Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the WTA US Open match.
World No. 10 Elena Rybakina will play against the 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu. For Raducanu, whose ranking does not secure a seeding at major events, such match-ups are inevitable in the early rounds. For Rybakina this is a serious examination on the road to a potential breakthrough in New York, where she has never gone beyond the third round.
Elena Rybakina
Elena Rybakina found herself in a difficult spot in her previous match with Tereza Valentová, trailing 2:5 in the second set, but she came through and edged it on a tie-break. The Kazakh’s hard-court form this season raises questions. In Cincinnati, Elena dropped sets to Elise Mertens, Madison Keys and even Renata Zarazúa, and in her last 15 matches she has allowed her opponents at least eight games in nine of them. The statistics in New York are also underwhelming — just six wins in 12 main-draw matches.
Emma Raducanu
Emma Raducanu, by contrast, has made a strong impression in the opening rounds of the US Open. She conceded only six games across two matches against Qinwen Zheng and Ena Shibahara, posted an excellent first-serve percentage (76%) and first-serve points won (79%), and struck 10 aces. Over the season she has regularly held her own even against top-tier opponents — she took a set off Aryna Sabalenka in Cincinnati, and in Miami she reached the quarter-finals by beating Amanda Anisimova and Emma Navarro before losing to Jessica Pegula in three sets.
Elena Rybakina vs Emma Raducanu Prediction
Elena Rybakina often hands her opponents too many chances, and the Briton can stay in rallies. Emma Raducanu will make this competitive and is fancied to cover the +3.5-game handicap.
