Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the WTA Berlin match.
In the official WTA rankings, Emma Navarro currently stands one position higher at world No. 9 compared to Paula Badosa. However, it is Paula Badosa who has been seeded eighth in the German capital, meaning Emma Navarro was unfortunate to face her as early as the second round.
Paula Badosa
Emma Navarro overtook Paula Badosa in the rankings following Roland Garros, thanks to a stronger showing in Paris. Badosa reached only the third round, where she lost to Daria Kasatkina (1:6, 5:7). On grass, she has enjoyed just two notably successful seasons: last year, when she posted five wins and two defeats, and in 2019, recording a 7:3 win-loss tally. Her performances on this surface in other years have been considerably less consistent.
Emma Navarro
In contrast, Emma Navarro recorded a 7:3 win-loss record on grass in both of the past two seasons. In 2024, she reached the semi-finals of the WTA 500 event in Bad Homburg and progressed to the quarter-finals at Wimbledon, where she was ranked world No. 19 at the time. Last week in London, Navarro was eliminated in the quarter-finals after losing to fellow American Amanda Anisimova (3:6, 3:6), though Anisimova’s display was widely praised. In Berlin, Navarro comfortably defeated Marta Kostyuk (6:2, 6:3) in the previous round.
Paula Badosa vs Emma Navarro Prediction
We are not swayed by the market favouring Paula Badosa. Our pick is Emma Navarro, whom we consider the stronger player on grass.
