Aryna Sabalenka vs Kamilla Rakhimova
July 31, 2024 at 07:00 PM EDT
The Line: Aryna Sabalenka -2000 / Kamilla Rakhimova +950
Top seed Aryna Sabalenka will face qualifier Kamilla Rakhimova in the second round of the 2024 Citi Open in Washington, D.C. The match is scheduled for Wednesday, July 31, 2024. Here’s our Aryna Sabalenka vs Kamilla Rakhimova prediction.
Aryna Sabalenka vs Kamilla Rakhimova Preview
Aryna Sabalenka will return to action after recovering from a shoulder injury that wrecked her grass-court plans. The World No. 3 is the top seed at the Citi Open in Washington. She is playing at this WTA 500 event for the first time since 2017. Sabalenka last played on the WTA Tour in Berlin in late June where she retired from the aforementioned injury in her quarterfinal match.
She subsequently withdrew from Wimbledon just hours before her first-round match. So far, it looks like she has fully overcome her injury struggles and gets to play an opponent ranked outside the Top 100 in her opening match.
Kamilla Rakhimova is ranked 105 in the WTA rankings, although she has previously been as high as No. 65. She is only 22 but has a lot of experience on the WTA level. Her biggest drawback has been her health, which has forced her to miss certain tournaments, and her ranking has taken a hit.
She’s found herself needing to play a lot of qualifying matches to reach the main draw of Tour-level events. That’s been the case this week at the Citi Open in Washington, beating Mirjam Bjorklund and Sachia Vickery. She scored an upset win over Katie Volynets in the first round, in a match that took 19 games to decide.
Aryna Sabalenka vs Kamilla Rakhimova Head-To-Head
• Sabalenka leads Rakhimova 1-0 in their head-to-head. That match took place at the 2023 French Open. Sabalenka won 6-2, 6-2.
Aryna Sabalenka vs Kamilla Rakhimova Prediction
Rakhimova came through qualifying and delivered a shock win over Volynets. But this will be a major upgrade in competition. Although doubts linger on Sabalenka’s fitness and match sharpness (she hasn’t played in over a month), the top seed should have enough firepower to hit through the World No. 105 and book her spot in the quarterfinal.