Tennis acca tips: WTA Tour starts East/West split

With the ATP Tour on a Davis Cup break, the ladies of the WTA hold all the attention when it comes to the singles game right now.

While the very top players will take a hard-earned break after the US Open, plenty feel that is a luxury they cannot afford.

San Diego plays host to a WTA 500 tournament that allows players to stay in the WTA Tour finals race.

Meanwhile, in Osaka, the Asian swing begins in earnest with a strong field jetting into Japan.

WTA Osaka: Jule Niemeier vs Anna Kalinskaya | Pick: Kalinskya

WTA Osaka: Arianne Hartono vs Misaki Doi | Pick: Doi

WTA Osaka: Himeno Sakatsume vs Alexandra Eala | Pick: Sakatsume

WTA Osaka: Lin Zhu vs Xiyu Wang | Pick: Zhu

WTA San Diego: Beatriz Haddad Maia vs Leylah Annie Fernandez | Pick: Haddan Maia

WTA San Diego: Ekaterina Alexandrova vs Jelena Ostapenko | Pick: Ostapenko

WTA San Diego: Louisa Chirico vs Danielle Rose Collins | Pick: Collins

WTA San Diego: Magda Linette vs Marta Kostyuk | Pick: Kostyuk

WTA San Diego: Sloane Stephens vs Elise Mertens | Pick: Stephens

WTA San Diego: Sofia Kenin vs Veronika Kudermetova | Pick: Kudermetova

WTA Osaka: Jule Niemeier vs Anna Kalinskaya

There are a lot of parallels in the careers of 24-year-olds Jule Niemeier and Anna Kalinskaya.

Both players have threatened to break through into the elite group of players, but they are yet to crack the WTA top 50.

Kalinskaya has been in slightly better form at least in terms of her win ratio, but Niemeier has been by far the busier player.

This will be the first meeting between the players looking to bolster their respective rankings, which are well below the potential of the women as players.

WTA Osaka: Arianne Hartono vs Misaki Doi

The draw has been kind to home hope Misaki Doi home but she hasn't played since June.

Dutch Journeywoman Arianne Hartono might hold a superior ranking to Doi right now, although the Japanese player has struggled with injury this term.

Hartono has been in Japan for over a week already, having played an ITF event in Tokyo last week.

Doi makes her return to WTA Tour action in front of her home crowd and will want to impress.

WTA Osaka: Himeno Sakatsume vs Alexandra Eala 

Himeno Sakatsume and Alexandra Eala battled their way into the main draw in Osaka through qualifying.

Eala is a Filipino player with a great upside, but a draw against a home player in Osaka is a tough ask.

Sakatsume will view this tournament as a potential springboard to greater success on the WTA Tour.

The 22-year-old Japanese pro was just one set away from qualifying for the US Open.

WTA Osaka: Lin Zhu vs Xiyu Wang

Chinese players Lin Zhu and Xiyu Wang are set for their third meeting of 2023 and the sixth of their careers overall.

Zhu has beaten Wang in all but one of their five meetings and should be good to go over in Osaka.

Zhu enjoyed a run to the third round of the US Open, while Wang failed to make the main draw of the Slam and repaired to Tokyo for an ITF outing last week.

Big wins in New York show that Zhu is still a top player on the tour, a mark that Wang has threatened but not entirely gained.

WTA San Diego: Beatriz Haddad Maia vs Leylah Annie Fernandez

A strong finish could turn a good season into a great one for Beatriz Haddad Maia.

Fernandez is getting back to being a player who can compete on the WTA Tour on a regular basis, but a start against the Brazilian No 1 isn't one she would have craved.

Haddad Maia will be out to square the head-to-head between the players, having lost two of their three previous meetings.

Fernandez upset the No 11 seed at her home event in Montreal a few weeks back, but that three-set battle could have gone either way.

WTA San Diego: Ekaterina Alexandrova vs Jelena Ostapenko

Jelena Ostapenko showed both sides of her game in an eventful US Open run, but the way that ended will likely fire her up to do well in San Diego.

Ostapenko trails Alexandrova in their head-to-head series, having lost in five of their seven meetings, but she was a quarter-finalist at a Grand Slam a week ago and lost to the eventual champion.

Alexandrova and Ostapenko contest a first round meeting that may well yield the San Diego champion.

The last meeting between the players was in a championship match, and this could be the clash of the round.

WTA San Diego: Louisa Chirico vs Danielle Rose Collins

Danielle Collins will be out to return to championship-winning form and takes on Louisa Chirico to start.

Collins enjoyed a great run in Montreal which looked like it could be the spark of a resurgence for the American.

The former top ten star has returned to the top 50 but needs a win in San Diego to keep that march going.

This match will be the first meeting between the American compatriots.

WTA San Diego: Magda Linette vs Marta Kostyuk

 

Marta Kostyuk has looked like a top-ten player at times this season but lacked consistency.

Poland's Magda Linette has the experience to cause serious trouble for Kostyuk but the Ukrainian equally has the quality to raise her game.

Linette is the slender favourite according to most sportsbooks but Kostyuk is close to putting it together.

This first round clash will be the first meeting between the players from neighbouring nations.

WTA San Diego: Sloane Stephens vs Elise Mertens

Former US Open champion Sloane Stephens has been handed a tough first round draw in the shape of Elise Mertens.

The head-to-head between these players is locked at 1-1 and just seven rankings places separate them heading into the tournament.

After losing in the first round at the US Open Stephens will be out to rebound strongly at another event on American soil.

Mertens has some big match wins this season but hasn't managed a championship win, while Stephens took the title in Malo

WTA San Diego: Sofia Kenin vs Veronika Kudermetova

Veronika Kudermetova and Sofia Kenin share a court for the third time in their career with one player set to move ahead in the rivalry.

Kudermetova breezed past Kenin when they did battle in Doha in February and she has enjoyed the better year.

Kenin is working her way back to being full time on the WTA Tour but Kudermetova remains in the frame for the Tour Finals.

A good performance in San Diego would keep those hopes alive for Kudermetova.

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