The ball has already started rolling at the 46th edition of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart. The former world number 2 Paula Badosa is taking on the 20-year-old Russian tennis sensation Diana Shnaider in her first match at the Stuttgart Open on Monday, 15 April. It’s a contest between an experienced right-hander vs the mighty left-hander. Who has the edge in this match?

Paula Badosa has struggled with injuries and form during the 2024 season. Despite reaching the third round at the AO, she faced a setback in Hua Hin, withdrawing due to a lower back injury. This was followed by a viral illness that caused her to miss the Abu Dhabi Open. Although she attempted to compete thereafter, she was forced to retire at the Dubai Tennis Championships and was unable to participate in Indian Wells.

Paula Badosa vs Diana Shnaider: Preview

Looking at the frequent injuries and lack of form, Paula Badosa has now dropped to number 93 in the women’s singles ranking. The extraordinary performances of Diana Shnaider have brought her up to number 62 in the world. If we look at the statistics of Badosa in her last match against Danielle Collins in Charleston. She couldn’t manage to hit a single ace in that match. Serve is one of her favorite shots, but seeing her struggle in that is a big concern in the Spanish camp.

Badosa’s win-loss record for this season is 5-7. But if we look at her overall record for this season, the 26-year-old aggressive baseliner has managed to hit 53 aces so far this season. However, she has committed 58 double faults in 2024 so far. She has won 68.9% of her service games and won 68.4% of her first serve in this year. But has managed to win only 29.6% of her return games throughout this season. 

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Her 20-year-old opponent Diana Shnaider, on the other hand, has been in stellar form this year. She won her first WTA title at the 2024 Thailand Open in Hua Hin a few months ago. In her previous match at the qualifiers in Stuttgart, she faced Czech tennis player, Sara Bejlek. Shnaider won that match in three sets but could only manage to hit a single ace in that match.

So, serve looks to be a big concern looking at the recent record of both the players ahead of this intriguing contest. However, Shnaider’s win-loss record for this season so far is 13-7. She has managed to hit 18 aces so far this season and committed 29 double faults. Diana Shnaider has won 70.1% of service games and won 63.9 of her first serves this season. But she has managed to win only 31.5% of her return games so far this season. Shnaider has never competed in this tournament before, can she outclass the Spaniard with yet another incredible performance in 2024?

Badosa vs Shnaider: Head-to-Head

Paula Badosa and Diana Shnaider have met each other twice in their career so far. Firstly, they met at the Charleston Open in 2023, where Badosa defeated Shnaider by 6-1, 6-3. That time, Paula Badosa managed to hit 5 aces compared to Dian Shnaider’s single ace throughout the match. Badosa’s win percentage on the first serve was a staggering 83%, while Shnaider’s was just 54%. However, if we talk about the win percentage on the second serve, Shnaider had 50% in that match, but Badosa could only manage 40%.

Their next meeting was the Hua Hin Open earlier this year where Paula Badosa was forced to withdraw from the match after having an injury issue in the R16 clash. The Spaniard will be keen to make a solid start to her clay court season after failing in Charleston earlier this month. Shnaider, on the other hand, will be much more confident as she has already tasted a WTA title this season in Thailand. But it’ll be interesting to see how well this youngster makes her adjustment to playing on the clay court for the first time this season.

Prediction: Shnaider to topple the experienced campaigner 

Both of them are currently leveled at the H2H. Who will take the lead after this exciting contest? Well, despite Badosa having reached the SF of this tournament in 2022 and QF in 2023, Shnaider looks to be slightly ahead looking at her current form.

But having said that, this is to remind you Paula Badosa was the 2015 French Open girls’ singles champion. She even reached the QF of the French Open in 2021. So, Badosa on clay, is quite a tested and proven competitor. Shnaider seems to be slightly behind when we look at that aspect of the game. Diana Shnaider’s favorite movie is ‘Never Back Down’. She’d now love to follow those lines when she faces the former world no.2 in her next match. So, fasten your seatbelts, and be ready to witness and nail-biting contest.

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