The WTA Madrid second round continues on Friday. The Round of 64 began on Thursday with a few eye-opening results. Elina Svitolina, the No. 7 seed, was beaten in straight sets. Naomi Osaka looked very good in a convincing win. Iga Swiatek played a clean match and started her tournament the right way. What will happen on another day of second-round matches, with more seeded players in action? Here are three matches on the Friday card.
WTA Madrid
Putintseva – Kostyuk: Time 09:30 EST
H2H: 0-1
Yulia Putintseva clashes with Marta Kostyuk in a battle of two top-80 players in the World. These two actually met earlier this year for the first time at Brisbane in the second round. The match would go three sets with Putintseva winning the first set in a tiebreak, but she would then win only one more game. Kostyuk is coming off a straight-set victory over Veronika Podrez in the final at Rouen. Kostyuk made the quarterfinals at WTA Madrid last year. Can she repeat the feat or go even further?
Best Bet to Make
You’re not going to be surprised when I tell you that Kostyuk is a pretty large favorite. Fortunately for bettors, you can still get a straight set victory at 1.73 on several sites. If you’re going to go with a bet here, this is the one I would go for since Kostyuk clearly figured out Putintseva after that first set. I wouldn’t count on Putintseva repeating the feat.
That being said, Kostyuk winning 2:0 is a value bet for sure.
Value bet/ the best odds: Kostyuk winning 2:0 @1.73 @1xBet
McNally – Mboko: Time 01:00 EST
H2H: 1-1
Caty McNally meets with Victoria Mboko in a career rubber match. Their last meeting was earlier this year in the second round of the Australian Open. Mboko won that match in straight sets by a score of 6-4, 6-3. McNally won their 2024 ITF Austin match in three sets during the first round, but that was their only other match. Mboko is coming off back-to-back quarterfinal appearances, while McNally is just trying to string wins together.
Best Bet to Make
The only person to bet on in this match is Mboko. The question is how to turn a profit from the victory. Mboko seems to be operating at a different level than McNally, and the idea of her winning seems like a forgone conclusion. If you think she’s going to win in straight sets, then you can grab her winning 2:0 at 1.84 on 1xBet. To make money on a spread, you’d have to feel comfortable betting on Mboko +4.5 games at 1.96 on 1xBet, too.
That being said, betting on Mboko +4.5 games is a value bet for sure.
Value bet/ the best odds: Mboko +4.5 games @1.89 @1xet
Pegula – Boulter: Time 03:30 EST
H2H: 1-1
Jessica Pegula vs Katie Boulter rounds out the coverage. While this will be their third overall match, it will actually be their first WTA Tour match, as the others were the United Cup and Billie Jean King Cup. Both matches were competitive, and both went three sets. While they’ve both played five total clay matches, Pegula is undefeated, and Boulter sits at 3-2. Pegula is coming off a tournament victory over Yulia Putintseva, while Boulter is coming off a quarterfinal appearance at Rouen.
Best Bet to Make
You’d have to be a fool to pick Boulter to win this match at this time. Pegula has been one of the better players before Charleston, and now she’s added another tournament title to her 2026 record. After winning four three-set matches, she finally cruised to victory over Yulia Starodubtseva in the final, claiming her second tournament title of 2026. Her first title came at Dubai, against much tougher competition than in Charleston. There’s no reason Pegula shouldn’t be able to win convincingly.
That being said, Pegula -6 games is a value bet for sure.
Value bet/ the best odds: Pegula -6 games @2.05 @10Bet
Main Photo Credit: Danielle Parhizkaran-USA TODAY Sports