Our first semifinal at the WTA Internationaux de Strasbourg is set! It’s been an incredible week of tennis in Strasbourg, and while the second semifinal is not finalized yet due to rain, we still have a prediction here for the other semifinal. Nao Hibino and Elena Rybakina have been playing high-quality tennis. Who will come one step closer to lifting the trophy and who will fall short?
WTA Strasbourg Semifinal Predictions
Nao Hibino vs Elena Rybakina
Head to Head: 1-0 Rybakina
Nao Hibino is having a dream week, defeating two grand slam champions on her way to the semifinals. In the quarterfinals, Hibino beat former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko in two tiebreaks to advance. Hibino showed great mental fortitude, especially in the second set, recovering from a two-break deficit to take the set and the match. Elena Rybakina has not dropped a set so far this tournament. In the quarterfinals, she comfortably beat Shuai Zhang in straight sets. Rybakina’s depth and controlled aggression have been very tough to handle this week.
Rybakina leads the head to head 1-0, having beaten Hibino at the French Open last season. She won that match in a close straight sets encounter. Rybakina’s power and control of her groundstrokes are going to make this a very tough matchup from Hibino. Hibino will not be able to dictate and Rybakina won’t give away as many free points as Ostapenko did. Rybakina’s serve is also much better than Hibino’s. Rybakina should win this match comfortably and reach her 7th WTA final.
Prediction: Rybakina in 2
Main Photo from Getty.
