The girl from Prague against the Kazakh warrior

Tereza Valentova is 19 years old and plays tennis as if she’s already seen it all. The Prague-born Czech, daughter of an Olympic kayaker, grew up in a sporting culture that doesn’t leave much room for doubt. Junior Roland Garros champion in 2024, finalist in Osaka in 2025 after coming through qualifying, she has put together in two years a rise that only surprised those who hadn’t watched her play. On clay she is comfortable and technical, creates plenty of chances and converts them with a maturity beyond her years. She arrives in Madrid with four weeks without a match in her legs, which is the only real question mark around her.

Yulia Putintseva is one of the most annoying players to face on tour. The 31‑year‑old Kazakh runs everywhere, changes pace, provokes errors, and never lets a match go before the last point. She reached the top 20 last year and still carries a 2024 Madrid quarterfinal in her bag on this surface she says she prefers above all others. But this season’s clay statistics tell the story of a player struggling on her favorite terrain, and a ranking drop of more than 70 places since her peak suggests that something is no longer working as well as it used to.