moves to Europe for the clay season, kicking off with the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany.
The WTA 500 event always features a packed main draw, and the 45th edition of the tournament is no exception. This year, Iga Swiatek plays her first event as a World No.1. She leads a field that includes seven of the Top 10, as well as the tournament debuts of Emma Raducanu, Bianca Andreescu and Coco Gauff.
Here's what you need to know about Stuttgart:
When does the tournament start?
The Porsche Tennis Grand Prix is a WTA 500 event played on indoor clay at the Porsche Arena in Stuttgart, Germany. The event has been voted by the players as the WTA 500 Tournament of the Year in 10 of the past 15 years. The tournament features a 32-player singles draw and 16-team doubles draw. It will use Wilson Roland Garros balls.
Main draw play begins on Monday, April 18, with qualifying to get underway on Saturday, April 16.
When are the finals?
Both finals will be played on Sunday, April 24. The singles final will be played at 1:00 p.m., followed by the doubles final.
Who are the top seeds?
1. Iga Swiatek
2. Paula Badosa
3. Aryna Sabalenka
4. Maria Sakkari
5. Anett Kontaveit
6. Karolina Pliskova
7. Ons Jabeur
8. Emma Raducanu
The top four seeds will receive opening-round byes.
Who are the defending champions?
Ashleigh Barty swept the singles and doubles titles in 2021. The then-No.1 defeated Aryna Sabalenka in the singles final and then paired with Jennifer Brady to defeat Desirae Krawczyk and Bethanie Mattek-Sands.
What does the draw look like?
The main draw ceremony took place on Sunday, April 17 at 1:00 p.m. Check here for a draw roundup.
What is the prize money and ranking points on offer?
Stuttgart has a total prize money purse of $703,580. In addition to prize money, the singles champion will also receive a Porsche Taycan GTS Sport Turismo.
First Round: € 6,540/1 point
Round of 16: € 9,081/55 points
Quarterfinals: € 17,806/100 points
Semifinal: € 33,879/185 points
Final:€ 58,032/305 points
Champion: € 93,823/470 points
Key Storylines
The new World No.1 debuts: Swiatek takes a 19-match winning streak into her tournament. Setting her streak and form aside, the 2020 Roland Garros champion will be one of the heavy favorites throughout the clay season. Swiatek has already won two of the tour's biggest clay titles in the past two seasons, having added Rome to her ledger last year.
Bianca Andreescu is back: The 2019 US Open champion accepted a wildcard into Stuttgart, where she will play her first tournament of the season. The 21-year-old Canadian last played at Indian Wells last fall. Stuttgart will be just Andreescu's fourth tour-level clay tournament of her career. She previously played 2019 Roland Garros, 2021 Strasbourg, and 2021 Roland Garros.
Paula Badosa, Ons Jabeur in form: Both players are making their main-draw debuts in Stuttgart, with Jabeur coming in off a run to the Charleston final. Badosa's consistency over the American swing - making the Indian Wells semifinal, Miami quarterfinal, and Charleston quarterfinal - has boosted her to a career-high No.3 ranking.
Emma Raducanu takes more steps on clay: Stuttgart will be the 18-year-old Brit's first clay-court appearance at WTA event. In fact, Raducanu did not play any clay events on the ITF Tour, either. Raducanu just got her first pro-level clay matches under her belt this past weekend, when she represented Great Britain against the Czech Republic at the Billie Jean King Cup. She defeated Tereza Martincova and lost to Marketa Vondrousova in those tilts.
