The opening round matches at the WTA Hobart International 2025 will continue on Tuesday, January 7 with a host of American players in action today. Here’s the preview, predictions and tips for these matches from Hobart.
- Get all the remaining tennis betting tips and predictions of the day here
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Sloane Stephens v Ann Li Preview
Head-to-Head: There have been two previous meetings between these two players including one at the Auckland Open last week. While Stephens had won in 2023 in Guadalajara, Li avenged that with a three-set win in their second match
It’s a battle between a player ranked 84th in the world and another who is a world number 91. And to go with their tightly-placed ranking, they have also recently played a match in which Ann Li needed a hard-fought three-setter to get past Sloane Stephens.
Li lost in the very next round of that competition to Katie Volynets and was then forced to feature in the qualifiers here in Hobart to make the main draw. Stephens, on the other hand, had a direct entry into the main draw but that might not count for a lot if the bookmakers are to be believed.
Stephens is 13/10 to win this, a distant second favourite despite the closeness in their ranking. And a lot of that could be to do with the kind of season that Stephens had in 2024 as well, winning just eight matches in 13 hardcourt competitions.
This includes a six-match losing streak that was extended to Brisbane last week. Can she finally turn things around here? Those are tempting odds for sure.
Stephens v Li prediction: Stephens to win: 13/10
Amanda Anisimova v Daria Saville Preview
Head-to-Head: Anisimova and Saville have never faced off in a competitive match before this.
Amanda Anisimova has been showing signs of getting back to her best. The kind of best that had seen her rise to 21st in the world at her peak.
Unfortunately for Anisimova, she was bundled out of the competition at Auckland last week in the very first round by Alycia Parks. This was after she had taken the first set with some ease.
She will still start out a heavy favourite against a player ranked outside the top 100 and one who herself did not have a great start to the season. Daria Saville featured in the qualifiers of the Brisbane International last week and all she managed was a set off the 209th-ranked Anastasiia Sobolieva in her opener there.
Saville will need to do a lot better against Anisimova who will be raring to go for a quick win here and open her account for the season.
Anisimova v Saville prediction: Anisimova to win in straight sets: 5/6
Sofia Kenin v Lulu Sun Preview
Head-to-Head: There has been no previous match between these two players before this.
Sofia Kenin has been a winner at this tournament having clinched this title in 2019. Those were different days too for Kenin who would go on to win the Australian Open with a year and change of this tournament victory.
Injuries have laid Kenin low since then and she has barely been a pale shadow of her old self, starting out this tournament ranked 81st in the world.
She enters the Hobart International on the back of a second round exit at the Auckland Open, losing to Clara Tauson who finished as the eventual champion there. To be fair to Kenin she put up a solid fight, taking it to the third set of which two were tie-breakers.
Still, she will need to do as well as that when she takes on Lulu Sun who is coming off a first round exit at the Auckland Open but is still ranked 38 places ahead of Kenin.
2024 was Sun’s breakout year in which she reached the final at the Monterrey Open but here’s the deal. Since then, she has lost four consecutive matches on this surface.
Kenin v Sun prediction: Kenin to win in three sets: 7/2
Magda Linette v Varvara Gracheva Preview
Head-to-Head: There have been three previous meetings between these two players and Linette has won 2 and lost 1. Linette’s wins came on the clay courts of Strasbourg and Charleston while Gracheva clinched her victory in a hardcourt competition in Austin in 2023.
Magda Linette had soared to 19th in the world at one point in recent years but consistent below-average performances since then have pushed her back to 38th at the moment. And if she doesn’t begin to start winning soon, she could roll back to where she was before the 2023 season.
The Polish player starts out as a favourite here at 7/20 for her win but that’s not to say it would be a straightforward effort, especially given what transpired in the previous competition she participated in.
Playing in Brisbane last week, Linette was sent packing in straight sets by Mccartney Kessler, leaving her with more questions than answers.
Now she plays an opponent who has never been ranked higher than 39th on the WTA charts and will also be kick-starting her campaign with her opener here. Varvara Gracheva struggled through most part of the hardcourt season last year, winning three matches in a row just once the entire season.
She will use this opportunity to test Linette but while she has the verve, it remains to be seen if she has the serve – and the other game – to do that.
Magda Linette v Varvara Gracheva prediction: Linette to win: 7/20
Other Hobart International 2025 Predictions of the Day
- Anna Blinkova v Bernarda Pera: Pera to win: 17/20
- Olga Danilovic v Maya Joint: Danilovic to win: 17/20
- Anhelina Kalinina v Clara Tauson: Kalinina to win: 3/5
- Elise Mertens v Nuria Parrizas Diaz: Three sets in the match: 6/5
