2024 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix Thursday SCHEDULE and PREVIEW including SWIATEK, JABEUR, RADUCANU and RYBAKINA – KUDERMETOVA

The 2024 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix continues on Thursday with the return of Iga Swiatek (No. 1) and Elena Rybakina (No. 4), both playing their first match on clay this season. Our preview looks ahead to the main ties and talking points to watch on Day Four in the Porsche-Arena.

With the conclusion of the first round, the fourth day will feature six round of 16 matchups, with the highlight being the return of the 2-times defending champion Iga Swiatek, who is aiming for her third consecutive title in Stuttgart. The ‘Queen of Clay’ had a remarkable 19-2 record on the surface in 2023, securing three titles, including the WTA 500 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. The Polish star will debut against Elise Mertens (No. 30).

Also starting her journey in Stuttgart will be the 4th seed Elena Rybakina, a recent finalist at the Miami Open, who last year only reached the round of 16 in the tournament as she retired mid-match against Beatriz Haddad Maia (1-6, 1-3, ret.). The Kazakh player has dealt with several injuries throughout the season, and her physical condition will be something to watch at the beginning of the clay swing, as she faces Veronika Kudermetova in the first match of the day.

Former Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova (No. 8) secured a good first-round victory over Donna Vekic (No. 37) and will now face Russian Anastasia Potapova (No. 39). Also, Ons Jabeur (No. 9) will be present in the day's action against WTA 1000 Dubai Open champion Jasmine Paolini (No. 14).

Closing out the day will be young Czech Linda Noskova (No. 31) facing Emma Raducanu (No. 300). The day will end with the matchup between Qinwen Zheng (No. 7) and Marta Kostyuk (No. 27).