The second round of WTA Madrid begins on Thursday. The opening round is the Round of 96 at this expansive tournament. Now we move into the Round of 64, with players who got first-round byes beginning their journeys in Spain. Will the winners of first-round matches have the momentum and form needed to knock off those who have been sitting idle for a few days, or will the quality of the higher-ranked players overwhelm the underdogs? We will find out soon enough. Here are our select matches for Thursday, and their best bets.
WTA Madrid
Starodubtseva – Cristian: Time 02:00 EST
H2H: 0-2
Yulia Starodubtseva will meet Jacqueline Cristian for the third time. Both of their prior matches were 2025 hardcourt affairs, both won in straight sets by Cristian. Starodubtseva is 18-9 in 2026, and Cristian is 12-10 overall. If you’re worried about 2026 clay court records, then Starodubtseva has that one covered at 7-2 vs 1-2 for Cristian. The Ukrainian is also having a much better run of form headed into WTA Madrid. These things matter in matches like this.
Best Bet to Make
The play here is bet on Stardubtseva continuing her solid form on clay. She’s coming off a WTA Charleston final loss to Jessica Pegula, and the only people she’s losing to at this time are Pegula, Amanda Anisimova, and Anastasia Pavlyuchekova. Cristian is not really the type of player that should give Starodubtseva much trouble. I would take Stardubtseva winning 2:0 at 2.5 on Bet365.
That being said, Starodubtseva winning 2:0 is a value bet for sure.
Value bet/ the best odds: Starodubtseva winning 2:0 @2.5 @Bet365
Bondar – Svitolina: Time 02:00 EST
H2H: 1-2
Anna Bondar vs Elina Svitolina is an interesting match, but not expected to be a close match. Bondar is a talented player, and she beat Svitolina in the first round of the 2025 U.S. Open, after losing to her in the first round of the 2025 WTA Wimbledon and the second round of the 2025 WTA French Open. Three Majors all in one year. This will be their first non-Major meeting, and it’s still a 1,000-point tournament.
Best Bet to Make
Svitolina is simply a different league of player than Anna Bondar. I’ll concede that Bondar did win her last match, and it was in a Major, but I’ll also stress that it’s hard to get excited for the same opponent three Majors in a row. Svitolina is focused in 2026, and she’s likely to be around towards the end of WTA Madrid, too.
That being said, Svitolina +5.5 games is a value bet for sure.
Value bet/ the best odds: Svitolina +5.5 games @2.03 @1xBet
Bencic – Marcinko: Time 02:00 EST
H2H: 0-0
Belinda Bencic and Petra Marcinko will play for the first time. If Marcinko aims to win this match, she’s going to have to feature her return game and impressive recent win-rate. She’s coming off a 2025 where she won five different tournaments, and she’s already made one semifinal this year. Bencic is 15-6 so far in 2026 and has thus far acquitted herself fantastically.
Best Bet to Make
I like Marcinko, and I think she plays with a lot of spunk. I don’t think she’s ready to compete with players like Belinda Bencic, but I think she has real potential. The simple truth is that Bencic is going to win this match pretty easily. You can overcomplicate things, or you can throw down a simple bet on Bencic, and then reap the profits.
That being said, Bencic winning 2:0 is a value bet for sure.
Value bet/ the best odds: Bencic winning 2:0 @1.62 @1xBet
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
