Two Chinese players were in the WTA Elite Trophy field and two of them have made it to the semifinal round of the event. Qinwen Zheng is on a great run of late, but not many expected wild card Lin Zhu to advance from the groups. They’ll face each other in the final four, while Daria Kasatkina takes on Beatriz Haddad Maia. Who do you think will prevail?
WTA Elite Trophy Semifinal Predictions
Qinwen Zheng vs Lin Zhu
Head-to-head: 1-1
Qinwen Zheng is 16-2 since the beginning of the US Open, losing only to Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka. That run includes a title at the Asian Games (beating Lin Zhu in the final) and at the WTA 500 in Zhengzhou. In other words, she’s on fire and perhaps this is the breakthrough moment we’ve all been waiting for.
Zhu received a wild card entry to this event, making the semis by defeating Veronika Kudermetova and taking a set off Liudmila Samsonova. She dropped just one game to Zheng at an ITF event in Jinan many moons ago (the youngster was just 15 at the time), but their recent Asian Games final wasn’t even close (6-2 6-4). It’s way more likely that we get a repeat of the latter meeting with the prodigy in red-hot form of late. Prediction: Zheng in 2
Daria Kasatkina vs Beatriz Haddad Maia
Head-to-head: Kasatkina 1-0
Daria Kasatkina debuted at the WTA Finals last year and while her 2023 campaign was less impressive, she has been really solid and did enough to make a 2nd appearance at the WTA Elite Trophy. The Russian played very well in the group stage (wins over Magda Linette and Barbora Krejcikova) and will be the favorite to make the final now.
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This run comes as a bit of a surprise for Beatriz Haddad Maia, who wasn’t doing so hot during the Chinese swing with just one win and three losses. The Brazilian, who didn’t drop a set against Caroline Garcia and Madison Keys in the group stage, clearly knows how to handle very aggressive ball-strikers. Can she produce against someone with a more varied baseline style? She did beat Kasatkina in Doha this year, but it still feels like more or less a coin flip.
Prediction: Kasatkina in 3
Main Photo Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
