Elena Rybakina v Qinwen Zheng: Prediction, Tips and Odds

The WTA Finals began with defeats for Elena Rybakina and Qinwen Zheng on Saturday, making Monday’s Purple Group clash between the closely-ranked duo a pivotal one.

Both players have left themselves little room for error if they are to progress to the semi-finals.

Rybakina, who failed to get beyond the round-robin stage last year, has seen little action since losing the Wimbledon final to Barbora Krejcikova in July, winning only one of three subsequent matches on the American hard-court swing.

That contrasts with Zheng’s recent activity as the Chinese star has won 12 of her 14 matches since exiting the US Open at the quarter-final stage.

Elena Rybakina v Qinwen Zheng betting tips and predictions

Qinwen Zheng to win 2-1 @ 13/5

Rybakina has been one of the most consistent performers on tour this season, compiling a 45-9 win-loss record going into the final event of the year.

Her powerful serve and groundstrokes make her a threat on any surface, but recent struggles with a recurring illness mean she is an underdog for this clash.

Zheng has enjoyed a meteoric rise in 2024, improving her world ranking from 25th to seventh in the world.

The young Chinese star possesses an aggressive baseline game and will not lack self-belief after reaching back-to-back finals in Wuhan and Tokyo last month.

She won the latter event, but her display in losing a close final to world number one Aryna Sabalenka in Wuhan was arguably a more impressive performance as she battled back from a set and a break down to take the match the distance.

While Rybakina's greater experience should stand her in good stead, Zheng's fearless approach makes her a dangerous opponent.

The 22-year-old from China will need to make some inroads on the Kazakh star’s first serve, which she was unable to do in losing to Sabalenka in straight sets in Saturday’s opening round-robin clash.

But given Rybakina's rustiness and Zheng's recent form, backing the younger player to win in three sets offers good value.

Over 22.5 games @ 5/6

The last time these two players met it was on a faster surface in Beijing and Zheng did not perform anything like her best in a 6-1 6-2 defeat.

A mixture of inexperience and feeling the pressure of expectation from her home crowd appeared to get the better of Zheng, but she is a much more confident and accomplished player one year on from that clash.

Rybakina’s recent health issues mean she arrives with some rust to shake off and she will hope that her second performance in Riyadh is better than the first.

The 25-year-old cannot have too many complaints about her display after two months off, however, as she served more aces and fewer double faults while being broken only twice by a red-hot Jasmine Paolini, who authored 35 winners to Rybakina’s 24.

The first meeting between these two may be a better barometer for how this match will go as there were plenty of winners and errors in that game too.

Rybakina took it 7-6 7-5 but she was made to work hard for the win, saving six break points while efficiently converting three of her four chances to break her opponent’s serve.

Given there were 25 games in that two-set contest and a tight, three-setter is anticipated here, it also looks worth siding with over 22.5 games in the match.

Read more tennis betting tips and predictions on site

Elena Rybakina v Qinwen Zheng odds

Elena Rybakina - 13/8
Qinwen Zheng - 1/2

View the full market and more odds for Elena Rybakina v Qinwen Zheng on site

Read Elena Rybakina v Qinwen Zheng how to watch, TV channel, head-to-head stats, team news and more on site

This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.