LINZ NEWS & NOTES
*Tennis quickly moves on from the first Grand Slam of the season as the ladies hit Linz, Austria for an indoor stop to move the calendar into February. There will be no repeat champions with Errani-Paolini not in this year’s field. The Italian duo won the 2024 titles as 2.41 (+141) unseeded underdogs over top seeds Melichar-Martinez/Perez. The win made it four straight runs in Linz that the title match has gone to the underdog team.
*Underdogs overall hit for five wins out of the 15 completed matches last year. The largest came in the quarterfinals at 3.11 (+211) when 3rd seeds Hozumi-Ninomiya were taken out. That was one of two dog hits in the quarters with two more coming in the opening round.
*None of those first round underdog wins involved seeds as all four pairs won their openers in 2024. That’s been a fairly strong trend in Linz the last four times the tournament has taken place dating back to 2020. Only three of the 16 seeds in that span have lost in round one.
*Even though seeds have avoided early trouble, unseeded pairs have still found their way into the mix at the business end of the tournament. Last year saw three unseeded duos in the semifinals with multiple unseeded semifinalists in four of the last five runs in Linz. The top seeds have not won this tournament since 2019 when Krejcikova-Siniakova were crowned champions. The #1 seed has made the final in five of the last seven runs in Linz with two titles to show for it.
*The 2024 title match went to a super tie break finish. It was the second straight year that occurred after a run of straight sets championship matches dating back to 2019. Overall, there were plenty of super tie break finishes last year with seven of the 15 completed matches needing the STB to settle the score. That was way up from just three in 2023. There doesn’t seem to be any steady trend as to which rounds you’ll see more STBs than another, so it’s one of those things where you should look closely at the match-ups if you like to hunt out those super tie breaks.
*The fields for tournaments coming straight off of a Grand Slam, especially one half way around the world, are always interesting to investigate. This one starts with intrigue right at the top as newly minted Australian Open champion Katerina Siniakova pairs up with Zhang Shuai as the top seed in Linz. They’ve played once before and that came in 2024 when they paired for the first time in Ghangzhou last Fall. All they did was win four straight matches in straight sets to claim the titles in their first tournament together. Amongst the seeds, there’s just one “regular” pairing with (2)Danilina-Khromacheva filling that role. While not “regular” teammates, the sisters Kichenok reunite for the week as the three seeds. They’ve playing sparingly together with a 12-6 record combined through the last three seasons. The four seeds are Babos-Stefani teaming up for the first time.
THE UNSEEDED MENACES
With this tournament’s history of producing unseeded semifinalists and finalists each of the last three years, there’s bound to be a surprise package or two to look out for in 2025. Let’s take a look at the more dangerous duos floating in the draw.
MIhalikova-Nicholls/Aoyama-Hozumi
These pairs will square off in round one with the survivor easily seen as a threat in the second quarter with the inexperience of Babos-Stefani as the seeds. Both pairs had semifinal showings in Aussie prep tournaments in Hobart and Brisbane respectively. Both were out early in Melbourne via the two teams that made the final, so there’s no shame in that for either one. Both played plenty together in 2024 with Mihalikova-Nicholls making a final on grass, while Aoyama-Hozumi made three hard courts finals, winning one in Tokyo. I’d give them the slight edge in this one and they could well make at least a semifinal push.
Piter-Stollar
An under-the-radar pair that went 20-5 last season. They showed clay was not their lone surface of success with three hard court finals. Both played with other partners in the Australian swing, so they’ll be looking to get their chemistry back on-the-fly. Stollar had a great Aussie summer with Ninomiya, making the Auckland semifinals and the Hobert final. This will be a team to watch.
Alexandrova-Santamaria/Potapova-Sizikova
The only time they paired together was here last year and they split a pair of matches, losing a super tie break to top seeds Melichar-Martinez/Perez in the quarterfinals. Both got their feet wet in 2025 in Australia playing doubles and Santamaria made the Auckland final alongside Krunic. They could be a dangerous out again in Linz, but have a tough opener against another tough team in Potapova-Sizikova. Potapova in particular has played well in Linz in singles, winning the event back in 2023. Could she parlay here comfortability indoors here into a doubles run with Sizikova?
ONE AND DONE WATCH
Every week, I’ll be look at the seeds and which ones look prone to upsets in their opening matches.
(3)Kichenok-Kichenok
The sisters have that connection, so it’s really not going to be a question of chemistry per say, but switching off of your early season partners can be tough. They face a duo in Eikeri-Wu who went 4-6 in limited play last year. Their first tournament together was Dubai and they made a quarterfinal push there, but struggled to do much in their other tournaments. Still, coming in cold like this, this feels like one of those matchups that could be close.
(4)Babos-Stefani
These are two talented doubles players, but they’re also a pair that have never teamed together and were working with new partners in Australia to start 2025. They could well just roll over their round one partners who are also working together for the first time in Cavalle-Reimers and Moratelli. Both have plenty of doubles experience with Cavalle-Reimers being a real threat on smaller stages on clay last year. She went 36-12 with five titles, many of which were at the ITF level. Do they threaten on a hard surface? Maybe not, but if Babos-Stefani take time to mesh, this could wind up competitive with some upset potential.
*Draw is linked. Click DRAW PREVIEW above to see it.
TOP HALF
This half is all about (1)Siniakova-Zhang. Some may question if SIniakova can refocus off the high of winning her 10th Grand Slam doubles title and transition to a different partner for the week. If there’s anything we’ve learned about her, she can pair with a paint can and make a match competitive. In Zhang she is getting a quality partner, so they’ll be deserving favorites this week. In their quarter, there is nobody who stands out as contenders. Perhaps Gleason-Zimmermann in the opener are the ones with the best chance of being competitive as Siniakova-Zhang feel their way into rhythm. I don’t give Sramkova-Tomova or Appleton-Tang much of a shot against the top seeds either. It would be a huge surprise if Siniakova-Zhang don’t get to the semifinals at-minimum.
The second quarter features the (4)Babos-Stefani tandem. While I may question if they can get it together early and survive round one, they do get a team in the same position of working together for the first time. That could well work in their favor with Babos-Stefani as clear cut doubles talents. I think the quarterfinals are the spot where they might be done if they make it. That’s where either Mihalikova-Nicholls or Aoyama-Hozumi will be waiting. That match seems like a real coin flip to call a winner, but whomever moves on will definitely have a legitimate shot to secure the semifinal spot out of this quarter.
Does anyone have the juice to take down Siniakova-Zhang? I think it’s going to be tough unless they really struggle to get on the same page. Perhaps Babos-Stefani turn out to be a dynamic duo that could ruffle their feathers, but I still think it may be an unseeded foe that the top seeds will see in the final four.
My Favorite: Siniakova-Zhang
My Sleeper: Aoyama-Hozumi
BOTTOM HALF
(2)Danilina-Khromacheva had a disappointing finish to the Australian Summer as they were crushed 6-3, 6-1 in Melbourne in their opener. They split four other matches in Brisbane and Adelaide with the best showing a super tie break loss to Siegemund-Haddad Maia in Adelaide. Their draw is workable towards them getting back on a roll, but I don’t expect things to be easy for them. Their Czech opponents in round one have experience together, albeit most of it came in 2022. Detiuc-Skoch did play Linz in 2023 with a first round loss in a super tie break, so maybe we shouldn’t be surprise if they push the seeds to the limit. The match opposite of theirs should be a banger with Alexandrova-Santamaria taking on the Russians Potapova-Sizikova. Both come in cold as far as partnering with both duos last playing together in 2024. Potapova-Sizikova are the listed favorites for the match, but I do think Alexandrova-Santamaria will have their chances. Given Danilina-Khromacheva’s up and down start to 2025, there is certainly room here for the winner of that one to steal the semifinal spot.
The other quarter in this half houses the (3)Kichenoks as the seeds. I think this quarter is relatively open with Eikeri-Wu bringing experience against the sisters in round one. My real sleepers though are Piter-Stollar. They’re 24-5 lifetime together and while clay has been their best playground, they proved last year that hard courts are a winnable surface for them. The pair won one of the Guadalajara stops and made the finals in both Ghangzhou and Jiujiang to end 2024. While they didn’t beat any elite duos in those runs, I don’t think they’re seeing any in this bottom half that rank as that to scare them off. The opener is a key as they face a pair of Austrian wild cards. They may have some crowd support, so Piter-Stollar will need to be steady from ball one.
Unlike the top half where there is a clear cut favorite, I think this bottom half is going to produce a surprise or two. Both seeds certainly CAN succeed here, but I think there are enough speed bumps to derail one or both shy of the semifinals. Piter-Stollar are the pair to keep your eyes on, but that Potapova-Sizikova/Alexandrova/Santamaria survivor may well end up being the best of the unseeded bunch.
My Favorite: Piter-Stollar
My Sleeper: Potapova-Sizikova
CLOSING TIME
Linz doesn’t always have “big” names due to its place on the calendar, but when they do, they usually don’t disappoint. Katerina Siniakova has been a top seed here twice before, once with Barbora Krejcikova and the other time with Lucie Hradecka. She made the final both times, winning the titles once. With Zhang, she has another very capable partner in that same vein, so I have the top seeds penciled into the final for sure. Falling short would be a big surprise, one that I would have to think would either be attributed to fatigue or injury. The recent history suggests that we should see a surprise team in the other slot. I’m not sure it matters if SIniakova-Zhang play anywhere close to the level they showed last year in Ghangzhou.
PIGPIX
Siniakova-Zhang
Potapova-Sizikova
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