Strasbourg Open Preview: Rybakina Turns the Corner!
The 2025 Strasbourg Open, one of the final Roland Garros warm-up events, kicks off Sunday, May 18, at the Tennis Club de Strasbourg.
World No. 4 Jessica Pegula leads a stacked WTA 500 field with a €925,661 prize pool, joined by stars like Elena Rybakina, Elina Svitolina, and Emma Raducanu, with young talents like Magdalena Frech ready to make a mark.
Strasbourg’s clay is much slower than Rome’s, which will test the field’s endurance as they gear up for Paris. Let’s break down the Strasbourg Open!
Past Strasbourg Open Champions in the Field
Elina Svitolina (2023, 2020)
Barbora Krejcikova (2021)
2025 Strasbourg Open Main Draw
Strasbourg Open Top Half: Pegula Faces Early Tests
Top seed Jessica Pegula headlines the top half and starts with a bye, setting up a second-round clash with either Anna Kalinskaya or a qualifier.
Pegula, who won 28 WTA main-draw matches in 2025, is chasing her first Strasbourg title after early exits in 2019 and 2021, but her steady baseline game should be an asset on the slower clay.
She could face a tricky quarterfinal against third seed Paula Badosa, who opens with a bye and meets either Alizé Cornet or a qualifier in the second round.
Badosa’s aggressive style makes her a threat, though her consistency due to numerous injuries can waver.
Elsewhere, wildcard Emma Raducanu opens against Daria Kasatkina. Raducanu might struggle against Kasatkina’s booming return and spin-heavy groundies.
The winner could face Sofia Kenin or Danielle Collins, both of whom are dangerous on their day. Kasatkina’s clay prowess makes her a potential semifinalist, but Pegula’s consistency should give her the edge in this half.
Strasbourg Open Bottom Half: Rybakina and Svitolina on a Collision Course
Not much stands in the way of a Elena Rybakina/ Elina Svitolina quarterfinal.
Rybakina, a 2020 Strasbourg finalist, has the serve and power to dominate, but her physical and mental fitness are questionable.
Rybakina opens with a bye before facing the winner of the Qualifier/Xinyu Wang match with maybe Barbora Krejcikova or Magda Linette in the quarter,
Svitolina, a two-time Strasbourg champion, boasts a 12-2 clay record this year, including a Rouen title—she’s a significant threat on this surface.
Svitolina opens with hard-hitting German Clara Tauson. If she pulls that off, she’ll await the Qualifier/Ashlyn Krueger match winner and potentially Navarro in the quarter.
Navarro was 5-4 this spring on the dirt. The No. 2 seed opens with a bye, with either Beatriz Haddad Maia or Magdalena Frech in the second, with a tough quarterfinal battle against the two-time former champ.
Phil Naessens Strasbourg Open Prediction
Strasbourg is Pegula’s to win, but Rybakina might take the Strasbourg Open title.
Pegula’s clay court results outside of the USA are mediocre, and when she’s on her game, only Svitolina, Kasatkina, and Rybakina can take her down.
Kasatkina can threaten Pegula; the Australian won their only clay court meeting (2024 Charleston), but the American No. 2 won their other three matchups, and I suspect Pegula will beat her again.
Svitolina has a tough row to hoe, with a .500 record across six prior H2H encounters with Rybakina. I like Rybakina’s path to this semi far better than the road Svitolina is on, and that should set up a Pegula/Rybakina finale.
Rybakina can end a miserable 2025 with a Strasbourg title, and she beat Pegula on this surface. The former Rome and Stuttgart champ has the clay-court chops to dominate Pegula or anyone else in the Strasbourg Open field.
Phil Naessens’ Prediction: Elena Rybakina
