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
Swiatek – Snigur: Time 7:00 EST
H2H: 0-0
Iga Swiatek needs to start over. She has had a terrible 2026 season, falling to No. 4 in the world. She has fallen well behind World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and No. 2 Elena Rybakina in the WTA rankings. She will need to start winning big tournaments to make up that gap. She lost to Mirra Andreeva in the quarterfinals of Stuttgart last week. She has lost three out of four matches. Daria Snigur beat Daria Kasatkina in three sets in the first round of Madrid and enters this match with more momentum than Swiatek.
Best Bet to Make
Although Swiatek will certainly win the match, prices for a Swiatek win – even in straight sets – are not attractive at all. This is a game spread match. That’s the only bet that makes real sense. Given that Snigur has won nine of her last 10 matches while Swiatek has lost three of her last four, it seems hard to think Swiatek will completely blow out Snigur. She could win comfortably – maybe 6-3, 6-2 – but not more. The books offer a very good price for Snigur to cover a large spread of games.
That being said, Snigur +7.5 games is a value bet for sure.
Value bet/ the best odds: Snigur +7.5 games @1.90 @1xbet
Bouzkova – Kalinina: Time 8:00 EST
H2H: 1-0
Maria Bouzkova has won six of her last seven matches. She won the Bogota tournament and then decided to play the Billie Jean King Cup and get some rest before Madrid. She did not play Stuttgart or Rouen last week. Anhelina Kalinina also skipped Stuttgart and Rouen. She played in Linz. She lost in the qualifying rounds but was given a wildcard into the main draw as a lucky loser. She won one match and then lost in the Round of 16. She won two Madrid qualifying matches and then beat Kamilla Rakhimova in the first round.
Best Bet to Make
Kalinina has won three matches in Madrid this week – two qualifiers and one first-round match – so she does have a certain comfort level on this surface. However, Bouzkova is in good form and is comfortable playing on clay. She is the much-higher-ranked player and draws a good return for a moneyline win. You don’t even have to worry about spread bets or totals. Bouzkova is the obvious play to make. I love these.
That being said, Bouzkova winning is a value bet for sure.
Value bet/ the best odds: Bouzkova winning @1.82 @unibet
Parks – Li: Time 8:00 EST
H2H: 1-0
Alycia Parks easily defeated a top-50 opponent, Elisabetta Cocciaretto, in the first round of Madrid. Cocciaretto suffered a very slight injury the week before at the tournament in Rouen, but Parks still took advantage of the situation and played a strong match. Parks’ win over Cocciaretto came after two qualifying round wins, so she has won three matches in Madrid this week. Ann Li put up a fight against top seed Marta Kostyuk in the quarterfinals of Rouen last week but fell short. She will try to regroup in Madrid after getting a first-round bye.
Best Bet to Make
This match is priced fairly evenly. Li, despite being ranked nearly 50 spots higher than Parks, is viewed as only a small favorite, probably because Parks has won three matches in Madrid and is earning respect. Matched against Parks, Li is clearly the better player. She has faced stronger competition than Parks and should be able to prevail.
That being said, Li winning is a value bet for sure.
Value bet/ the best odds: Li winning @1.86 @Betfair
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
