The opening round matches at the WTA Hobart International 2025 will begin on Monday, January 6 as Veronika Kudermetova and Elisabetta Cocciaretto take to court for their openers. Here’s the preview, predictions and tips for these matches from Hobart.
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Mccartney Kessler v Rebecca Sramkova Preview
Head-to-Head: Kessler and Sramkova have never faced off before this at any level of tennis.
Kessler made a rip-roaring start to her season when she overcame the former world number 19 Magda Linette in her first round match at the Brisbane International last season.
In the second round, however, the 2024 Cleveland Open winner met her match when she went down to Yulia Putintseva.
That shouldn’t faze Kessler too much given her fondness for this surface thanks to which she had climbed up from 221st in the world to her current ranking of 67th.
She takes on the world number 46 in this opener in Hobart who also had a brilliant previous season. And much like Kessler, Sramkova also announced herself to the world last year with a title win in Hua Hin.
Unlike Kessler, however, Sramkova went down in her very first round in Brisbane to Elina Avanesyan, leaving her with a lot to do in this competition as she prepares for the US Open.
We could see a thriller here between two evenly-poised sides.
Kessler v Sramkova prediction: Three sets in the match: 6/5
Veronika Kudermetova v Elisabetta Cocciaretto Preview
Head-to-Head: There have been no previous meetings between Kudermetova and Cocciaretto.
It has been an interesting week or so for the Kudermetova family. While Veronika herself was dumped out in the first round in Brisbane last week, her sister and the lower-ranked of the two before the start of that competition, made it to the final of that event.
All these years, it’s been Veronika who has led the charge having climbed up to ninth in the world but all of that came crashing in 2024 when she fell to one defeat after another and ended the season ranked 72nd in the world.
There was only one instance of Veronika winning three matches in a row all season on hardcourt surfaces – in Seoul – which means she could be in a bit of a soup coming into this opener.
Sure she is the favourite at 11/20 but confidence is a big thing and as things stand, Veronika has very little of it. Which is why Cocciaretto might not herself have a great record in hardcourt competitions and might be featuring in her first match of the season, we think she could put up a solid fight here.
Kudermetova v Cocciaretto prediction: Cociaretto to win a set – Yes: 2/5
Anna Bondar v Mayar Sherif Preview
Head-to-Head: These two players have faced each other three times before this and all of those matches have come on clay. Sherif leads 2-1 including a win in Parma in 2022.
Sherif had jumped up to 31st in the world not so long ago but almost all of that was down to her performances on clay. Take the example of what she did in 2024 when Sherif clinched a WTA 125 title in Buenos Aires late last year and had an overall win-loss record of 36-16 on clay for the season.
What was her record on hardcourt surfaces?
0-6!
That’s right, Sherif featured in six WTA tournaments including this one, Australian Open and Indian Wells Open and lost every single time.
Bondar, on the other hand, might not have been ranked better than 50th on the WTA charts in her career, and might still prefer clay but her record in hardcourt competitions isn’t that bad.
She fell in the first round of the Brisbane International last week but came through two wins in the qualifiers to make the main draw here. And that would give her enough confidence to test an opponent who is ranked 28 places ahead of her.
Bondar v Sherif prediction: Bondar to win: 46
Elina Avanesyan v Xiyu Wang Preview
Head-to-Head: Avanesyan and Wang have never faced off in a competitive match before this.
Avanesyan’s made a bright start to the season after making it to the third round at the WTA Brisbane last week. And it’s not just about winning a couple of matches but the opponents she overcame to get there.
In the first round, Avanesyan needed three sets to get past Rebecca Sramkova but her bigger result came against Paula Badosa in the second round. Avanesyan overcame the former world number two in three fighting sets.
And it was this same fight she took into the third round as well when she took on two-time Wimbledon winner Ons Jabeur but fell just short.
Up against her is a player who had begun to get into her best in 2023 but fell drastically in the rankings last season. From a career-high of 49, Xiyu is now ranked 98th in the world, having struggled through most of the second half of the season in 2024.
Still, Xiyu can take heart from the fact that she made the semifinal of the 2024 Auckland Open and went all the way to the final in Austin after that.
Avanesyan v Wang prediction: Three sets in the match: 6/5
Other Hobart International 2025 Predictions of the Day
- TBA
