Aryna Sabalenka vs Emma Raducanu Prediction 8/11/2025 Today’s Tennis Picks

Top seed Aryna Sabalenka will take on former US Open champion Emma Raducanu in the third round of the 2025 Cincinnati Open. The match is scheduled for Monday, August 11. Here’s our Aryna Sabalenka vs Emma Raducanu prediction. This preview will also include an Aryna Sabalenka vs Emma Raducanu pick.

Aryna Sabalenka vs Emma Raducanu Preview

Aryna Sabalenka is the top seed in Cincinnati, and her title defense is off to a flying start this week. The World No. 1 overcame Czech lefty Marketa Vondrousova to reach the third round of the tournament. Three times a semifinalist here, Sabalenka finally clinched her first title in Cincinnati last year when she defeated Top 5 players Iga Swiatek and Jessica Pegula en route to the title.

And she had one of the most difficult openers against former Wimbledon champion Vondrousova, who forced six break points out of the Sabalenka serve, but could not take any. Sabalenka was the epitome of efficiency and effectiveness, creating only one break point on set point in the first set and converting it after 55 minutes of play. In the second set, Sabalenka broke Vondrousova’s serve twice to ease to a precious 7-5, 6-1 victory in an hour and 33 minutes.

In the victory, Sabalenka hit four aces and two double faults. Sabalenka landed 60% of first serves in play and won 64% of first serve points (32/50). She won 61% of second serve points (20/33) and saved all 12 break points combined. Sabalenka improves to 49-9 for the season. She bounces back from the Wimbledon semifinal defeat to Anisimova last month. She is 24-4 on outdoor hard courts and has made a final in four of six tournaments on the surface. Sabalenka is a three-time WTA champion this season.

It will be another Grand Slam champion lurking in the third round after Emma Raducanu knocked out Serbia’s Olga Danilovic in straight sets. The match lasted an hour and 21 minutes and had 17 games in it. Raducanu was broken to love in the first game of the match, but quickly regained the break back in the next game. The two players then exchanged one more break midway through the set, before Raducanu broke for a third time and served to love for the opening set 6-3.

Raducanu and Danilovic each held in their first two service games in the second set, but the Briton made her move in the fifth game, breaking Danilovic, and would do so two more games later to lead 5-2. She served for the match successfully at the first attempt 6-2. Raducanu hit seven aces and three double faults. She landed 64% of first serves in play and won 70% of first serves in play (19/27). She won 73% of second serve points (11/15) and saved one of three break points she faced. Raducanu improves to 13-8 on hard courts and can reach the last 16 in Cincinnati for a second time.

Aryna Sabalenka vs Emma Raducanu Head-To-Head

Sabalenka and Raducanu have met twice on the WTA Tour. Sabalenka won both meetings, once on a hard court at the 2024 Indian Wells and the other at this year’s Wimbledon, all in straight sets.

Aryna Sabalenka vs Emma Raducanu Prediction

While the head-to-head should fill Sabalenka with optimism of getting her third win over Raducanu, the Briton ought to have at least won a set when they met at Wimbledon just last month. Raducanu served for the opening set and had a set point in the tiebreak, and also led in the second set. You could easily make a case for Raducanu to get one over the line in Cincinnati, finally. Sabalenka is a powerhouse, and when she hits her spots, she is virtually unstoppable, but not unbeatable, and there were some moments when that power lacked a cutting edge against Vondrousova, only for the Czech to let her off the hook. Now, Raducanu’s footwork has looked cleaner in recent weeks, and that shot tolerance keeps getting better with more match sharpness, and if Sabalenka experiences any hiccups, I could see Raducanu capitalizing.