Yulia Putintseva vs Zhang Shuai Prediction Wuhan Open Tennis Picks 10/8/24

Yulia Putintseva and Zhang Shuai meet in the first round of the 2024 Wuhan Open. The match is scheduled for Tuesday, October 8, 2024. Here’s our Yulia Putintseva vs Zhang Shuai prediction. This article will also contain a Yulia Putintseva vs Zhang Shuai pick.

Yulia Putintseva vs Zhang Shuai Preview

This is Yulia Putintseva’s career-best season, with a win percentage of 63.8%. She’s won 30 of 47 Tour-level matches and a title on the grass courts of Birmingham. But the Kazakhstani has suffered a little dip in form, losing her last three matches.

Putintseva’s last match win was at the US Open towards the end of August, but it has to be said, she’s been very unfortunate to draw some tough unseeded opponents at her last two tournaments in Asia, losing to Amanda Anisimova in Seoul and the resurgent Naomi Osaka in Beijing. 

Putintseva has a lifetime record of 1-3 at the Wuhan Open. She retired during her last participation at this tournament.

Zhang Shuai finally ended her wait for a first WTA win of the season at the China Open, beating American McCartney Kessler. It was an important win because it snapped that record-breaking run of 24 consecutive losses on Tour (an Open Era record). 

Zhang was able to play with freedom and confidence at her home tournament in Beijing, tallying three more victories thereafter, including dismissing World No. 8 Emma Navarro. That excellent run ended in the quarterfinal stage, where she lost to Paula Badosa.

But she arrives at the Wuhan Open ranked 250th in the world, which gives her a significant boost in her quest to play WTA tournaments without the need for a wild card or special ranking.

Yulia Putintseva vs Zhang Shuai Head-To-Head

• Putintseva leads Zhang 4-2 in their six career meetings, with all those matches contested on a hard court.

• Putintseva has won four in a row against Zhang and only dropped one set in that time.

Yulia Putintseva vs Zhang Shuai Prediction

Putitnseva’s little dip in form has seen her ranking drop by a few spots to 35th. She wants to nail her spot inside the Top 30 by the end of the season, as that will give her the comfort of being seeded at next year’s Australian Open. I think she’ll turn her form around here. Zhang is playing well though after ending that unwanted record of 24 successive losses and has nothing to lose. So she’ll make life problematic for the inconsistent Kazakhstani.

Nur Said's Pick: Yulia Putintseva in three sets