WTA Adelaide Final Prediction

Ash Barty vs Elena Rybakina

Head-to-head: Barty 1-0 Rybakina

Barty’s last couple of performances in Adelaide have been scarily good. The reigning Wimbledon champion got off to shaky start in her first match of the week where she came from a set and a break down to beat Cori Gauff 4-6 7-5 6-1. Barty improved dramatically as she fired 17 aces past Sofia Kenin in a 6-3 6-4 victory. Barty took her game to another level in the semifinals where she trashed Iga Swiatek 6-2 6-4 in a display of all court tennis few other players on tour could wish to produce.

Rybakina has flown somewhat under the radar this week, as is often the case with the Kazakh. The 22-year-old was inconsistent through 3 set victories against Storm Sanders (6-4 1-6 6-1) and Shelby Rogers (3-6 6-3 6-2), whilst managing to defeat Marie Bouzkova (6-3 6-4) and Misaki Doi (6-4 6-3) in straight sets.

The only previous meeting between the pair took place the Australian Open in 2020, Barty won that match 6-3 6-2. Rybakina didn’t handle the versatility of Barty very well on that occasion. it will be interesting to see how much Rybakina has improved over the last few years, Sunday’s final will be telling.

An easy win for Ash Barty is the obvious pick. However, dig a little deeper and there’s some signs to suggest Rybakina can have success in this matchup. Barty can struggle against powerful, aggressive hitters. Aryna Sabalenka, Naomi Osaka and Petra Kvitova have all had success against Barty in recent times. Ultra-aggressive play takes the match out of Barty’s hands, stopping the Aussie from weaving webs with her versatility. All the pressure is on Barty in this match. If Rybakina comes out and executes her game, puts pressure and doubt in Barty’s head, we could have an upset on our hands.

Prediction: Rybakina in 3