Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the WTA 1000 Miami Open match.
Anna Kalinskaya, the 32nd seed in Miami, will take on Moyuka Uchijima, a player who has consistently struggled to advance beyond the second round. On paper, the Russian seems to have the upper hand, but let’s take a closer look.
Anna Kalinskaya
Kalinskaya’s results this season have been far from impressive. With just three wins and six losses, she has dropped 19 places in the rankings since the start of the year. Much of this decline is due to injuries. In 2025 alone, she withdrew from two tournaments. She retired in the first round of Adelaide in January, missing the Australian Open as a result. Then, in her first event after recovery in Singapore, she withdrew mid-match in the semi-finals. Since then, she has suffered first-round eliminations in three consecutive WTA-1000 events. The only silver lining is that her seeding in Miami gave her a direct entry into the second round.
Moyuka Uchijima
Uchijima, on the other hand, is at the peak of her career. The 23-year-old has been steadily improving and is now on the verge of breaking into the top 50, currently ranked 53rd after starting the season at No. 62. She has often had to go through qualifying rounds to enter main draws, but that hasn’t stopped her from achieving solid results. She reached the round of 32 at the WTA-1000 event in Dubai, where she lost to world No. 6 Elena Rybakina (3:6, 2:6). She also put up a strong fight at the Australian Open, narrowly losing to 14th seed Mirra Andreeva (4:6, 6:3, 6:7).
Anna Kalinskaya vs Moyuka Uchijima Predictions
With Kalinskaya’s injury struggles, it’s difficult to predict how she will perform in any given match. Her recent poor results make her an unreliable bet, whereas Uchijima has demonstrated resilience and strong mentality. A bet on the Japanese player with a +2.5 game handicap looks like the safer option.
