Ekaterina Alexandrova vs McCartney Kessler Prediction & Picks - Ningbo Open

Prediction published on 10/17/25, 1:33 AM  by Lou Aguila | Modified on 10/17/25 at 12:56 PM in Tennis Picks

Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia targets her 8th semifinal appearance this year against American rising star McCartney Kessler on Friday at the 2025 WTA Ningbo Open.

Alexandrova is listed at -240 ahead of her first-ever showdown with Kessler, who has a 4-4 record against the WTA top-20 in 2025.

Current Form:

Alexandrova barged into the quarterfinal round of the 2025 Ningbo Open with a surgical victory over China’s Yuan Yue 6-3, 6-3. Seeded No.4, the Russian showed she’s on another level skill-wise, capturing 31 points behind the first ball and breaking Yue four times. Alexandrova is 3-1 in her last four matches and 7-3 in her last 10 matches during the Asian swing of the WTA Tour.

Kessler made it to the final eight with another impressive win over Liudmila Samsonova. Hot off a 6-1, 6-0 win over Sofia Kenin, the 33rd-ranked Kessler displayed incredible poise to win the tiebreaker in the first set before unleashing an aggressive offensive onslaught in the second set to hack out a 7-6, 6-1 win over Samsonova. Kessler is now 26-14 on the hard court in 2025.