Preview Semi-Finals WTA Upper Austria Ladies Linz: Karolina Muchova and Clara Tauson favourite to reach the final

One week after the Australian Open, the action continues quickly on the Tour, with the WTA 500 Upper Austria Ladies Linz, already in its semifinal stage. Despite the exit of some of the favorites, all four semifinalists are seeded players, with no big surprises among those vying for a spot in the final.

Karolina Muchova is probably the most high-profile player remaining. The Czech former French Open runner-up secured a last-minute wildcard and became the top seed of the draw after a premature second-round exit at the Australian Open to the former world No. 1.

Top seed Karolina Muchova (No. 19) survived a tough quarterfinal battle against 6th seed Anastasia Potapova (No. 33). The Russian showed strong fight to stay competitive, but it wasn’t enough to surprise Muchova. Muchova had a solid 67% first serve percentage, winning 71% of those, while Potapova's first serve was at 57%, winning 76% of them.

Both players lacked efficiency in key moments. Muchova converted only 2 of 8 break points, while Potapova converted just 1 of 12. The victory ended 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, with Muchova advancing to the semifinals. This marks at least a semifinal appearance in four of her last five tournaments, considering the end of the 2024 season.

Muchova will face the always consistent Ekaterina Alexandrova, who comfortably defeated Aliaksandra Sasnovich (6-3, 6-2) in her debut and then came back from a set down against Croatian Petra Martic. The 26-year-old Russian is showing strong form in Austria, where she reached the final last season.

This will be their 5th encounter, with Alexandrova leading 3-1, though they are tied 1-1 on hard courts. Their last meeting was Alexandrova’s victory on clay at the 2021 Stuttgart Open, nearly 4 years ago.

Danish player Clara Tauson in 2025 seems to be finally showing the potential she’s been hinting at for years, although without much consistency. The 22-year-old started the season with a title at the ASB Classic and reached the third round of the Australian Open, where she put up a strong fight against world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka but fell in straight sets. Tauson boasts a 10-1 season record and has not dropped a set in Linz, following comfortable wins over Anhelina Kalinina, Sorana Cirstea, and Anna Blinkova.

Tauson will face 5th seed Dayana Yastremska, who is looking to regain form after an inconsistent last year. The end of 2024 included five consecutive losses for the former world No. 21 Ukrainian, although she has a solid 7-3 record in the start of 2025. Yastremska has been unstoppable in Linz, not dropping a set against Lucia Bronzetti, Antonia Ruzi, and in the quarters, she earned an impressive 7-5, 6-0 win over Maria Sakkari (3rd seed).

The two players have only met once before, back in the 2022 Dubai Duty-Free Tennis Championship qualifying round, where Yastremska claimed victory in a tight match, 7-5, 5-7, 6-2. A victory for Yastremska will return her to the top 50, while Tauson could reach her career-high ranking of No. 31 if she advances to the final.