🎾 WTA Madrid: Elena Rybakina vs Bianca Andreescu – Match Preview
🧠 Form & Context
🇰🇿 Elena Rybakina
- BJK Cup Boost: Led Kazakhstan to the Billie Jean King Cup Finals with two dominant wins in Brisbane.
- Building Clay Form: Holding a solid 17–7 record in 2025, showing clear signs of improvement after a flat end to last season.
- Searching for a Final: Hasn’t made a final since Stuttgart 2024 but appears close to turning the corner.
- Madrid Upside: Former Rome champion and one of the best power hitters on clay—especially with altitude support.
🇨🇦 Bianca Andreescu
- Comeback Trail: Returned last week in Rouen after a long layoff, losing a tight R1 match to Suzan Lamens.
- Encouraging Win: Defeated McCartney Kessler 6–2, 6–4 in Madrid for her first victory of the season.
- Clay Ceiling: Has had limited success on the surface—QFs in Strasbourg and Rome stand as career bests.
- Madrid Flashback: Reached R3 in 2022, highlighted by a win over Danielle Collins.
🔍 Match Breakdown
Rybakina’s explosive game is well suited to Madrid’s high altitude, which accelerates her flat groundstrokes and amplifies her already imposing serve. She thrives in conditions like these, as her Rome 2023 title proved.
Andreescu, by contrast, is still finding her feet after a lengthy injury absence. While her win over Kessler was positive, she’ll face a completely different level of pressure and pace here. Disrupting Rybakina’s rhythm requires precision, variety, and peak conditioning—none of which are fully in place yet for the Canadian.
Their previous meetings back up the matchup disparity: Rybakina holds a 2–0 head-to-head record, winning in straight sets both times (Wimbledon & Dubai).
🔮 Prediction
✔️ Prediction: Elena Rybakina in 2 sets
Expect a commanding performance from Rybakina as she kicks off her clay swing with purpose. Andreescu’s return journey is just beginning, and this matchup may prove a step too soon.
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