22-year-old Dane Clara Tauson lost in qualifying here last season but looks a completely different prospect this year. Troubled by injuries in the early portion of her career, the smooth-hitting Dane finally appears to be living up to her potential.
2025 WTA Tour
WTA 1000
Cincinnati Open
Linder Family Tennis Centre (Outdoor Hardcourt)
Selected Round of 32 and 16 Matches- 13th August
Round of 32
Clara Tauson (16) 0.59 vs Veronika Kudermetova 1.33
22-year-old Dane Clara Tauson lost in qualifying here last season but looks a completely different prospect this year. Troubled by injuries in the early portion of her career, the smooth-hitting Dane finally appears to be living up to her potential. She won her 3rd career title at the beginning of the season, with Osaka retiring midway through their Auckland championship match. She has reached the 3rd round or better in all three slams and has become a real threat in WTA 1000 events, finishing runner-up in Dubai before an impressive semifinal run in Montreal last week (where she picked up straight-sets wins over Swiatek and Keys). She appeared somewhat jaded in her Cincinnati opener, needing three sets to see off gutsy Aussie Ajla Tomljanovic. To be fair, the turnover from Montreal to Cincinnati was ridiculously short and I’m not surprised that she looked a bit fatigued. In any event, Tauson has risen to a career-high 15th in the world rankings and currently sits 11th in the live WTA race.
Big-serving Russian Veronika Kudermetova has looked revitalized in this North American hardcourt swing, pushing Gauff to three sets in Montreal before winning back-to-back matches in this event. She thrashed Lamens 6-1, 6-3 in her opener before stunning an in-form Belinda Bencic 6-4, 7-6 (avenging the double-bagel that the Swiss bestowed upon her at this year’s Abu Dhabi Open). She served expertly against the Swiss, firing six aces and winning 78% of her first-serve points. This has been a frustrating year for Kudermetova (who hasn’t reached a final since 2023). She started the year in positive fashion, reaching the Hobart quarters before a 4th round run at the Aussie Open. But inconsistency stepped in and she hasn’t been able to string together many wins since then. But she enjoyed a nice confidence booster at Wimbledon, winning her maiden Grand Slam doubles title playing alongside Elise Mertens. That seems to have galvanized her and she has looked vastly improved these last few weeks, going 4-1 in her first five North American hardcourt matches.
The Verdict: Kudermetova to win three sets at 4.4– This will be their first career meeting. I think Kudermetova has a decent chance of causing an upset here. The Russian appears to have settled into this North American hardcourt swing while Tauson may still be feeling the lingering effects of a deep Montreal run.
Round of 16
Ekaterina Alexandrova (12) 0.57 vs Anna Kalinskaya (28) 1.37
Big-hitting Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova is enjoying one of her best seasons on tour, winning a WTA 500 title in Linz while reaching a WTA 1000 semifinal on the Dubai hardcourts. She has also managed to elevate her game in the bigger events, making back-to-back Grand Slam 4th round appearances at Roland Garros and SW19. The flat-hitting Russian experienced a bit of a wobble in Montreal, going down to Zhu Lin after winning the first set 6-1. She appears to have rediscovered her range on these brisk Cincinnati hardcourts, dropping just 13 games with straight-sets wins over Lulu Son and Maya Joint. She has served tremendously in Cincinnati, firing 14 aces across two matches (winning around 80% of her first-serve points in the process). She has already gone beyond her best showing in this event and will be aiming for a strong finish as she gears up to be a dark horse in New York.
Next up for Alexandrova is compatriot Anna Kalinskaya. Kalinskaya has struggled with consistency since bursting onto the scene with that runner-up finish in Dubai last year. She had only reached three quarterfinals prior the North American hardcourt swing (her best result being a semifinal finish at a minor Singapore Tennis Open). But the Russian has found some inspiration during this North American hardcourt season, reaching the final in Washington before going out at the round of 32 stage in Montreal. She has also managed to negotiate a tricky Cincinnati draw, winning in three against Peyton Stearns before a lovely upset win against Wimbledon finalist Amanda Anisimova. She had some serving issues against Anisimova, coughing up five double faults. But Anisimova also struggled, only managing to land 51% of her first serves. Kalinskaya exploited that, winning an impressive 60% of her 2nd serve return points while converting four of eight break-point opportunities.
The Verdict: Alexandrova to win in straight sets at 1.24- Alexandrova has utterly dominated her compatriot in their head-to-head meetings, improving to 6-0 with victory in Wuhan last year. Kalinskaya has struggled with Alexandrova’s direct approach and I don’t see that changing here. These surfaces give Alexandrova plenty of purchase for her flat, penetrative groundstrokes. She has been serving expertly and I think Kalinskaya will once again struggle with her pure power.
