Cincinnati Open 2025: Katie Volynets vs Varvara Gracheva preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick

Match Details

Fixture: (WC) Katie Volynets vs (Q) Varvara Gracheva

Date: August 8, 2025

Tournament: Cincinnati Open

Round: First Round (Round of 128)

Venue: Lindner Family Tennis Center, Mason, Ohio, US

Category: WTA 1000

Surface: Hard

Prize Money: $5,152,599

Live Telecast: USA - Tennis Channel, TC Plus | UK - Sky Sports | Canada - TSN

Katie Volynets vs Varvara Gracheva preview

Katie Volynets at the Canadian Open 2025. (Photos: Getty)

Katie Volynets will square off against qualifier Varvara Gracheva in the first round of the Cincinnati Open 2025 on Friday, August 8.

Volynets made the quarterfinals of her very first tournament of the year, the ASB Classic in Auckland. Unfortunately for her, it wasn't a harbinger of good things to come. She hasn't won two matches in a row at the main draw level since then. The American lost in the first round of the Australian Open and the French Open but reached the second round of the grass court Major.

The Italian Open remains the only WTA 1000 tournament where Volynets won a match this year. She recently participated in the Canadian Open and crashed out in the first round. Volynets pushed fellow qualifier Aoi Ito to three sets but came up short in the end. She received a wildcard to compete in Cincinnati.

Gracheva didn't win back-to-back matches at the WTA level until June, when she reached the semifinals of the Eastbourne International. She still made a first-round exit from Wimbledon a few days later. The French player came through the qualifying rounds of the Canadian Open but failed to clear the first hurdle, losing to Zhu Lin in straight sets.

Gracheva had to fight for her place in the main draw of the Cincinnati Open as well. She beat Mihaela Buzarnescu 6-0, 6-2 in the first round of qualifying, and then registered a 6-3, 6-4 win over Iva Jovic to secure her place in the main draw.

Katie Volynets vs Varvara Gracheva head-to-head

Gracheva leads their rivalry 1-0 at the WTA level. She won their only meeting at the ATX Open 2023 in three sets.

Katie Volynets vs Varvara Gracheva odds

Player	Moneyline	Handicap Bets	Total Games
Katie Volynets	+100	-1.5 (+200)	Over 22.5 (+105)
Varvara Gracheva	-130	+1.5 (-300)	Under 22.5 (-155)

(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)

Katie Volynets vs Varvara Gracheva prediction

Varvara Gracheva at the Canadian Open 2025. (Photo: Getty)

Both players are in dire need of some wins. They have won a total of 16 main draw matches between them on the WTA Tour this year, with Gracheva having nine wins compared to Volynets' seven victories. Both have registered back-to-back wins only once this year at the WTA level.

This will be Volynets' main draw debut at the Cincinnati Open, while Gracheva has bowed out in the second round in her prior two appearances here. She will be at an advantage against the American on account of having played a couple of qualifying matches. She's used to the conditions here, while Volynets will be testing them out for the first time.

Their previous match at the WTA level went to three sets. Volynets has lost five of her last six matches. If she doesn't raise her level for this match, then another loss could be on the cards for her. Gracheva has performed marginally better than the American this year, which could give her an edge in this encounter.

Pick: Varvara Gracheva to win in three sets.

About the author

Rohit is a journalist at Sportskeeda who specializes in covering tennis. Having been with the company for three years, he has proven himself as a formidable force in the field. With a Master's degree in law, Rohit brings his analytical and research skills to the forefront as a journalist. He stays on top of the game by using social media platforms and never misses a match for on-court insights. He values giving credit where it's due, keeping his reporting fair and accurate.

At the outset of his career, Rohit found his niche in writing previews and SEO pieces and it's this expertise that continues to define his role at Sportskeeda. He is particularly proud of one article that garnered an impressive 750k views and surpassed his "wildest dreams." Rohit is not particularly fond of (GOAT) debates and it is one of the reasons why he left the legal world behind. He prefers to view players in "tiers," where they're all esteemed to an extent. However, if pressed to name favorites, he would choose Serena and Venus Williams. The Williams sisters' journey from humble beginnings to the pinnacle of tennis has been his greatest source of inspiration.

When he isn't busy making spot-on predictions about match outcomes, Rohit likes reading, particularly fantasy, sci-fi, and comics. As an X-Men fanatic, he's also passionate about board games and enjoys watching movies in his spare time. And don't be surprised if you catch him silently wishing to the tennis gods for the removal of ad scoring from doubles.

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Edited by Rohit