Paolini and Navarro Advance in Stuttgart with Dominant First-Round Wins

STUTTGART, Germany — Jasmine Paolini and Emma Navarro both showcased their skills on Tuesday evening as they secured easy victories in the first round of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, a WTA 500 indoor clay event.

Fifth-seeded Paolini from Italy quickly dismissed German wild card Eva Lys with a commanding score of 6-2, 6-1 in just 64 minutes, marking her advancement one step closer to matching her quarterfinal performance from the previous year. Despite entering the tournament as the German No. 1 for the first time in her career, World No. 68 Lys struggled to compete against Paolini’s powerful returns and strategic play.

“[Lys] is such a nice girl, and I’m sorry [to] you guys,” Paolini said, addressing the German crowd during her on-court interview, which was met with warm applause. “I have to do my job, as better as I can!” Paolini dominated the return games by winning 73 percent of points against Lys’s first serve, alongside a 6-for-8 break point conversion success rate.

Next, Paolini is set to face another wild card, Jule Niemeier, in the second round. The Italian holds a 2-0 head-to-head record against Niemeier, with both victories coming in 2022.

Later that evening, Emma Navarro, the seventh seed from the United States, also shined with a strong debut at the Stuttgart tournament. She convincingly defeated Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-3, 6-0 in 76 minutes. Navarro’s impressive performance saw her hitting 24 winners, compared to Haddad Maia’s eight winners, and maintaining her serve throughout the match.

“I’ve had a lot of long matches this year, and a lot of three sets,” Navarro noted following her match. “To get it done a little bit quicker feels good. I’m proud of my form … It’s my first tournament on red clay this year, so I’m leaning into it and having some fun out here.” Navarro’s victory was particularly significant, as she had previously lost to Haddad Maia on two occasions last year on clay surfaces.

Navarro is now in pursuit of her second WTA 500 title of the year after winning the Mérida trophy on hard courts in March. Unfortunately for Haddad Maia, this current defeat marks her ninth consecutive loss since reaching the third round at the 2025 Australian Open.

In her next match, Navarro will face 2017 Roland Garros champion Jelena Ostapenko, marking their first career confrontation. Ostapenko advanced to the second round when her first opponent, Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine, retired from their match.

In another highlight, Croatian player Jana Fett stunned Donna Vekic in an all-Croatian matchup, winning 7-6(2), 6-4. Fett, who came back from a 1-4 deficit in the first set, now prepares to face World No. 2 Iga Swiatek in the next round.

Additionally, Ekaterina Alexandrova triumphed over Liudmila Samsonova in an all-Russian match, improving her head-to-head record to 3-1.

Looking ahead, 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva is set to compete against her older sister, Erika, who made it into the draw as a lucky loser after another player withdrew due to injury. This will be their second meeting at the professional level, fueling anticipation for a competitive match.