Sofia Kenin vs Arina Rodionova Prediction & Betting Tips - WTA Brisbane

Prediction published on 31/12/2023, 15:00  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 31/12/2023 at 15:58 in Tennis Predictions

Sofia Kenin has fond memories of Australia after winning the Australian Open in 2020.  Now she's back down under and is seeded 14th in the Brisbane International. The second round sees her face wild card Arina Rodionova with the winner up against either fourth seed Liudmila Samsonova or unseeded Maria Andreeva. Kenin struggled for a fair while after her Grand Slam success but had a strong second half of 2023. The American is ranked 37th at present but was down at 93rd in September. Then she hit top form and won the San Diego title and got to the final in Guadalajara. Her final two matches of the 2023 season both ended in defeat but one was against then world number one Aryna Sabalenka.

Arina Rodionova is the world number 113 but her career high is just one place higher and achieved at the start of December 2023. After being given a wild card into the main draw, the 34-year-old had a good straight sets win over Martina Trevisan. Rodionova will have one big target in January and that's to qualify for the main draw of the Australian Open. Her last nine attempts to qualify for a Grand Slam first round have all failed. The Australian enjoyed plenty of success on the lesser ITF circuit in 2023, most recently winning a tournament in Slovakia but didn't beat anyone in the top 200. Our tip here is a win for Kenin.