Paula Badosa vs Sofia Kenin – Citi Open Washington Tennis Prediction and Pick 7/30/24

Paula Badosa will face Sofia Kenin in the first round of the 2024 Citi Open in Washington. The match is scheduled for Tuesday, July 30, 2024. Here’s our Paula Badosa vs Sofia Kenin prediction.

Paula Badosa vs Sofia Kenin Preview

Paula Badosa chose to kickstart her preparations for the 2024 US Open in earnest on the summer hard-court swing of North America. The 26-year-old Spaniard skipped the Olympic Games because she prioritized ranking points at this stage of the season.

Badosa, who is ranked No. 62 in the WTA rankings, needs to do a lot of heavy lifting in the next few weeks to get into the Top 32 positions that would guarantee a seeding spot for the last Grand Slam of the season. She is 16-13 for the year on all surfaces, and her best results have been on the grass. She was a quarterfinalist in Bad Homburg and reached the round of 16 at the Wimbledon Championships. She is set to make her debut at the Citi Open in Washington.

Sofia Kenin, for her part, has had a dismal season. At one point last season, she looked on course to crack Top 20 again when she played some superb tennis to get her ranking into double digits.

She scored wins over the likes of Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff and reached a WTA final in San Diego. But 2024 has been so poor. She’s won just seven matches with almost three-quarters of the season gone. And of concern, she has one win on hard courts this season. Can a return to home soil bring about the best from Kenin?

Paula Badosa vs Sofia Kenin Head-To-Head

• Badosa and Kenin have never played each other on the WTA Tour.

Paula Badosa vs Sofia Kenin Prediction

This would have been a standout first-round match had both players been in form. Right now, Badosa is the one with the higher upswing and playing the better tennis. Kenin has fallen off considerably in the last six months, just when it looked like she would be a Top 20 player again. Although the American has the tendency to produce a stellar performance from out of nowhere, Badosa should be winning this match quite comfortably.