Coco Gauff’s disappointing loss to Anastasia Potapova at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart marked her first tournament since her split with coach Diego Moyano.
While Gauff was hoping for a deeper run in the tournament to start her clay-court season, Potapova proved to be a formidable opponent, saving six break points on her own serve and converting three of 13 in Gauff’s service games. It was a tough start for the fifth-seeded American, who will be looking to bounce back in her next tournament.
On the other hand, top-ranked Iga Swiatek returned from a rib injury with an impressive 6-1 6-4 win over Zheng Qinwen in Stuttgart. Swiatek, who missed the Miami Open and Poland’s match in the Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers, started her clay season smoothly with a one-sided first set.
Despite Zheng coming back from 3-1 down to level the second at 4-4, Swiatek was able to break Zheng’s serve in the next game and serve out the win. Swiatek will face Karolina Pliskova in the quarter-finals.
Paula Badosa’s 6-1, 6-2 victory over fellow Spanish player Cristina Bucsa set up a quarter-final clash with second-ranked Aryna Sabalenka in Stuttgart. Badosa, who is ranked 34th in the world, dominated her second-round match to advance to the next round.
