Day 2 of the Lexus Nottingham Open continues Tuesday with defending champion McCartney Kessler back on the grass, and she faces fellow American Katie Volynets in what promises to be a compelling all-American first-round affair, as will be the other matches scheduled for the day. But who will advance?
WTA Nottingham Day 2 Predictions
Katie Boulter vs Harriet Dart
Head–to–Head: Boulter 2 – 1 Dart
Katie Boulter and Harriet Dart know each other’s games inside out, but Boulter walks onto her beloved Nottingham grass with every advantage, with back-to-back wins at this very venue and the kind of form in 2026 that makes her quite a dangerous player on the grass-court circuit. Add her deep Leicestershire roots and the crowd barely needs to pick a side.
Yet Dart is no pushover in this fixture. She took the most recent clash between the two at Wimbledon two years ago and has the grit to make Boulter work for every point when pride is on the line. The ranking gap may tell one story, but Anglo-British bragging rights have a way of scrambling the script. Expect a battle before the inevitable, a resurgent Boulter closing the door on her Nottingham turf.
Prediction: Boulter in 2
Dayana Yastremska vs Lois Boisson
Head–to–Head: Yastremska 0 – 1 Boisson
Dayana Yastremska arrives in Nottingham with unfinished business after leaving this tournament with a runner-up medal last year, and if the grass courts of Nottingham have anything to say about it, she won’t be leaving empty-handed again. Statistically, she is at her sharpest on this surface, and there is a quiet hunger about a player who has already tasted the final here and knows exactly what it takes.
Standing in her way is Lois Boisson, but the Frenchwoman’s numbers tell a difficult story. One win from seven matches since returning from injury is the kind of form that makes any draw look unkind, and grass is not where Boisson does her best thinking; she is a clay-court expert navigating someone else’s terrain. Yastremska should have too much.
Prediction: Yastremska in 2
Caty McNally vs Antonia Ruzic
Head–to–Head: First Meeting
Caty McNally is riding a wave of momentum that feels hard to stop right now. A quarter-final run in Holland signals she is back to her sharpest, and with her body finally holding up, the American is climbing the rankings with real conviction. More crucially for this surface, she knows exactly what to do on grass
Antonia Ruzic had to fight through qualifying just to reach Queen’s, and her first-round exit there tells its own story. The rankings may flatter her proximity to McNally on paper, but grass is a great separator, and experience on this surface is not something you can manufacture overnight. McNally’s comfort and confidence here should prove the decisive factor.
Prediction: McNally in 3
McCartney Kessler vs Katie Volynets
Head–to–Head: First Meeting
The reigning champion stumbled early at Queen’s last week, but defending titles has a way of sharpening focus and the Nottingham grass feels like home soil for a player who lifted the trophy here just twelve months ago.
Volynets brings the better grass-court mileage into this first round, and at world No. 101, she has nothing to lose and everything to prove. But Kessler’s ranking advantage reflects a quality gap that a few extra turf matches won’t bridge overnight. Expect the champion to shake off the Queen’s rust and advance.
Prediction: Kessler in 2
Main Photo Credit: Taya Gray/The Desert Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
