Sloane Stephens vs Tatjana Maria Prediction WTA Linz Open Picks

Sloane Stephens will clash with Tatjana Maria in the first round of the 2026 WTA Linz Open on Monday, April 6. Here’s our Sloane Stephens vs Tatjana Maria prediction. This preview will also include a Sloane Stephens vs Tatjana Maria pick.

Sloane Stephens vs Tatjana Maria Preview

Sloane Stephens is a wild card at the WTA 500 tournament in Linz. This is her second appearance at the event, with her debut dating back to 2013, where she reached the quarterfinals. Now well past her peak, Stephens returns to Linz ranked 554th in the WTA rankings, having played just 16 matches since the start of 2025.

Stephens failed to win a match in the whole of last year and missed over six months of tennis because of a serious foot injury and shut down her season just two matches into her comeback to focus on rehabbing.

This year, Stephens has at least managed to end her winless streak thanks to a successful qualifying run at the Australian Open and then registering a rare main draw win over Jennifer Brady at the Miami Open. Her first match of this year’s clay swing resulted in a one-sided defeat to Renata Zarazua in Charleston this past week.

Tatjana Maria is making her fifth appearance at the Linz Open. She last played at this event in 2018 when it was still held on indoor hard courts. Maria was a quarterfinalist at Linz back in 2017. She is currently ranked 60th in the WTA rankings. The German is a former Top 40 player.

Like Stephens, Maria has not won many matches this season and is still finding her form. She has compiled 3 wins and 11 losses in 2026. At one point had lost seven in a row until she went to compete on the Bogota clay this past week, where she picked up her first win in two months.

Sloane Stephens vs Tatjana Maria Head-To-Head

Stephens and Maria have played three times at the WTA level. Stephens leads the head-to-head 2-1. All three meetings took place on hard courts, with their last match dating back to 2019 at the Miami Open.

Sloane Stephens vs Tatjana Maria Prediction

The odds on Maria scream value here. The German is the underdog and with Linz transitioning to clay, that’s where Maria’s quirky game could give Stephens a very difficult problem to solve. The American is low in confidence and has struggled for consistency in recent years.

Nur Said's Pick: Tatjana Maria in three sets