Sloane Stephens vs Naomi Osaka Prediction & Betting Tips - WTA Indian Wells

Prediction published on 08/03/2022, 09:11  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 08/03/2022 at 10:43 in Tennis Predictions

Naomi Osaka won the Indian Wells title four years ago but is down to 78th in the world rankings. The Japanese player faces Sloane Stephens in the first round, with the winner up against 21st seeded Veronika Kudermetova in the second round. Osaka saw her ranking plummet from 14th to 85th after failing to defend her Australian Open title. This is only her third tournament of 2022 and the fourth since last year's US Open. Osaka reached the semi-finals in the Melbourne Summer Set tournament but then withdrew from her semi-final. Then in the Australian Open, Osaka went out in the third round to Amanda Anisimova after winning the first set.

Sloane Stephens is also a former top ten player and was as high as third four years ago. This year has seen her rise from 65th to 38th in the rankings, her highest positon since September 2020. The rise back up the list is mainly down to her winning a WTA 250 tournament held in Guadaljara last month. The highest ranked player beaten was Maria Bouzkova who was ranked 96th at the time. That was only her second event of the year, the other being the Australian Open where she lost in the first round to Emma Raducanu. The pair have only met twice in the past and Stephens won both of them. They were in 2016 and 2018 though and Osaka was ranked 114th at the time of their first match. Osaka can get the win here, though it might take three sets.