The WTA 250 in Ningbo kicks off on Day 1 with five singles matches. We’ll look at these matches and offer our thoughts on who will progress. Two seeds take to the courts on Day 1.
WTA Ningbo Day 1
Xiyu Wang vs Kamilla Rakhimova
Head to head: First meeting
Xiyu Wang has been handed a wild card to this event and will hope to progress further than in the most recent events where she has gone out in the first or second round. Kamilla Rakhimova was the top seed in qualifying and only dropped on set to make the main draw. Qualifiers can be dangerous and Wang has not had good form coming into this match.
Prediction: Rakhimova in 3
Diana Shnaider vs Paula Badosa
Head to head: 2-3
Diana Shnaider won the last meeting between these players. They have faced each other four times this season already with the honours shared. The fifth meeting was last season. Most of the matches have been straight sets, with only Rome this year being a three set battle. Shnaider has not been beyond the second round in the last two events she has played. Paula Badosa is the eighth seed and did not play Wuhan. Badosa does lead the head to head, but this match will be close again.
Prediction: Badosa in 2
Caroline Dolehide vs Yulia Putintseva
Head to head: 0-2
Caroline Dolehide has not found the Asian swing comfortable. The best the American has done has been the second round. Yulia Putintseva reached the third round in Wuhan and took a set off the top seed before eventually losing. Putintseva should not have any problem getting beyond the American, as both times they have met have shown.
Prediction: Putintseva in 2
Daria Kasatkina vs Anna Bondar
Head to head: 1-0
Daria Kasatkina is the fifth seed in Ningbo and the Asian swing has not been a happy hunting ground so far. The furthest that Kasatkina has managed was the second round in Wuhan. Anna Bondar qualified for Wuhan, and here the Hungarian has got in as a lucky loser. Bondar will be looking to take full advantage of her second chance and will want to pull a shock on the seeded player. It will be tricky, but not impossible.
Prediction: Bondar in 3
Mirra Andreeva vs Varvara Lepchenko
Head to head: First meeting
Mirra Andreeva is the higher ranked of these two players. The youngster has been making a name for herself on the tour. In the Asian swing, Andreeva made a quarterfinal at the China Open. She was seeded in Wuhan but was defeated in the second round by her older sister. Varvara Lepchenko didn’t qualify for the China Open or Wuhan and has not dropped a set here to make the main draw. The American will be a dangerous qualifier.
Prediction: Lepchenko in 3
Main Photo Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
