The WTA Linz tournament has already moved into the round of 16, but there are still two straggler first-round matches. If you’re looking for the round-of-16 matches, then just click this link. In addition to these being straggler matches, they also don’t exactly feature the tournament’s best, but they still deserve the same coverage. That said, let’s take a look at the last two matches of the first round at Linz.
WTA Linz
Kalinina – Udvardy: Time 06:00
H2H: 2-0
Anhelina Kalinina came within one extremely contested final of sweeping every single WTA Antalya tournament. That includes Antalya, Antalya 2, and Antalya 3. In fact, of her five clay tournaments — she’s currently in her fifth — she’s made the final in the last four. She has two titles in 2026, and Panna Udvardy was one of her victims in the quarterfinals at WTA Antalya 2. To be fair to her, she put up a hell of a performance, only losing 7-6(3), 7-5. She is also coming off a final loss at WTA Bogota, losing to Maria Bouzkova in three sets.
Best Bet to Make
These two have met twice before, and Kalinina won both matches in straight sets. Yes, she absolutely was tested and pushed to the proverbial limit, but she was also tested in their first match. If you do it once, people can say you got lucky. Once you’ve done it a few times, that same conversation turns to skill and matchup differences. She’s also the hotter player coming in. She might not make her fifth final in five attempts, but I think she should at least be able to win this match in straight sets.
That being said, Kalinina winning a very tight 2:0 is a value bet for sure.
Value bet/ the best odds: Kalinina 2:0 @1.73 @Bet365
Potapova – Zhang: Time 07:00
H2H: 1-0
The last time these two met, Billie Eilish had just released “Bad Guy.” That would be 2019 at WTA Toronto, if you’re not up on your pop culture. Potapova had actually won the first set 7-6(2), and was tied 1-1 in the second when Zhang retired. Potapova would go on to lose to Belinda Bencic in the first round, winning only three total games in the loss.
Best Bet to Make
Zhang is not exactly what you would call clay court competent. She’s sub-.500 on clay, and she’s going up against a fairly decent clay player in Potapova. I’m not implying that Potapova is a savant, but she’s more than capable of beating Zhang, and has done so before on Zhang’s preferred surface. Now Zhang is playing on anything but her preferred surface. Given that I don’t know how their 2019 match would have ended, and they were playing close when Zhang retired, expecting a close match seems reasonable. Given that, it’s wiser to use a correct score than an Asian handicap or a total games wager. Potapova 2:0 can be had for 2.0 on Bet365.
That being said, Potapova winning a close 2:0 is a value bet for sure.
Value bet/ the best odds: Potapova winning 2:0 @2.0 @Bet365
Main Photo Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
