Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the WTA Washington match.
Emma Raducanu has advanced to the quarter-finals of the WTA Washington event for the third year running and will be aiming to reach the semi-finals for the first time. Up next is Maria Sakkari, against whom she holds a favourable head-to-head record. Emma also has additional motivation, as a win could see her become the British No.1 as early as next week.
Emma Raducanu
Emma Raducanu has secured straight-sets victories over Marta Kostyuk (7:6, 6:4) and Naomi Osaka (6:4, 6:2), without dropping a set. Notably, she has started matches strongly, winning the opening set in seven of her eight appearances at this tournament. So far this season, she has claimed victory in 9 of her 15 hard-court matches and appears fully comfortable on American surfaces. In all three of her prior encounters with Maria Sakkari—on both hard and grass—Emma has won convincingly, covering at least a -5.5 games handicap and conceding no more than six games in total.
Maria Sakkari
Maria Sakkari enters this match as the underdog, despite straight-sets wins over Katie Boulter and Emma Navarro. However, she has averaged four double faults per match in Washington and dropped 11 games against the American. In 2025, Maria holds a negative record on hard courts (7-10), and this marks the first time in a lengthy spell that she has managed consecutive wins on the surface.
Emma Raducanu vs Maria Sakkari Prediction
The head-to-head record, current momentum, and motivational edge all point in favour of Emma Raducanu. Historically, she has comfortably covered the handicap line against Maria Sakkari, who appears to be one of her more favourable matchups.
