THREE former St Petersburg champions will battle it out next week in the first WTA Tour tournament since the conclusion of the Australian Open. Reigning champion, Kiki Bertens will hope to defend the crown against Czech Republic’s Petra Kvitova who triumphed in 2018. Meanwhile France’s Kristina Mladenovic is also attending the event which has 18 players inside the top 51 in the world.

FAVOURITE:

Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic)

The world number 11 will head into the tournament as favourite, despite being the third seed in Russia. The 2018 winner is always a danger on tour, and for consistency over years, she has more weapons than anyone else at the tournament. Both top seeds, Bertens and Belinda Bencic will provide a serious challenge for Kvitova in a field that has some seriously underrated talent. She reached the quarter finals of the Australian Open before going down to Ash Barty but will have plenty of confidence going into St Petersburg, having defeated fellow competitors who will play here, Maria Sakkari and Ekaterina Alexandrova. Expect her to go deep here, and put right the disappointing straight sets loss to Croatian eighth seed, Donna Vekic from 2019.

CONTENDERS:

Kiki Bertens (Netherlands)

Last year’s winner is a huge chance to take out the title for the second consecutive year, enjoying a good run into the tournament, moving up to number eight in the world. The 28-year-old fell in Round 3 of the Australian Open, going down to eventual runner-up, Garbine Muguruza. She knocked off Vekic in the final last year, defeating other emerging talents in Aryna Sabalenka and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova on her way to the title. She will head in as the number two seed, and if she can avoid Kvitova on her side of the draw, then it is hard to ignore her potential here.

Belinda Bencic (Switzerland)

The world number five was granted a wildcard entry into the Russian event, so expect the Swiss 22-year-old to bounce back from an ultimately disappointing Australian Open when she competes as the number one seed. Bencic won just one game in her Round of 32 loss to Anett Kontaveit, in what was a match she would rather forget having knocked off Latvian talent, Jelena Ostapenko in straight sets the match before. Having had a longer rest compared to some of the others, Bencic should be ready and raring to go in St Petersburg.

Maria Sakkari (Greece)

A player who could really step up and become the next big thing, Sakkari showed why she has some serious X-factor, by making it to the fourth round of the Australian Open. She eventually bowed out to Kvitova, but not without taking a set off her, and it followed on from a stunning win over tenth seed, Madison Keys in the third round. You get the feeling Sakkari is one of those players who could be in the top 10 by year’s end if all goes well. Sakkari will want to do better than last year’s first round straight sets loss though.

ROUGHIES:

Kristina Mladenovic (France)

You cannot ignore a past winner who has been in form over the past few months. Mladenovic had a disappointing first round exit 12 months ago when she went down to sixth seed, Ostapenko. Having gone all the way in 2017, and proven she still has what it takes to beat the world’s best – defeating Barty in the Fed Cup – she will be a danger to any seeds she might draw early on in the tournament. She is just a consistent counter puncher who wears down opponents, and would be particularly dangerous against heavy hitters prone to errors when rushed.

Ekaterina Alexandrova (Russia)

The home nation hero is the best chance of a victory for Russia at St Petersburg, and she has to be in contention based on her form. Her exit at the Australian Open would have left a sour taste in the 25-year-old’s mouth having been undefeated for more than 100 days prior to that match. She made a quarter finals appearance here last year before going down to Sabalenka. She should be seeded here too, so a more favourable draw is in the works.

Elena Rybakina (Kazakhstan)

Is a work in progress, but the 20-year-old Kazakhstan talent is a star of the future. She can be erratic at times with her hitting, but she does not hold back, going for her shots and putting pressure on baseline players to double think their own chances. She did not play here 12 months ago, Edging closer to a top 20 spot, though she is already at a career-high 25 in the world. Has no points to defend this week either which is a huge plus.

DARK HORSE:

Ajla Tomljanovic (Australia)

Unlike Rybakina, Tomljanovic is fighting to match points, having made the final at Hua Hing 12 months ago. Ranked at 57 in the world, Tomljanovic will need to go deep in the tournament in order to not drop outside the top 60, while an upset title win could see her surge into the top 50. She fought hard in the Australian Open before going down to Muguruza in three sets, but has the talent to surprise higher ranked opponents on her day.