Yulia Putintseva vs Maria Sakkari Prediction & Betting Tips - WTA Tokyo
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by Steve Ashfield | in Tennis Predictions
Yulia Putintseva had to win two matches to reach the main draw of this outdoor hard court Toray Pan Pacific Open. The first round will see her face unseeded Maria Sakkari. Her opponent has won three of their four previous meetings and our prediction is she will win again.
The winner of this match will take on top seed Elena Rybakina in round two.
That's a big carrot to dangle in front of Putintseva as like Rybakina, she represents Kazakhstan. Putintseva is the world number 67 and that's 37 places below her opponent. Putintseva has won 19 of her 32 matches played on this surface in 2026. Two qualifiers were won but the second saw her have to go to a deciding set against Sayaka Ishii who is ranked outside the top 550.
Her best performance on this surface in 2026 came in January when reaching the last 16 of the Australian Open.
Sakkari leads Putintseva 3-1 in previous meetings and 2-1 on outdoor hard courts.
Maria Sakkari has a 19-12 outdoor hard court record this year. One final on this surface has been reached and that was in her native Greece.
Recent tournaments have seen Sakkari make it to the last eight in Wuhan, including a win over Marta Kostyuk.
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Yulia Putintseva - Maria Sakkari Key Points
- Sakkari is 37 places above her opponent in the latest rankings.
- Putintseva has lost five of her last seven WTA Tour main draw matches.
- Sakkari has won three of her four matches against Putintseva and is 2-1 up on this surface.
- Sakkari has reached one WTA outdoor hard court final this year.
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Our Yulia Putintseva vs Maria Sakkari Prediction
Maria Sakkari can deny us an all-Kazakhstan second round match in Tokyo. The Greek player has been in the top ten in the past, but lacks that consistency in 2026. There have been some signs of a revival in recent weeks with a couple of quarter-finals, one on this surface.
Yulia Putintseva has only ever beaten Sakkari once. That was in Tokyo ten years ago and three matches have been lost since then. Putintseva struggled in qualifying against a lowly-ranked player. Our Yulia Putintseva v Maria Sakkari prediction is Maria Sakkari wins.
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All tips are fully researched and given in good faith, but profits cannot be guaranteed.
