After crushing Taylor Townsend in the opening round, No. 2 seed Elise Mertens is now coming up against Tatjana Maria at the WTA 250 in Singapore. How will the Belgian handle her opponent’s tricky slice-and-dice game? Meanwhile, No. 4 seed Xinyu Wang faces a tough challenger in 18-year-old Maya Joint. Who do you think will prevail?
WTA Singapore Day 4 Predictions
Hailey Baptiste vs Kimberly Birrell
Head-to-head: First meeting
Kimberly Birrell handed a surprisingly quick exit to the recent Brisbane runner-up Polina Kudermetova, while Hailey Baptiste recovered from a disastrous opening set to defeat Renata Zarazua. The American should have a stronger game indoors and when Birrell was trying to play in these conditions last year, her results were poor (1-5 at the ITF level). Baptiste isn’t as much of an attacker as Kudermetova and should have a better chance at not hitting herself off the court against a solid opponent.
Prediction: Baptiste in 3
Maya Joint vs Xinyu Wang
Head-to-head: First meeting
Maya Joint can already be proud of how she’s developing this season and things can only improve from here. The Australian survived an indoor specialist in Alycia Parks in the opening round, but it won’t be as easy to draw out errors from Xinyu Wang here. The No. 4 seed has a much steadier attacking game and while she was involved in a tough opener against Rebecca Marino, that was just a high-quality encounter between two players who enjoyed the indoor conditions in Singapore. Wang is the favorite, but Joint can be very dangerous.
Prediction: Wang in 3
Olivia Gadecki vs Jil Teichmann
Head-to-head: First meeting
It’s been a while since Jil Teichmann found her peak game, but she seems to be on fire this week with just fourteen games dropped in three matches. Olivia Gadecki posted a solid win over Moyuka Uchijima, which was important considering the Australian was getting some horrible draws to start the season and hadn’t won a set in 2025 yet. Teichmann can still be a strong player on her day and if she keeps up that quality, her upside is higher than Gadecki’s at the moment.
Prediction: Teichmann in 3
Elise Mertens vs Tatjana Maria
Head-to-head: Mertens 1-0
Tatjana Maria has now won six matches in a row with her ITF Bangalore title and the opening win over Yulia Starodubtseva. Despite two tricky battles near the end of last week, the 37-year-old had enough left in the tank to torment the Ukrainian with her slice-and-dice game. But it’s much tougher to pull this playstyle off against an experienced opponent. After so many years on tour, there’s little that can surprise Elise Mertens and she should be ready for Maria’s unusual brand of tennis.
Prediction: Mertens in 2
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
