Main draw action kicks off on Monday at the 2024 WTA Hong Kong Open with six singles matches on the schedule. Among the line-up is the recent Wuhan semifinalist and No. 4 seed at this event Xinyu Wang, who takes on Jessica Ponchet. Who do you think will prevail? We also predict the rest of the day’s matches in a separate article.
WTA Hong Kong Day 1 Predictions
Sara Saito vs Bernarda Pera
Head-to-head: Hon 1-0
That Osaka run was fantastic from Sara Saito with wins over Jessica Bouzas Maneiro and Elina Avanesyan to make the quarterfinals. The Japanese was applying her game so intelligently despite having zero main tour experience. Now she has to show it wasn’t a one-time thing and her performances in Tokyo were a lot weaker. Beating Bernarda Pera would be impressive as the American remains a quality player despite flying under the radar these days. Not sure she can do it.
Prediction: Pera in 2
Xiyu Wang vs Hina Inoue
Head-to-head: First meeting
Xiyu Wang made the Austin final in February and can’t quite get to a level where she’ll be producing these sort of results consistently (or the Guangzhou title last year). Hina Inoue might not have the experience at the top echelon of the sport, but she’s been winning a lot in 2024 and that momentum does count for something. It seems like all the tools are in Wang’s hands here. She needs to play pretty solidly though as otherwise a player high on confidence like Inoue could pounce on her errors.
Prediction: Wang in 2
Xinyu Wang vs Jessica Ponchet
Head-to-head: First meeting
Jessica Ponchet is dropping some huge points this week (she won an ITF event in Poitiers this time last year) and that Top 100 dream might be getting further away from her again. That is unless she can produce a run in Hong Kong. That won’t be easy though. Xinyu Wang recently made the Wuhan semifinals and her loss to Sofia Kenin in Tokyo looks much better in hindsight. The Chinese is the better ball-striker and isn’t as inconsistent as some of her peers.
Prediction: Wang in 2
Main Photo Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports
