🎾 WTA Rome: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs Sofia Kenin

🎾 WTA Rome: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs Sofia Kenin – Match Preview

🧠 Form & Context

Sofia Kenin

• Clay revival: Reached the final in Charleston and nearly beat Potapova in Madrid (third-set tiebreak).
• Ranking rebound: Climbed from No. 168 to near top-30 in under a year, with consistent QF and final runs across surfaces.
• Mentally sharp: Delivering high first-serve percentages and return stats on clay, showing confidence in long rallies.

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova

• Confidence crisis: Enters on a four-match losing streak, including a loss to unranked Sevastova in Madrid.
• Rome veteran: Making her 15th appearance in Rome, but form has dipped significantly since early 2023 success.
• Spark missing: Outside of the Australian Open QF, 2025 has been a tough year, with no back-to-back wins yet.

🔍 Match Breakdown

Kenin’s tactical discipline, clay-court IQ, and ability to redirect pace give her a clear edge. Her movement and point construction on clay have improved steadily since Charleston.

Pavlyuchenkova is struggling with form and second-serve effectiveness—both of which are punished on slower surfaces. She will need to dictate early and avoid long exchanges where Kenin thrives.

🔮 Prediction

Prediction: Kenin in 2 sets. Expect a tight opener, but the American’s consistency and confidence should allow her to pull away if Pavlyuchenkova can’t redline her baseline game.