A bustling order of play is in store for Day 3 of the WTA Western & Southern Open, as Wednesday’s action highlights a matchup of Grand Slam champions. With rain hopefully out of contention, lots of great tennis will be played. This piece highlights Rybakina and Sabalenka, with both players looking to regain momentum going into the US Open. We also predict the rest of the day’s matches, split between three other articles–featuring Iga Swiatek vs Danielle Collins, Venus Williams vs Qinwen Zheng, and Coco Gauff vs Mayar Sherif. Who do you think will advance?
WTA Cincinnati Day 3 Predictions
Jasmine Paolini vs Cristina Busca
Head-to-head: Paolini 1-0
Busca achieved the biggest win of her career on Tuesday, as she took out 13th seed Belinda Bencic in three sets. However, it’s often an arduous task for a lower-ranked player to back up an upset. Paolini is a solid player that relies on consistency, as she played solid tennis to wear down Maria Kostyuk 6-2 6-1. Busca similarly counterpunches and uses variety, so expect some long and unique rallies. Expecting Paolini to pull through this one in a long battle.
Prediction: Paolini in 3
Aryna Sabalenka vs Ann Li
Head-to-head: Sabalenka 1-0
Ann Li seemed to be a top prospect of American tennis years prior, but she was unfortunately plagued with injury throughout 2022. It’s good to see her back in a WTA main draw, and she took an even bigger step by stunning Australian Open semifinalist Magda Linette. Sabalenka is continuously a brutal task on the tour, but some minor alarm bells went off in her surprising loss to Samsonova in Montreal. Her serve let her down in the third set, something she strived to work on and seemed to fix in 2023. A match like this will show fans whether some of these issues are here to stay for awhile. Regardless, her B-game will be enough to move her into the third round.
Prediction: Sabalenka in 2
[cta id=4013 type=cta]
Maria Sakkari vs Sorana Cirstea
Head-to-head: Cirstea 2-0
Upset alert bells are absolutely ringing for this matchup, as Cirstea not only leads the head-to-head, but has also looked formidable as of late. Cirstea won 6-0 6-2 in her first round against Ekaterina Alexandrova, consistently using her offense. Sakkari helplessly lost to Danielle Collins in Montreal, with no real gameplan or plan B. She’ll need a plan B in this one, especially if Cirstea fires on all cylinders. Sakkari has never played well in Cincinnati, or the latter portion of the summer hard court season, and that streak could continue.
Prediction: Cirstea in 3
Elena Rybakina vs Jelena Ostapenko
Head-to-head: 2-2
The only thing certain about this match is a plethora of crushed tennis balls due to the sheer power these two players produce. Rybakina won their latest two meetings losing six games, but her shoulder noticeably flared up in her semifinal loss in Montreal. Ostapenko typically enjoys playing fellow ball-bashers, especially when there’s an increased likelyhood that Rybakina will spray more errors than usual if injury concerns are true. Ostapenko has to serve well in order to stay intact, as Rybakina’s serve is always tough to break. Perhaps bold to go for another upset, but Ostapenko has the firepower to take advantage of opportunities like this.
Prediction: Ostapenko in 3
Main Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
