WTA Finals 2023: Elena Rybakina vs Maria Sakkari preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (4) Elena Rybakina vs (8) Maria Sakkari
Date: October 31, 2023
Tournament: WTA Finals 2023
Round: Group Stage
Venue: Plaza Quintana Roo, Cancun, Mexico
Category: Year-ending championships
Surface: Hardcourt
Prize money: $9,000,000
Live telecast: USA – Tennis Channel | UK – Amazon Prime Video | Canada - TSN
Elena Rybakina vs Maria Sakkari preview
Former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina will square off against Maria Sakkari in the group stage of the 2023 WTA Finals on Tuesday.
Rybakina was up against Jessica Pegula in her first match of the round robin stage. The Kazakh landed the first blow in the opening set to build a 5-3 lead, but lost the plot after that.
Rybakina dropped the next four games to let the set slip out of her grasp. Her woes continued in the second set as she fell behind 4-1. She managed to get one of the breaks back to make it 4-2, but Pegula won the next two games to hand the Kazakh a 7-5, 6-2 defeat.
Sakkari faced her old rival Aryna Sabalenka in her opener. The former was just run over by her opponent right from the start. The Greek was on the cusp of losing the match without winning a single game but fended off three match points at 5-0 in the second set.
Sakkari's last-ditch efforts for a service hold didn't do much to turn things around for her. Sabalenka served out the match easily in the next game to hand the Greek a crushing 6-0, 6-1 loss.
Elena Rybakina vs Maria Sakkari head-to-head
The two have split their previous couple of meetings evenly to the head-to-head at 1-1. Sakkari won their most recent encounter at the 2022 Indian Wells Open in straight sets.
Elena Rybakina vs Maria Sakkari odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Elena Rybakina vs Maria Sakkari prediction
Both will be eager to move past the defeats they suffered in their first match. Sakkari will be under more pressure to win this, considering she just won a lone game against Sabalenka. Given the format of the WTA Finals, every game and point matters to make it out of the group stage.
Rybakina's serve let her down big time against Pegula. She won just 56 percent of her first-serve points and 46 percent of her second-serve points. The Kazakh is certainly capable of putting up better numbers given the quality of her serve.
Sakkari, on the other hand, was outplayed in every aspect of the game by Sabalenka. Nothing went right for the Greek, her serve didn't pack a punch, groundstrokes were misfiring and none of her tactics worked the way she imagined.
Rybakina's results have been much better than the Greek this year, but both were below par in the last round. This is a contest that could swing either way. Sakkari doesn't do too well under pressure, so the Kazakh will have a slight edge in this important match-up.
Pick: Elena Rybakina to win in three sets.