The 2026 Upper Austria Ladies Linz WTA 500 entry list features a strong group of players, led by defending champion Ekaterina Alexandrova and four past Grand Slam champions, including 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko.
Additional Grand Slam champions in the field are 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu, 2021 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova, and two-time major champion Barbora Krejcikova (2021 French Open, 2024 Wimbledon).
Also entered are Clara Tauson, Liudmila Samsonova, Emma Navarro, and Alexandra Eala, giving the tournament a mix of established contenders and rising players looking to make a deep run in Linz.
Read on for the Upper Austria Ladies Linz WTA 500 entry list, beginning April 6, 2026.
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Upper Austria Ladies Linz WTA 500 Entry List
(WTA rankings as of March 9, 2026)
Ekaterina Alexandrova (11)
Clara Tauson (17)
Liudmila Samsonova (19)
Emma Raducanu (24)
Emma Navarro (25)
Jelena Ostapenko (26)
Alexandra Eala (32)
Jaqueline Cristian (35)
Sorana Cirstea (38)
Sara Bejlek (40)
Karolina Pliskova (SR)
Ann Li (41)
Marketa Vondrousova (46)
Dayana Yastremska (52)
Barbora Krejcikova (53)
Antonia Ruzic (57)
Tatjana Maria (59)
Daria Kasatkina (60)
Shuai Zhang (62)
Julia Grabher (79)
Sinja Kraus (106)
Lilli Tagger (119)
Recent Upper Austria Ladies Linz Champions
- 2025 — Ekaterina Alexandrova
- 2024 — Jelena Ostapenko
- 2023 — Anastasia Potapova
- 2021 — Alison Riske-Amritraj
- 2020 — Aryna Sabalenka
Three Storylines to Watch in Linz
1. Can Ekaterina Alexandrova defend her title?
Defending champion Ekaterina Alexandrova returns to Linz after capturing the title in 2025. The Russian has been one of the tour’s most consistent power players in recent seasons, and another deep run would make her the first player in several years to successfully defend the title.
2. Jelena Ostapenko arrives as one of the best clay players in the field
Despite being outside the Top 20 in the WTA rankings, Jelena Ostapenko still ranks No. 22 in clay Elo (1803.8), making her one of the strongest clay performers expected in Linz.
The 2017 Roland Garros champion has always been dangerous on the surface thanks to her aggressive baseline game, and the numbers suggest she remains a serious contender whenever she enters a clay-court event.
3. Marketa Vondrousova remains one of the most proven clay players
Former Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova sits No. 25 in clay Elo (1798.1), reinforcing her reputation as a dangerous clay-court player.
The Czech left-hander missed most of the 2025 clay court season, but brings a career 92-36 clay court mark into her 2026 campaign.
Player to Watch: Alexandra Eala
Alexandra Eala will be one of the players to watch in Linz as she begins her first full clay-court swing following a strong start to the 2026 season on hard courts.
The 20-year-old has reached at least the quarterfinals in every tournament she has entered this year, except for two events, and has already posted a 2–1 record against Top-10 opponents.
If she can carry that momentum onto clay, the rising Filipina could be one of the most dangerous players in the Linz draw.
Phil Naessens is a tennis betting analyst and former tennis coach with decades of experience in player development and match analysis. He is the founder of Crush Rush News and host of the Crush & Rush Tennis Podcast, focusing on price-first betting strategy, market efficiency, and transparency in sports wagering.
