Will the Romanian impress in her comeback?

After an eventful season, during which she won the tournament in her hometown of Iasi, among other achievements, Irina-Camelia Begu announced in October—after having not competed in any WTA Tour events for three months—that she needed time to reflect. She emphasized that this was not a retirement, but provided no further specific details.

Now, after nine months, the Romanian is making her return directly at a major tournament via Protected Ranking. Consequently, it is difficult to gauge her form, which makes it hard to predict the outcome of the match between Laura Siegemund and Irina-Camelia Begu.

What is clear, however, is that the now 38-year-old German has shifted her focus almost exclusively to doubles. While Laura Siegemund does compete in singles at the biggest tournaments, her results remain modest. In the 2026 season, for example, she lost seven of her eleven singles matches. This gives her four more wins than Irina-Camelia Begu, who has been inactive for nine months. Nevertheless, her primary focus in Madrid is on doubles with her partner Vera Zvonareva. This makes the bet that the Romanian returnee will win at least one set particularly interesting. We are therefore placing a +1.5-set handicap on the 35-year-old.

The head-to-head record favors the German. However, the last time these two players faced off was over three years ago, when the now 38-year-old from Filderstadt was still far more active in singles and occasionally competing for titles. Against this backdrop, we expect an open match, in which we see the odds at roughly 60:40 in favor of the German.

Since the odds for Laura Siegemund vs. Irina-Camelia Begu are set at 3.10 for a Romanian victory—implying a 32.3 percent probability—the 40 percent chance we assign to the returning player would certainly justify a longshot bet.

Laura Siegemund – Irina-Camelia Begu Head-to-Head Record

Head to Head: 4:1

The two players have faced each other five times so far, and Irina-Camelia Begu was only able to prevail against the Filderstadt native in their very first meeting, which took place in Charleston in April 2015. The subsequent four matches all went to Laura Siegemund, who also defeated the Romanian in their most recent duel to date in the second round of the 2023 Australian Open in a close match, 2-1 (5-7, 7-5, and 6-3).

Laura Siegemund – Irina-Camelia Begu Prediction

Basically, in the match between Laura Siegemund and Irina-Camelia Begu, the prediction must favor the Filderstadt native advancing, as she leads 4-1 in head-to-head matches and is in top form thanks to competing in tournaments practically every week, while her Romanian first-round opponent played her last singles match in July 2025. At 35, the Romanian is also no longer the youngest and has yet to prove that she can climb back to the top after her steep drop to No. 182 in the WTA world rankings. Although she is entering Madrid via a protected ranking, she is likely to face tough opponents very early on in the upcoming tournaments.

Not only has the German increasingly shifted her focus to doubles in recent years—where she already won a Grand Slam in 2020—but the Romanian is also a wild card after a long hiatus, which is why we definitely see value in betting on the supposed underdog. To cover as many eventualities as possible, we’re applying a +1.5 handicap to the returning player, which would also cover a 2-1 victory for the Filderstadt native.