Jelena Ostapenko vs Belinda Bencic Prediction Australian Open Tennis Picks 1/13/25

Jelena Ostapenko and Belinda Bencic meet in the first round of the 2025 Australian Open on Monday, January 13, 2025. Here’s our Jelena Ostapenko vs Belinda Bencic prediction. This preview also includes a Jelena Ostapenko vs Belinda Bencic pick.

Jelena Ostapenko Preview

Jelena Ostapenko has not been performing as spectacularly as her ranking suggests.

The World No. 17 lost four matches in a row at the end of last year and started the new season with a defeat to Marie Bouzkova in Brisbane.

She snapped that losing sequence in Adelaide this past week where she beat Magdalena Frech from a set down.  Ostapenko was one of three players who took a set from tournament champion Madison Keys in Adelaide.

So, she arrives in Melbourne with a 1-2 record for 2025. Ostapenko will be playing in her ninth Australian Open main draw. She made the quarterfinal in 2023, and that remains her best result in the continent.

Belinda Bencic Preview

Belinda Bencic is ranked slowly 421st in the WTA rankings as she prepares to play in her 11th Australian Open main draw. 

Bencic’s ranking is a reflection of her long absence from the sport last season because of pregnancy. She played just 10 matches last season, mostly on the lower tiers where she attempted to get some minutes and build on her fitness.

The Swiss’ first proper competition was the United Cup at the end of December last year, where she beat Chloe Paquet of France but lost to Jasmine Paolini. 

In her second tournament of the 2025 season, she had to qualify for the main draw in Adelaide, where she lost in the second round to Liudmila Samsonova in three sets.

Jelena Ostapenko vs Belinda Bencic Head-To-Head

• Ostapenko and Bencic have met twice on the WTA Tour.

• Ostapenko won their first meeting in three sets at the Indian Wells Open.

• Bencic won their second meeting in straight sets at the 2020 Australian Open. 

Jelena Ostapenko vs Belinda Bencic Prediction 

I like Ostapenko here and you are getting her at +150 with some markets. I think she is overvalued. She has played three tough matches including one very recently against eventual champion Madison Keys in Adelaide where she lost in three sets.

Bencic’s two matches against top 20 players this season have given her a reality check. She’ll need to dig a little deeper and work her way to the top. A month of playing high-level competitions will enable her to regain some of that lost form during her maternity break. For now, Ostapenko’s high-risk but generously rewarding tennis is worth backing.