Jessica Pegula vs Arantxa Rus Prediction 2/24/25 Austin Tennis Picks

Jessica Pegula and Arantxa Rus clash in the first round of the 2025 WTA ATX Open in Austin, Texas on Monday, February 24, 2025. Here’s our Jessica Pegula vs Arantxa Rus prediction. This article will also include a Jessica Pegula vs Arantxa Rus pick.

Jessica Pegula Preview

Jessica Pegula is ranked 5th in the WTA rankings and is coming off an 8-4 record for the season after the Middle East Swing.

Pegula started the season strongly, reaching the final in Adelaide. She lost to Madison Keys in three sets. Her next tournament was the Australian Open where the American was upset in the third round by Serbian lefty Olga Danilovic.

After Australia, Pegula went to the Middle East to compete in Doha and Dubai. She was a quarterfinalist in the former (lost to Ekaterina Alexandrova) and was beaten in the round of 16 in the latter by Linda Noskova.

This is the first time Pegula has elected to play the ATX Open in Austin. She is the tournament’s top seed and the only top 10 player in the draw.

Arantxa Rus Preview

Arantxa Rus is ranked 93rd in the WTA rankings and is coming off a 1-6 record for the season so far. Rus started her season in Brisbane. She lost in the first round against Yuan Yue.

The Dutchwoman next competed in Hobart, from qualifying. She scored a win in her opening round of qualifying against Canada’s Stacey Fung but lost subsequently to Nuria Parizas Diaz.

After Hobart, Rus lost in the first round in her next three main draws, starting with the Australian Open to Olga Danilovic. Then she lost to Sorana Cirstea in Linz and Viktorija Golubic in Cluj-Napoca. 

Rus last competed in Dubai in qualifying, losing to Moyuka Uchijima in straight sets.

Jessica Pegula vs Arantxa Rus Head-To-Head

• Pegula and Rus have played three times on the WTA Tour.

• Rus leads the head-to-head 2-1, winning her two matches on clay.

• Pegula won their only hard-court meeting in 2019 Miami qualifying.

Jessica Pegula vs Arantxa Rus Prediction 

This should be a nailed-on Pegula win. Rus is having a poor season, which is understandable considering her modest record on hard courts. Pegula will affirm her top 10 credentials here with a strong performance. The American didn’t quite get the results she wanted in the Middle East, but her spot in the top five in not under threat in the first half of the season. Anything less than the full 250 points this week would be a huge disappointment.  

Nur Said's Pick: Jessica Pegula in straight sets