Linda Noskova vs Maria Sakkari Prediction WTA Adelaide Tennis Picks 1/7/25

Linda Noskova is ranked 30th in the WTA rankings, which is five spots below her previous best ranking of No. 25. The young Czech is competing in Adelaide for the second time in her career.

Noskova enjoyed a breakthrough week in Adelaide 24 months ago when she reached her first career final at Tour level.

That run began from qualifying and then beat some serious competition in the main draw including Daria Kasatkina, Victoria Azarenka and Ons Jabeur. 

She lost to soon-to-be Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka in the final. Noskova has improved by leaps and bounds in the two years since as highlighted in her Top 30 ranking which will enable her to be seeded in the year's first Grand Slam which begins next week.

Noskova started her 2025 campaign in Brisbane this past week where she beat Anca Todoni in straight sets in the first round, but lost to the talented Mirra Andreeva in the second round.

She celebrated her 20th birthday during the off-season, so this will be the first year that she is no longer classified as a teenager.

Maria Sakkari Preview

Maria Sakkari started her season in Perth, Australia, where she represented Greece at the United Cup for the third year in a row. Unfortunately, she was far from her best form.

Sakkari was competing in her first tournament since last September's US Open where she retired with a shoulder injury in the opening round and elected to shut down her season.

Sakkari lost in singles to Jessica Bouzas Maneiro of Spain and Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan in the mixed-team competition. She had to play qualifying rounds in Adelaide because of her massive rankings slump in the past few months because she lost many points.

The 29-year-old defeated Saisai Zheng by retirement but lost to Peyton Stearns in thrilling three-hour match. Luckily for the Greek star, she has been offered a spot in the main draw as a lucky loser.

Linda Noskova and Maria Sakkari Head-To-Head

• Noskova and Sakkari have met once on the WTA Tour.

• Noskova defeated Sakkari in three sets in their second-round meeting at the 2024 Qatar Open.

Linda Noskova and Maria Sakkari Prediction

Sakkari, now 29, is very much a veteran on the WTA Tour, but I'm starting to question her physical readiness for the new season. She looked out-of-form in her opening two matches of the United Cup, failing to take a set against Bouzas Maneiro and Rybakina, or at the very least make those matches competitive.

Her performance in qualifying in Adelaide against Peyton Stearns was slightly encouraging, but she lost agonizingly in three sets, so her confidence has taken a hit. Sakkari relies so much on her athletic ability and shot acceleration, so it could be that she is still cautiously assessing her shoulder which kept her out of the sport for a few months at the back end of last year. Noskova is not the type of player you want to play when your major strengths are taken away from you and I can see the Czech bullying the experienced Greek here.