3 to see in first round at Stuttgart feature 4 Grand Slam champions

Three Tuesday matches at the Porsche Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany are blockbusters featuring four Grand Slam champions: Emma Raducanu, Angelique Kerber, Jelena Ostapenko, and Market Vondrousova.

The match garnering the most headlines is between Emma Raducanu and Angelique Kerber. Kerber, the back-to-back 2015 and 2016 champion of the tournament will be the fan favorite, and both former Grand Slam champions are in the draw via wildcards. Raducanu is coming off some of her best tennis in two years at last week's Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers representing Great Britain in its win over France. Raducanu and Kerber have never played each other.

Former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko, no stranger to success on the European red clay, will face Linda Noskova in her first-round match. Noskova, 19, is playing her best tennis in 2024 recording upset wins over Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina. Noskova was a 2024 Australian Open quarterfinalist; she has six ITF career titles and is seeking her first WTA title. Ostapenko has a 1-0 record over Noskova, a three-set affair at last year's Rothesay Classic on grass. However, she has struggled on clay this year most recently in Portugal in Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers representing Latvia.

Donna Vekic's match against Marketa Vondrousova is also a headliner

Vekic faces Vondrousova in a rematch of the Round of 32 at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships. Vondrousova went on to win the title.

Though Vondrousova won the most elite grass court tournament in tennis, her favorite playing surface is clay because that's what she played on as a child. She was the 2019 French Open finalist losing to Ashleigh Barty. On the other hand, Vekic favors the hard courts and has a big win over Aryna Sabalenka this year in Dubai, but she has not been as successful on the slower clay courts.

Both are crafty players who could provide an interesting and entertaining match for spectators. Vondrousova has seen limited action in 2024, playing only nine matches since the start of the season with a 5-4 record. Vekic has logged more court time than Vondrousova and is 9-7 in 2024.

The Tennis Channel will air live coverage of the Porsche Grand Prix. All of these matches have an approximate start time of 4:00 AM EDT on Tuesday, April 16.

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