Opening round action at the 2025 WTA Rouen Open kick-starts on Monday, April 14 with Anhelina Kalinina, Elsa Jacquemot and McCartney Kessler taking to court. Get all the predictions and tips for the day from this tournament today.
Anhelina Kalinina v Nao Hibino
The 65th-ranked Anhelina Kalinina will have a chance to avenge her only previous defeat to Japanese qualifier Nao Hibino when they face off in the first round here.
Having lost her opener at the Charleston Open in her only previous clay court encounter of the season, Kalinina will also have the chance to turn that around when she faces Hibino. She is also on a four-match losing streak having last won a match in Merida in February. And even that has been her only win in the last seven times she has taken to court.
Hibino, on her part, has fallen to 216th in the world and is still hunting for her first main draw win on the WTA circuit since having made the second round at the Auckland Open in what was the first week of the season.
This makes for an interesting viewing but Kalinina holds the advantage on clay.
Kalinina v Hibino Tip: Kalinina to win: 1/4
Elsa Jacquemot v Elena Gabriela Ruse
In what will be their first ever meeting, the 90th-ranked Elena Garbiela Ruse will take on the world number 144 Elsa Jacquemot for a place in the second round.
Ruse is returning from a right thigh injury she suffered at the Miami Open where she had reached the third round and was forced to retire from the encounter against Aryna Sabalenka. Still, wins over Polina Kudermetova and Magdalena Frech there would have been a shot in the arm for the Romanian whose last main draw win had come at the Australian Open.
Jacquemot has been in clay court action since the first week of March having participated at the Antalya Open and followed that up with a couple of other WTA 125 events in that same city. She won and lost three matches there but then lost her opener at an ITF tournament played in Zaragoza last week.
Her only chance here will be to take advantage of her opponent’s possible rustiness but Ruse should still come through if her fitness poses her no threat.
Jacquemot v Ruse Tip: Ruse to win: 11/20
McCartney Kessler v Fiona Ferro
World number 43 McCartney Kessler will take on the 377th-ranked Fiona Ferro for a place in the second round here and in what will be their second overall meeting. The first time they had faced off was at the 2024 Australian Open at which Kessler had come back from being a set down to overcome Ferro.
At that time, Ferro had fallen to 153rd in the world having seen a career-best ranking of 39th but she would have hoped for a turnaround in her fortunes.
Things have gone worse for Ferro instead. Over the season of 2024, Ferro featured mostly in the ITF-level tournaments and still managed only a 15-18 win-loss record and in turn slipped further down the ranking. This year she had featured in a couple of ITF tournaments and done nothing of note before finally qualifying for the main draw here.
Kessler will be playing her first clay court match of the season having compiled a 17-8 win-loss record for the season otherwise. Last season, Kessler hadn’t won a single clay match at this level with her only main draw victory coming at the WTA Paris, a WTA 125 event.
Can she shrug off that poor showing and continue with her strong showing for the season? We could see a keen tussle here we think despite the ranking parity.
Kessler v Ferro Tip: Ferro to win a set – Yes: 4/6
Other WTA Rouen Open 2025 Predictions for the Day
- Lucia Bronzetti v Tiantsoa Rakotomanga Rajaonah: Bronzetti to win: 3/10
