🎾 WTA Madrid: Kimberly Birrell vs Peyton Stearns

🎾 WTA Madrid: Peyton Stearns vs Kimberly Birrell – Match Preview

🧠 Form & Context

🇺🇸 Peyton Stearns

• Slump alert: Has entered 10 tournaments in 2025, exiting in the first or second round in 9 of them.
• Flash of brilliance: Reached the quarterfinals in Dubai after shocking Ons Jabeur and Zheng Qinwen in a surprise run.
• Clay flashback: Claimed her first WTA title on clay in Rabat last year and backed it up with QF runs in Toronto and Cleveland.
• Madrid memories: Lost a heartbreaker in her 2023 debut here, falling in a third-set tiebreak—confidence still seems fragile entering this year’s campaign.

🇦🇺 Kimberly Birrell

• Career-high: Currently ranked No. 61 after strong performances in 2025, including a W75 final and a WTA 500 quarterfinal in Brisbane.
• Hard-court specialist: Most of her wins have come on quicker surfaces, including finals in Osaka and a QF showing in Singapore.
• Clay concerns: Just one WTA main draw win on red clay—Strasbourg 2023—and hasn’t shown much comfort on slower courts.
• Surface mismatch: Could be at a disadvantage if Stearns rediscovers any of her Rabat-level form from last season.

🔍 Match Breakdown

This match features two players with completely different profiles and equally pressing questions. Stearns has a more natural game for clay—topspin, grit, and physicality—but is deep in a confidence crisis after a string of early exits.

Birrell has been quietly climbing the rankings with her consistent performances on hard courts, but lacks match experience and success on red clay. She’ll need to keep rallies short and avoid extended baseline exchanges that would favor Stearns.

If Stearns finds any rhythm or self-belief, her game is built to thrive in Madrid’s conditions. But if she’s slow off the blocks or error-prone, Birrell could steal this with steady play and disciplined defense.

🔮 Prediction

Pick: Peyton Stearns in 3 sets

It won’t be pretty, but Stearns’ clay-court pedigree and potential to out-grind Birrell over the long haul give her a narrow edge—if she can tap into even a fraction of her 2024 Rabat form.

🎾 WTA Madrid: Lulu Sun vs Varvara Gracheva

🎾 WTA Madrid: Lulu Sun vs Varvara Gracheva – Match Preview

🧠 Form & Context

🇳🇿 Lulu Sun

• Breakthrough to burnout: After an impressive 2024 featuring a Wimbledon quarterfinal and Monterrey final, Sun has struggled to build on that momentum in 2025.
• Early exits: She’s suffered first-round losses in 8 of 10 events this year, highlighting a dip in confidence and form.
• Clay inexperience: Still winless in WTA main draws on clay—enters this match with minimal exposure and comfort on the surface.
• Momentum reset: A win here could serve as a turning point to rebuild belief in her game.

🇫🇷 Varvara Gracheva

• Form struggles: Has not won back-to-back matches since October 2024 (Hong Kong), reflecting a lack of rhythm.
• Ranking slide: Dropped from a career-high No. 39 to outside the top 60 in the live rankings.
• Madrid inconsistencies: Holds a 1–3 record at the Caja Mágica and has struggled with early exits in recent clay events.
• Surface suitability: While not elite on clay, her compact baseline game is generally well-suited to grinding out wins on slower courts.

🔍 Match Breakdown

Both players arrive in Madrid with more questions than answers. Gracheva’s experience and familiarity with clay give her a slight edge, especially if she can keep her error count low and draw Sun into extended rallies.

Lulu Sun will look to take the racquet out of Gracheva’s hands with aggressive play and quick points, but clay isn’t the ideal surface for that strategy—particularly without match confidence. Her first serve and forehand need to click early for her to stay in this match.

This could become a psychological battle more than a tactical one, with both players trying to claw their way back into form. Whichever player steadies herself in crucial service games likely walks away with the win.

🔮 Prediction

Pick: Varvara Gracheva in 3 sets

Sun’s firepower makes her dangerous, but Gracheva’s consistency and clay-court base should help her outlast the Kiwi in a gritty battle.