PRAGUE NEWS & NOTES
*Nadiya Kichenok-Ninomya took home the titles in Prague last year as the two seeds. They defeated Havlickova-Samson 1-6, 6-4, 10-7. They were 1.45 (-222) favorites in the final. The super tie break finish was the second in three years in the Prague title match, but just the third STB finish all-time at this stop which began back in 2015.
*As for super tie breaks throughout the tournament in 2025, there were six out of the 14 completed matches. Three came in round one with two more in the quarterfinals and then the one in the final. That tripled the total from 2024 when there were just two STB finishes. 2023 had seven super tie break finishes for matches, so it’s been a bit up and down of late. If you want a round to maybe avoid seeking out the STBs, think semifinals with only one of the last eight going the distance.
*There were six underdog wins in Prague a year ago. Four came in round one but the biggest came in the quarterfinals at 3.47 (+247) in a battle of unseeded pairs. That was a big improvement after just one dog barked in 2024. That year was sandwiched in between another solid u-dog run with five dog wins in 2023. Round one again had the most that year with three wins, but the quarters again had the big one with a hit at 3.50 (+250) when the top seeds (Zhang-Zhu) fell.
*Seeds flat out did not have a good time in 2025 outside of Kichenok-Ninomiya. The first and third seeds fell in round one and the #4 seeds crashed out in the quarterfinals. That was a big change from the year prior when three of the four seeds made the semifinals. Top seeds and doubles royalty, Krejcikova-Siniakova, won the titles in 2024. That stands as the ONLY #1 seeds to win the Prague Open in the tournament’s history.
*Unseeded pairs have now had at least one representative in the final in three straight seasons at this stop. The last unseeded champions came in 2023 when Hibino-Kalishnikova took the titles. Last year, three of the four semifinalists were unseeded pairs in Prague. There has been at least one unseeded duo in the final four here each year since 2018. I’ll focus more on the pairs to watch in that regard below in the Unseeded Menaces section.
*While the casuals will lament the lack of name recognition in Prague, there are a few pairs here that will be the stories to follow this week. Take a look at both (2)Shibahara-Zvonareva and (3)Chan-Kato in this week’s mix. The second seeds are 11-2 this season, all on hard courts. Harken back to January and don’t forget they made the Australian Open semifinals. As for Chan-Kato? A perfect 7-0 this year with titles in Austin and this past week in Athens. These two appear to be the ones to beat this week.
Here’s a look at the unseeded pairs in this year’s Prague field who could make a push for the semifinals and beyond.
Fossa Huergo-Hon
This pair played Prague last year and grabbed a win before having to withdraw. Hon doesn’t play much doubles with this scheduled to be just her fourth match of the season and first since Australia back in January. Fossa Huergo meanwhile is a regular on the doubles circuit with a 20-18 record in 2026. She has one title and another final to her credit and while she hasn’t had many deep runs of late, she’s been good swapping out partners and being very competitive.
Havlickova-Samson
You can’t look past the pair that made the final last year in their first tournament together. They’re 5-2 this year, all at the ITF level, but have not paired since March. Still, it’s a pair of Czechs playing at home with some familiarity, so you have to keep them in mind if there’s a surprise. They will also likely benefit from playing a yet-to-be named alternate pair.
Kichenok-Kubka
They have a difficult draw against the top seeds for their debut as a pair. Still, Kubka in particular could see this as a huge opportunity. She’s been racking up wins and titles at the ITF level with four titles this season and a 23-9 doubles record. Kichenok as mentioned earlier, was part of the team that won these titles in 2025. They’ll be an interesting watch early against Martins-Ninomiya.
ONE AND DONE WATCH
At least one seed has fallen each of the last four runs in Prague with two of those years seeing multiple seeds go down in their opener. Let’s take a look to see if any seeds are looking prone to an early exit.
(1)Martins-Ninomiya
They slip into this spot in the draw due to the late withdrawal of Jiang-Wu who lost in the Athens semifinals last week. They have just one match together last week in Athens, so they could well be prone to a loss. Round one puts them against Kichenok-Kubka who will need to find their chemistry, but certainly shouldn’t be without a chance here.
(4)Dart-Lumsden
The Brits are back together a week after Lumsden paired with Tang to make the Athens final. They did win a hard court tournament early this year at the ITF level and both have another hard court final to their credit with another partner, so they’re obviously not going to be lacking for chemistry and ability. They face Fossa Huergo-Hon who I touched on previously as an unseeded pair to keep eyes on. Dart-Lumsden did have a nice grass court swing before losing in round one at Wimbledon, but their last hard court reps together were back at that tourney win in Fujairah back in late January. It could be a tricky round one for the Brits.
DRAW PREVIEW
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TOP HALF
The survivor of the battle between top seeds Martins-Ninomiya and Kichenok-Kubka look to be odds-on favorites to make the semifinals in this set up. The match opposite of that pits Czech sisters, Jana (16) and Alena (18) Kovackova against wildcard American pair Corley-Harrison. The Kovackovas have obliterated the ITF level the last season and a half at 28-2 overall with seven titles. This will however be their first WTA main draw experience. Corley-Harrison have not paired, but certainly have a big time experience edge. It will be interesting to see if home cooking can help the Czech teens secure a first WTA-level win. Perhaps Corley-Harrison develop the chemistry needed to challenge for a semifinal with this draw, but I’m still sticking with the winner from the other match.
The second quarter is led by (4)Dart-Lumsden. I talked about the Brits and their match set against Fossa Huergo-Hon earlier. I do think there could be some upset potential possible, but the Brits will like their chances. The other first round match sees another British pair in Barnett-Murray going against Bartunkova-Salkova. Barnett-Murray Sharan went 1-2 in their brief resurrection during the grass swing after three years apart. Samantha Murray Sharan herself had not played since 2024 before coming back to pair with Barnett during the grass swing. Bartunkova-Salkova have never paired, but could benefit from being on home soil. Oddsmakers think the same way with the Czechs set as favorites in that match.
TOP HALF FORECAST
I’m really looking to that first quarter match-up between the top seeds and Kichenok-Kubka as a pivotal one in this half. Either way, neither will be seen as unbeatable with very little experience together. That means this half could be pretty wide open. So maybe expect a surprise or two. Kichenok-Kubka and Fossa Huergo-Hon are my choices to watch if an unseeded pair makes the run.
SEMIFINAL PIX: Kichenok-Kubka vs Fossa Huergo-Hon
BOTTOM HALF
This third quarter looks tailor-made for (3)Chan-Kato, but don’t forget during their Athens title run last week, they had to win three super tie breaks. Four of their seven wins this season have gone to the extra frame, so they may well have to work hard even with a nice draw. They square off against Czech wildcards Krejcova-Zoldakova to start. It’s their first tournament together, so it should be a huge edge for Chan-Kato. The other match in this quarter two pairs with little experience with Falkowski-Smith playing their first match together and Plipuech-Thombare having played just once way back in 2018. Not sure there’s much to separate those two. You have to like Chan-Kato here, BUT their penchant for relying on super tie breaks is a little bit scary. Those are bound to even out at some point.
The final quarter sees (2)Shibahara-Zvonareva rekindled their early season partnership in Istanbul last week. The result? A title run, but also one that featured three super tie break wins. They’ll battle Yee-Lee who stepped up to the WTA main draw last week for just the 2nd time in Athens, losing their opener. They did win a pair of hard court titles early in the year at the lower level, so they certainly have chemistry. The question is if they’re on the same level as the 2nd seeds? The survivor could see last year’s finalists Havlickova-Samson in the quarterfinals. We are still waiting to see who will fill the spot in round one opposite of them. Can Shibahara-Zvonareva keep rolling?
BOTTOM HALF FORECAST
It’s not a given, but seed versus seed in this half would be an absolute banger with the form both find themselves in upon arrival in Prague. They do look strong, but it’s a new week
and there are new things to prove. It’s hard to pinpoint the unseeded pair that could unseat one of them, but most would probably point to last year’s finalists Havlickova-Samson. I’m Team Chan-Kato this week.
SEMIFINAL PIX: (3)Chan-Kato vs (2)Shibahara-Zvonareva
There are several in-form teams arriving in Prague, but there have been a lot of super tie break wins that wind up making things more of a 50-50 shot. That means the seeded pairs here definitely should be viewed as viable options to win, but also that they do carry some risk. The only seed that would probably surprise me to advance to the final would be Dart-Lumsden. Not sure why that is, just a gut feeling. I prefer Chan-Kato amongst the seeds with a possible semifinal against Shibahara-Zvonareva as one I’d love to see …. but am not sure that we will see. My favorite sleeper? I am sticking with Kichenok-Kubka who will be boom or bust having to face the top seeds in round one. It should be an interesting week.
Chan-Kato
Kichenok-Kubka
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