STUTTGART NEWS & NOTES
*Dabrowski-Routliffe won the titles in Stuttgart last year as the top seeds. They became the first #1 seeds to win this stop since 2018. Dabrowski-Routliffe were firm favorites at 1.64 (-156) in the final when they took out unseeded pair Alexandrova-Zhang 6-3, 6-3. That was the third straight sets final in Stuttgart in the last four years.
*Even though the final went down in two sets, seven of the 13 completed matches in 2025 required a super tie break finish. Three of those came in round one with two more in the quarterfinals and both semifinals needing the extra frame to settle. That made it three straight runs in Stuttgart with exactly seven STBs. 2024 saw the majority of those coming in round one (5) and 2023 saw all seven of its super tie breaks coming in round one. Focus on round one.
*Underdogs had a good showing last year with six wins in the 13 completed matches. Four of those u-dog wins came in the quarterfinals and semifinals between 2.02 (+102) and 2.51 (+151). Only three of the underdog wins involved a seeded pair losing. In 2024, there were five underdog wins in Stuttgart with two involving seeded losses. The big score came in round one when the top seeds, Krawczyk-Schuurs, lost with Schunk-Seidel winning as 5.44 (+444) dogs. 2023 had four underdog wins with a 3.03 (+203) hit in the opening round and 4.38 (+338) in the quarters.
*Unseeded have found plenty of success at this stop recently with last year’s semifinal field seeing three of the four spots go to unseeded pairs. That marked the third straight season in Stuttgart that multiple unseeded pairs have made it to the final four. 2024 was the last time there was an unseeded champion when Chan-Kudermetova took the titles, so it will pay to peruse the unseeded field in the UNSEEDED MENACES section below.
*This year’s seeded field is led by a first time pairing of Ostapenko-Zhang. Ostapenko arrives in a doubles slump with three straight losses dating back to round two in Indian Wells. She has already been to a pair of finals in 2026, but both were on hard courts. Zhang won her third title of 2026 last week on clay in Linz with a third different partner (Cirstea), so she is arriving with form and confidence. Perez-Schuurs slot in as the 2nd seeds. Their 2026 partnership has been somewhat of a struggle at 9-7, but their MIami loss was their first time losing their opening match. Kichenok-Krawczyk and Melichar-Martinez/Samsonova round out the seeds. Keep an eye on the fourth seeds (MM-Samsonova) who made the semifinals here last year, losing 13-11 in a super tie break to the eventual champions.
With back-to-back runs in Stuttgart seeing unseeded pairs in the final, it’s a good idea to check in on the unseeded field in 2026 to scope out potential contenders.
Siegemund-Zvonareva
Don’t tempt me with a good time any time these two veterans pair up and don’t have a number next to their names. They’re 5-3 in limited action this year that included a trip to the Dubai final. They haven’t played a lot on clay with only seven of their 81 career matches together on dirt, so that will be something to monitor. Still, they have proven too good to overlook regardless of surface.
Eikeri-Gleason
These two paired last week in Linz and made it as far as the semifinals where they were beaten by the champs Cirstea-Zhang. Still, they’ve shown some good chemistry in limited play on clay this year with a 2-2 mark on clay. Both their openers have gone to super tie breaks, so they could be pesky for (3)Kichenok-Krawczyk in round one and blow up that quarter quickly if they pull off the upset.
Noha Akugue-Seidel
Keep your eyes on the German wild cards. They have plenty of experience together and pulled off opening round wins both times they stepped up to the WTA main draw level in their home country in Hamburg in 2023 and 2024. Seidel was part of a pairing in 2024 that stunned Krawczyk-Schuurs in round one of this tournament, so she knows how to get upsets done. They’re very boom or bust going up against seeds early.
Panova-Yang
This is a first time pairing, but these are two solid doubles vets. Yang paired with Liang last week and was a super tie break away from being in the Linz final. Panova is a popular partner as Yang will be her 7th partner of 2026, including Khromacheva, Shnaider, Siegemund and Melichar-Martinez. She’s just 1-2 on clay in 2026, but all three went to super tie breaks, so she’s been very competitive. They could definitely be sleepers if they mesh well.
ONE AND DONE WATCH
The last two runs in Stuttgart have featured a plethora of seeded upsets early with five of the eight seeded pairs in 2024-2025 combined dropping their openers. Are there more upsets ready to roll in round one in 2026? Here are the ones that stick out as possibilities.
(3)Kichenok-Krawczyk
These two started the season hot with a finals run in Adelaide, but they’ve steadily been dropping off with an opening loss in Miami as their last action. They square off with Eikeri-Gleason who made the semifinals in Linz on clay last week, so they could pose a stern test to start this year’s Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.
(4)Melichar-Martinez/Samsonova
I mentioned this duo made the semifinals here a year ago, but they also have not paired since last October. Given that Stuttgart was their debut as a pair in 2025, perhaps we shouldn’t worry too much about any sort of rust. What they should concern themselves with are a pair of motivated Germans in Noha Akugue-Seidel. They don’t have the same WTA main draw pedigree as the seeds, but they’ve shown very competitive when playing on home soil when given the opportunity. This could be closer than many would expect.
DRAW PREVIEW
Click HERE for the doubles draw
TOP HALF
Quarter one will see the debut of Ostapenko-Zhang as a team when the top seeds battle Lechemia-Seiden. That’s also a pair with no prior experience, so it might be the perfect spot for Ostapenko-Zhang to work into a rhythm and gain some momentum early. Should they survive, it could be Siegemund-Zvonareva in the quarterfinals. The two vets start with Spaniards Bolsova/Cavalle-Reimers who won an ITF tournament indoors as their only tournament together in 2026. They were just 1-3 when paired together last year on clay, so I do think it’s likely we will see that Ostapenko-Zhang versus Siegemund-Zvonareva clash for a spot in the semifinals.
In quarter two, it’s (3)Kichenok-Krawczyk as the seeds. They do have a tough opener scheduled against Eiker-Gleason who have some form and momentum after making the semifinals in Linz last week. The seeds have generally only lost to the best of the best with three of their four losses this year coming to Danilina-Krunic or SIniakova-Zhang. It may be a challenge, but I think the seeds survive. Watch out for Mihalikova-Noskova in the other match in this quarter. They’ve got some experience together and could prove to be a thorn in the sides of the other pairs in this quarter if they can get on the same page.
TOP HALF FORECAST
There is no doubt that Ostapenko-Zhang are going to be favorites if they show chemistry in round one. Both have been accustomed to switching partners this year. With Zhang making the final here last year, she’ll definitely have a comfort level on these courts. That said, there’s plenty of competition to be had including Siegemund-Zvonareva directly in their path to a semifinal and perhaps Kichenok-Krawczyk farther down the road. For me, the feeling is one of those three duos is going to get that spot in the final. My outside if it’s a true surprise would be Mihalikova-Noskova.
SEMIFINAL PIX: (1)Ostapenko-Zhang vs Mihalikova-Noskova
BOTTOM HALF
The third quarter opens with (4)Melichar-Martinez/Samsonova. The seeds may face their biggest challenge in their opener against German wild cards Noha Akugue-Seidel. Samsonova hasn’t had the best of seasons at 4-7, so perhaps this can help her grab some needed doubles wins. I do expect this to be an underrated banger with some upset potential. If MM-Samsonova get past the Germans, the road to a semifinal looks like it could be on tap. They’d face either Fernandez-Stollar or Jiang-Xu in the quarters. Fernandez-Stollar are pairing for the first time while Jiang-Xu have only played Miami this year as a duo. They did pull off a huge upset of Danilina-Krunic in that one, but neither player has done their best on clay in their careers. This one is a real toss up and I think whomever survives the other round one battle is more likely to end up in the last four.
The final quarter will see (2)Perez-Schuurs seeking some momentum as they are up against Hozumi-Wu for the second time in 2026. Hozumi-Wu stunned Perez-Schuurs 6-2, 6-2 at the Australian Open, but Perez-Schuurs returned the favor in Indian Wells 6-1, 6-2. The seeds may be made to work extra as Hozumi-Wu had some nice wins during the Sunshine Double with super tie break wins over Kessler-Pegula and Mladenovic-Ostapenko in round one encounters. I don’t have this on my upset watch, but there’s certainly an opportunity. The winners face Panova-Yang or Brooks-Corley. Brooks-Corley have played just two matches together while Panova-Yang debut as a team. I laid out that Panova-Yang could be surprise UNSEEDED MENACES this week, so they’re going to be my pick in this spot. With Perez-Schuurs making only one semifinal this year, this could be anyone’s spot to make the semifinals.
BOTTOM HALF FORECAST
Both seeds have reasons to like their chances this week, but both have a land mine or two in the way before getting to a possible semifinal battle. I like the Melichar-Martinez/Samsonova dynamic a bit better with the past success at this site. As for the unseeded duos in this half, Panova-Yang intrigue me the most. I tend to think the German wild cards Noha Akugue-Seidel would have a tougher time making the deep run as an early win would likely put them at an emotional high earlier with a possibly drop off looming.
SEMIFINAL PIX: (4)Melichar-Martinez/Samsonova vs Panova-Yang
This is an interesting week for the WTA with the clay court swing in Europe just getting going. You’ve got some regular pairs going, but the ones to watch may be the first timers and top seeds Ostapenko-Zhang. And we don’t want to overlook the recent history in Stuttgart with unseeded pairs making back-to-back finals. There is some potential with pairs like Siegemund-Zvonareva perhaps a tempting try as a dark horse contender or perhaps one of the less highly profiled pairs such as a Mihalikova-Noskova or Panova-Yang. I do believe in my mind that one of the seeds may well take the titles home again this year. Ostapenko-Zhang and Melichar-Martinez/Samsonova are my choices.
Ostapenko-Zhang
Melichar-Martinez/Samsonova
Thanks as always to the doubles community for reading my stuff. As always, WATCH MORE DOUBLES and if you’re so inclined, use the link or QR code below if you’d like to consider a donation for yours truly. If the PigPix help, donate. If you find the preview useful … or useless, consider feeding me for a day. Oink Oink.
