Aryna Sabalenka vs Yulia Putintseva Prediction WTA Brisbane Tennis Picks 1/2/25

Aryna Sabalenka and Yulia Putintseva meet in the round of 16 of the 2025 Brisbane International on Thursday, January 2, 2025. Here’s our Aryna Sabalenka vs Yulia Putintseva prediction. This article will also include an Aryna Sabalenka vs Yulia Putintseva pick.

Aryna Sabalenka Preview

Aryna Sabalenka picked up from where she left off last year by notching her first win of the 2025 season at the Brisbane International. Sabalenka lost only four games to Mexico’s Renata Zarazua in a straight-sets drubbing.

Sabalenka only needed 65 minutes for the easy victory in which she hit five aces and one double fault.

The WTA Player of the Year landed 65% of her first serves and won 81% of first-serve points (21/26). She won 56% of second-serve points (9/16) and saved three of four break points.

Sabalenka’s return game was equally efficient. She won 51% of return points (22/43) and converted five of six break points. 

This was her fifth career win in Brisbane after tallying four wins in her run to the final last year where she lost to Elena Rybakina.

Sabalenka also improves her hard court record since the start of last season to 39-7 as she looks to start the year by bagging a title, something she did in 2023 (Adelaide) before she won her first Grand Slam at the Australian Open.

Yulia Putintseva Preview

Yulia Putintseva also won in straight sets in her first match of the new season. She beat American McCartney Kessler 6-2, 7-5.

The match lasted an hour and 43 minutes, with Putintseva cruising in the opening set by breaking serve twice, but required to stay patient for her chances in the second set which stayed on serve until the 11th game.

Putintseva saved two set points for a big hold for 5-all before she broke Kessler and served for the match to love.

Putinseva hit two aces and two double faults and landed 74% of first serves. She won 76% of first-serve points (34/45) and 63% of second-serve points (10/16) while saving the two break points in the match.

Putintseva won 41% of return points (28/68) and converted three of nine break points in the match.

This was Putintseva’s 23rd match win on hard courts dating back to the start of last season.

Aryna Sabalenka vs Yulia Putintseva Head-To-Head

• Sabalenka and Putintseva have met twice at the WTA level.

• Putintseva defeated Sabalenka in their first meeting at the 2019 US Open.

• Sabalenka waited five years before she got her revenge at the 2024 Wuhan Open.

Aryna Sabalenka vs Yulia Putintseva Prediction

Sabalenka and Putintseva are two popular friends on tour but expect some fiery tennis in their latest instalment at the 2025 Brisbane International. The Kazakh is a mercurial player and one of the smartest counterpunchers in women’s tennis. Perhaps this is the reason why she has proven to be difficult to beat against power-hitting players. 

Last year, Putintseva was a pebble in the top players’ shoes, often deploying her vast skillset of drop shots, moon balls, deft slices, and a blend of precise hitting to earn not one but THREE top 10 wins (over Zheng, Swiatek, and Gauff). She nearly added Sabalenka to that list but came up short in their Wuhan thriller.

Sabalenka is not a player who slackens to put every muscle into work, but added variation in her game makes her unpredictable and that serves her well especially in these kinds of matches against players who can neutralize her power-hitting game. It’s clear that Putintseva is not the same player from the start of the Australian summer 12 months ago when she was playing qualifying matches. The improvements are there and like I said, she’ll take some stopping. The last time she lost a match that featured under 18.5 games was in July at Wimbledon and she’s very likely to keep that streak intact.