🎾 WTA Eastbourne – Round 1 Preview Daria Kasatkina vs Lulu Sun

🎾 WTA Eastbourne – Round 1 Preview

Daria Kasatkina vs Lulu Sun

A grass-court queen returns to her fortress. Can Sun swing freely or will Kasatkina’s toolkit keep her in control again?

🧠 Form & Context

Daria Kasatkina
👑 Defending champion and finalist the last two editions (2024 🏆, 2023 🥈) – clearly loves Devonshire Park.
🌀 2025 has been choppy (14–15 record) with back-to-back first-round grass losses (Queen’s, Berlin).
🎯 Still owns one of the tour’s trickiest mix-ups: heavy topspin forehand, sudden slice, and trademark dropshots that bite on low grass.
🥊 Usually turns poor runs around on grass – 8 titles overall, two of them on lawns.

Lulu Sun
🌿 Breakthrough summer in 2024 (8–3 on grass) included a run to Nottingham QF; 2025 form has dipped (11–17, 1–2 on grass).
🦋 Left-handed serve plus flat backhand return can rush Kasatkina if she nails first strikes.
🌊 Has struggled against top-20 pace and variety this year (0–6 vs top-30).
🧭 Eastbourne debut; seeking first main-draw win on British grass.

🔍 Match Breakdown

🎾 Serve-Return Matrix: Kasatkina’s kick and slider serves set up her forehand patterns; Sun blocks returns but can be rushed by wide serves to the deuce court.
✨ Variety vs Power: Russian will junk-ball, slice, and loop to break Sun’s rhythm; Lulu must keep points short with first-ball aggression.
🏃‍♀️ Movement & Counterpunching: Kasatkina’s defensive scrambling widens rallies; Sun’s forehand on the run is less stable.
⏳ Experience Edge: Kasatkina owns 35 career grass victories; Sun has 20. The Aussie* knows how to problem-solve on slick courts.
(*Kasatkina represents Australia on this entry list.)

🔮 Prediction

Unless Sun red-lines her lefty serve-plus-forehand game, Kasatkina’s versatility and Eastbourne comfort zone should prevail. Look for the defending champion to settle quickly and out-maneuver the Kiwi.

Prediction: Kasatkina in 2 sets

📊 Tale of the Tape

• H2H: First meeting
• 2025 W/L: Kasatkina 14–15 • Sun 11–17
• Grass W/L (Career): Kasatkina 35–21 • Sun 20–13
• Best 2025 Result: Kasatkina (Charleston QF) • Sun (RG R2, Nottingham R2)