Aryna Sabalenka reached the final of the WTA Italian Open in 2024, losing to Iga Swiatek in Rome after also finishing runner-up to the Pole in Madrid. Now she’s coming into the event with even more confidence and six finals this year already. She’ll kick off her campaign with a second meeting against Anastasia Potapova. Who do you think will prevail? We have predictions for every match in WTA Rome on day 4.
WTA Rome Day 4 Predictions
Ekaterina Alexandrova vs Emma Raducanu
Head-to-head: 1-1
Fate keeps putting these two against each other this season with Emma Raducanu prevailing at the Australian Open and Ekaterina Alexandrova firing back in Doha. The Russian has looked great this entire clay season, picking up eight wins already along with back-to-back semifinals in Charleston and Stuttgart. She’s probably the slight favorite over Raducanu, who might have an easier time handling her offense on these courts but won’t get to enjoy that pop from the surface herself either.
Prediction: Alexandrova in 3
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs Sofia Kenin
Head-to-head: Kenin 2-1
Sofia Kenin is so much more consistent this season, but she still has the occasional poor showing like in the double-bagel loss to Coco Gauff or even the match she played against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in Abu Dhabi. The rematch is tough to call with the Russian picking up her first win since beating Kenin in February over Katie Boulter in the opening round. If this gets physical in these conditions, Kenin will probably have the edge. That might be enough to give her the nod.
Prediction: Kenin in 3
Olga Danilovic vs Qinwen Zheng
Head-to-head: Zheng 1-0
It’s been a largely quiet season from Qinwen Zheng so far and it’s easy to remember she actually made back-to-back quarterfinals during the Sunshine Double. Madrid, on the other hand, was an opening-round exit to Anastasia Potapova and this is another deadly draw. Olga Danilovic is in the form of her career since last year and is finally unleashing her potential. Zheng will have to be on it right away and sometimes that’s difficult when you’re not in the best match rhythm.
Prediction: Danilovic in 3
Aryna Sabalenka vs Anastasia Potapova
Head-to-head: Sabalenka 1-0
Dayana Yastremska was destroying Anastasia Potapova on Wednesday before the Russian pulled off a comeback from 2-6 0-3 down. It’s not that surprising though as the 24-year-old has been doing quite well for some time now. The question is whether that means anything against the powerhouse that Aryna Sabalenka is right now. While she’s had instances of underperforming in Rome after winning Madrid, the World No. 1 has simply been a winning machine this season, except for the tournaments in the Middle East in February.
Prediction: Sabalenka in 2
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
