Citi DC Open Day 1: Women's singles predictions ft. Maria Sakkari vs Katie Boulter

Day 1 of the 2025 Citi DC Open (July 21) is scheduled to have five first-round matches in the women's singles event. Of them two seeded players will be in action, fifth seeded Magdalena Frech and eighth seeded Magda Linette.

Of the home players, Danielle Collins will be a notable player in action who will begin her campaign against Linette. Former Top-10 player Maria Sakkari, along with former Major runner-up Leylah Fernandez, will also be in action, beginning their respective campaigns against Katie Boulter and Maya Joint.

Let's take a look at the matches scheduled for Day 1 at the 2025 Citi DC Open

#1 Maria Sakkari vs Katie Boulter

One of the first-round matches at the 2025 Citi DC Open will feature former Top-10 player Maria Sakkari taking on Katie Boulter. Sakkari has struggled this season, winning 16 of her 36 matches, and her best result being a quarterfinal finish at the Linz Open, where she lost against Dayana Yastremska. Her last event was Wimbledon, where she lost against Elena Rybakina in the second round.

Boulter has a 16-11 win/loss record this year, with the British player winning an ITF title in Paris. Her best on-Tour result was reaching the quarterfinal in Nottingham, where she lost against McCartney Kessler. Her last event before the Citi DC Open was Wimbledon, where she lost against Solana Sierra in the second round.

Boulter won her only match against Sakkari 7-6 (4), 6-3 in Tianjin back in 2018, making her the favorite to win the upcoming match.

Predicted winner- Katie Boulter

#2 Danielle Collins vs Magda Linette

Home favorite Danielle Collins will take on eighth-seeded Magda Linette in the first round of the 2025 Citi DC Open. Collins has a 14-10 win/loss record in 2025, with her best result being reaching the semifinal in Strasbourg, where she lost against Liudmila Samsonova. Her last event was Wimbledon, where she lost against Iga Swiatek in the third round.

Linette has won 18 of the 35 matches in 2025, with her best result coming in Nottingham, where she lost against Dayana Yastremska. Her last event was Wimbledon, where she had a first-round exit, losing against Elsa Jacquemot in three sets.

Collins, being the home player, will have the advantage and is the favorite to win the upcoming match.

Predicted winner- Danielle Collins

#3 Magdalena Frech vs Yuliia Starodubtseva

Fifth seed Magdalena Frech will begin her campaign at the 2025 Citi DC Open against Ukrainian qualifier Yuliia Starodubtseva. Frech has won only 8 of her 26 matches this year, with the Polish player not getting past the third round at any of the events. Her last appearance was at Wimbledon, where she lost against Victoria Mboko in the first round.

Starodubtseva has a 17-22 win /loss record this year, with a fourth-round finish at Madrid being her best result. At the Citi DC Open, she won 6-4, 7-5 against Rebecca Marino and 6-2. 6-0 against Alana Smith in the qualifying stages to enter the main draw.

Frech won her only match against Starodubtseva 6-1, 6-3 in San Diego back in 2023, making her the favorite for the upcoming match.

Predicted winner- Magdalena Frech

About the author

Sagnik, a Mass Communication and Journalism graduate, is a tennis journalist at Sportskeeda. Before finding his spot in the tennis writing team, he worked as a junior content specialist for academic content writing firms for a couple of years.

Before putting out any information in the public domain, Sagnik makes sure that every element of his content is well-researched and backed with credible data so that there is no misinterpretation of facts or quotes and ethical standards are maintained. To do so, Sagnik follows reputed websites like the Tennis Channel and Tennis TV, and renowned journalists on social media.

He is a fan of former player Roger Federer, and just like his favorite player, Sagnik likes to bring perfection to his write-ups by providing concise and on-point content. Speaking of the ‘GOAT’ debate, Sagnik believes that it is a bit unfair to compare the legends of the game from different eras who have played on different terms. But if he were to pick one, he’d go for Novak Djokovic based on his tally of 24 Grand Slam titles.

When not writing about tennis and technically analyzing the sport, which he believes are his 'forte', Sagnik indulges in reading books.

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Edited by Anisha Chatterjee