Coco Gauff and Alex Eala handed nightmare draws at the Berlin Open
Several of the WTA Tour’s biggest stars are set for their first grass court tournament at the Berlin Open, and the draw has left no prisoners.
Seven of the top 10 will appear at the WTA 500 event, including World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff, Elena Rybakina, and Jessica Pegula.
The event, which was won last year by Markéta Vondroušová, is set to take place between the 15th and the 21st June, just a week before the main draw of Wimbledon kicks off.
With many of the top players set for the event, the draw has not been kind to anyone in particular.
The top four seeds – Sabalenka, Rybakina, Pegula, and Anisimova – have received a bye into the second round, whereas number five seed Gauff has just missed out.
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As a result, Gauff will have a very tricky first round tie against wildcard Nikola Bartůňková in the first round. The American has been placed in the same section of the draw as Sabalenka and Pegula and could play the World No. 1 in the quarter-finals.
Bartunkova will be a very tough challenge for Gauff in her first grass court match of the year, particularly as the Czech star reached the final of the Birmingham Open a few weeks ago.
Gauff could have to beat two of the top three seeds at the event just to reach the final and then she could have to play Rybakina to win the title.
For her first grass court event of the year, it could be a very tough time indeed for Gauff, who has slipped down the rankings in recent weeks.
Berlin Open first round matches
- Ekaterina Alexandrova vs Anastasia Potapova
- Elise Mertens vs Liudmila Samsonova
- Coco Gauff vs Nikola Bartůňková
- Diana Shnaider vs qualifier
- Madison Keys vs Wang Xinyu
- Karolina Muchova vs qualifier
- Linda Noskova vs qualifier
- Clara Tauson vs qualifer
- Paula Badosa vs qualifier
- Elina Svitolina vs Anna Kalinskaya
- Eva Lys vs qualifier
- Donna Vekic vs Alex Eala
In the bottom half of the draw, Eala has been drawn against Donna Vekic. The pair met for the first time at the ASB Classic, which was won by Eala, but they have never played on grass.
Vekic has proved herself over the years to be a very good grass court player and she is currently in the Queen’s semi-final, so she has the recent form to back it up.
Should Eala find a way past Vekic, she will have to play Rybakina in the second round. They met recently in Rome, which Rybakina won 6-4, 6-3.
Eala and Rybakina are also in the same section of the draw as Anisimova, wildcards Paula Badosa and Eva Lys, as well as Linda Noskova and Elina Svitolina.
