Aryna Sabalenka returned to action for the first time since her dramatic French Open final defeat, overcoming a few stumbles- and a contentious weather delay- to see off big-serving qualifier Rebeka Masarova 6-2, 7-5.
2025 WTA Tour
WTA 500
Grass Court Championships Berlin
Rot-Weiss Tennis Club, Berlin, Germany (Outdoor Grass)
Selected Quarterfinal Matches- 20th June
Aryna Sabalenka (1) 0.54 vs Elena Rybakina 1.44
Sabalenka is probably in a bit of a weird headspace. She has dominated this season’s tour, winning more matches and more titles than any other player. However, she lost the two most crucial matches of the season, going down in three sets in both the Aussie and French Open finals. She let her emotions get the better of her in aftermath of that French Open final, essentially saying that Gauff never won the title, she had lost it (she has expressed regret over those comments). Sabalenka will (rather incredibly) be looking to claim her maiden grass-court title this week. Sabalenka has reached two grass-court finals, most recently going down to Alexandrova in the final of the 2022 Rosmalen event. Still, she clearly has the game for these surfaces, reaching the semifinals in each of her last two Wimbledon appearances.
Elena Rybakina improved to 29-11 for the season with a hard-fought round of 16 win over Katerina Siniakova. The Kazakh has lost her ‘Big Three’ aura over the past year (there was a time when she was arguably the most feared player in women’s tennis). The 2022 Wimbledon champ won her 9th career title at the recent Internationaux de Strasbourg (which was her first WTA final appearance in over a year). Barring that victory in Strasbourg, she also reached semifinals in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. She gave a good fist of it at the French Open, going down to Swiatek in a tight 4th round tussle. She played in last week’s Queens event, going down to eventual champ Tatjana Maria in the round of 16. I personally think that the Kazakh will be pleased with this draw. A victory over World No.1 Sabalenka will go a long way to reestablishing the fear-factor that she had worked so hard to cultivate.
The Verdict: Rybakina to win in three at 4.4- Sabalenka leads the head-to-head 6-4, winning their only previous grass-court meeting at the 2021 Wimbledon Championships. However, Rybakina won their most recent meeting, taking down the Belarusian at last year’s WTA Finals. Rybakina is one of the few players who can genuinely match Sabalenka’s raw power. She will probably look to get forward as much as possible, putting pressure on the Belarusian. I just have a feeling that Rybakina may be able to sneak a result here (though she needs to improve on the eight double-faults she served against Siniakova). Sabalenka looked uncertain in her opener and could still be carrying some scar-tissue following that French Open final defeat.
