Petra Kvitova vs Varvara Gracheva Prediction 3/5/25 Indian Wells Tennis Picks

The Czech lefty lost her first match to Briton Jodie Burrage in three sets. Despite flashes of brilliant shot-making, Kvitova came up short in the final result.

But it's clear that at this stage of her return, she'll place more emphasis on just building fitness and match sharpness and she's not had a lot of matches coming to Indian Wells as she would have liked.

Kvitova needed a wild card again to compete at the BNP Paribas Open. It will be her 13th appearance at this WTA 1000 event. Kvitova is a three-time quarterfinalist, last achieving this feat in 2023. 

Varvara Gracheva Preview

This will be Varvara Gracheva's third main draw appearance at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. Gracheva reached the round of 16 on her debut as a qualifier back in 2023, upsetting Petra Martic and Daria Kasatkina before losing to eventual champion Elena Rybakina.

Last year, she didn't make such a lasting impression. She lost in the first round to Yuan Yue of China in straight sets. Gracheva has compiled a 3-5 record in 2025, registering all three wins in the first two months of the season.

She beat Caty McNally at the Australian Open, Anna Karolina Schmiedlova in the Doha qualifying, and most recently Peyton Stearns in Austin. However, she is coming off a three-set loss to Carolina Dolehide from the WTA 250 in Texas this past week.

Petra Kvitova vs Varvara Gracheva Head-To-Head

• Kvitova and Gracheva have met once on the WTA Tour.

• Kvitova beat Gracheva in straight sets en route to the Miami title in 2023.

Petra Kvitova vs Varvara Gracheva Prediction

Kvitova's competitive spirit was on display in her three-set loss to Jodie Burrage in Austin, but there were persistent errors throughout the match. Admittedly, it was her first outing and I'm not getting my expectations so high in her second match of her big comeback. She'll need to rack up more minutes on tour to get back to her elite level and that might take a month or two. And with her 35th birthday coming up in just a few days, it's an uphill task for the two-time Wimbledon champion to regain her form. Gracheva is a tempting +103 to win this and the oddsmakers are reading too much into Kvitova's potential rust in her game.