Diana Shnaider vs Paula Badosa Prediction & Betting Tips - WTA Ningbo

Prediction published on 13/10/2024, 08:21  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 13/10/2024 at 08:45 in Tennis Predictions

Paula Badosa is seeded eighth for the Ningbo Open and begins her campaign against unseeded Diana Shnaider. The winner will face either wild card Wang Xiyu or qualifier Kamilla Rakhimova in round two of this hard court tournament. Time for our match prediction.

Badosa is at 15th in the live rankings and is having a strong (and controversial) second half of the year. The Spaniard has reached at least the quarter-finals in each of her last three tournaments. Most recently, she made it to the last four of the China Open.

That tournament saw her beat Jessica Pegula in straight sets and take Coco Gauff to a decider in their semi-final. Badosa has won one tournament this year, that being in Washington at the start of August. At that time the 26-year-old was down at 62nd in the rankings.

Diana Shnaider just missed out on being seeded for this tournament. The American is only one place below Badosa in the rankings but is nowhere near the form of her opponent. Last week saw her lose a set lead and be beaten by Leylah Fernandez in the first round in Wuhan.

Before that, the 20-year-old was beaten in the last 32 of the China Open. Her best recent performance was getting to the semi-finals of the Korea Open, her only quarter-final since the  Rogers Cup in August.

Shnaider has won three tournaments this year, though only one of those wins was on a hard court. We tip Paula Badosa to win this match.