The grass-court season opened with an earthquake in s-Hertogenbosch. On the first day of the Libema Open, four seeds were eliminated in the opening round, leaving the draw in tatters.
Top seed Ekaterina Alexandrova, ranked 13th in the world, fell to Hungary's Panna Udvardy 4-6, 6-7(5). The Russian never found her footing on the Dutch grass. Second seed Clara Tauson suffered the same fate against wild card Mia Pohankova, losing 4-6, 4-6 to a player energized by her home crowd.
Paula Badosa, the former world No. 2 who entered on a wild card, endured a nightmare evening against Daria Snigur. The Ukrainian cruised through the first set 6-1 before clinching the second in a tiebreak, 7-6(2). Badosa had led 5-3 in the second set and held a set point, but could not convert. A cruel scenario for the Spaniard, currently ranked 141st, who had skipped Roland-Garros to prepare for the grass season.
Daria Kasatkina also stumbled, falling to American Rebecca Montgomery 7-5, 0-6, 4-6 after winning the opening set. Bianca Andreescu, another wild card entry, was dispatched 1-6, 2-6 by third seed Elise Mertens, the defending champion who won 80% of her service points and faced zero break points.
The draw is now wide open heading into the second round, with potentially unfamiliar names emerging on the Rosmalen grass.
