World number 19 Donna Vekic faces the 73rd-ranked Sofia Kenin in the first round of the 2025 WTA Dubai Tennis Championships which will be played on Sunday, February 16. Get all the Donna Vekic v Sofia Kenin predictions, betting tips and odds for this encounter in the section below.
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Donna Vekic v Sofia Kenin Head to Head
Vekic and Kenin have never faced off in a competitive match before this.
Vekic Coming off Opening Loss in Doha
After having made a slow start to the season in which Donna Vekic won and lost both her matches at the United Cup and then fell to an opening defeat at the Adelaide International to Yulia Putintseva, she looked to have turned things around at the Australian Open.
The Croat eased past Diane Parry and Harriet Dart in the first two rounds before stunning Diana Shnaider in the third round.
Vekic had a chance to go further too when she fought off the Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova threat in the opening set of her fourth round match. In the second set, however, she fizzled away and got bagelled.
Still, with that kind of form under her belt one would have expected a better showing from Vekic in Doha where Linda Noskova ended her campaign in the very first round. Vekic lost 6-2, 6-4.
This inconsistency has often prevented the supremely talented Vekic from breaking into the top 10 in her career and it remains to be seen if she can turn that around having made the third round the last time she played here.
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Kenin Hoping to Break Dubai Jinx
She had made it to the round of 16 at this competition in Dubai on her debut in 2019 but since then Sofia Kenin has featured here four times and lost in the first round every single time.
This time around, Kenin enters the tournament on the back of a solid showing in Doha just the previous week.
She defeated two Americans, Ashlyn Krueger and Alycia Parks in the first two rounds before falling to the highly-improved Ons Jabeur in the third.
Overall that made it 5-5 in main draw results for Kenin and it also meant that by the time this tournament starts, Kenin would have broken back into the top 60 of the WTA Rankings. This is after kick-starting the season ranked 81st in the world.
An interesting battle awaits here.
Vekic v Kenin Prediction
On paper, Vekic starts a favourite with bookmakers offering 9/20 for her win but I doubt one can discount Kenin’s efforts this season. It could well be the case of who plays better in that given moment rather than a foregone conclusion and that’s why Kenin’s winning odds look tempting.
Vekic v Kenin Tips
- Kenin to win: 11/10
