Citi DC Open Day 5: Women's singles SF predictions ft. Elena Rybakina vs Leylah Fernandez, Emma Raducanu vs Anna Kalinskaya

Day 6 at the 2025 Citi DC Open (July 26) will see two of the women's singles semifinals take place. Third seed, Elena Rybakina, is one of the only top seeds remaining and will face Leylah Fernandez.

The other semifinal will be a marquee one as well, as former US Open champion Emma Raducanu will be in action against Anna Kalinskaya. The Brit will be attempting to reach only her second career final after the one she reached in New York in 2021.

Let's take a look at the matches that are scheduled to take place on Day 6 of the 2025 Citi DC Open.

#1 Elena Rybakina vs Leylah Fernandez

Third seed Elena Rybakina is all set to face Leylah Fernandez in the semifinal of the 2025 Citi DC Open. After having received an opening-round bye at the Citi DC Open, Rybakina opened her tournament with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Victoria Mboko in the second round. In the quarterfinals, she won 6-3, 6-3 against fifth-seeded Magdalena Frech.

Fernandez began her campaign at the Citi DC Open with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Australia's Maya Joint in the first round and then followed it up with a 6-3, 1-6, 7-5 win over top seed Jessica Pegula in the second round. In the quarterfinals, she took on American qualifier Taylor Townsend, winning 6-4, 7-6 (4).

The head-to-head is tied at 1-1 between the two players, with Fernandez winning the last match 3-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4 at the Cincinnati Open last year. However, Rybakina, being the seeded player, is the pre-match favorite to win the contest and reach the final.

Predicted winner- Elena Rybakina

#2 Emma Raducanu vs Anna Kalinskaya

The other semifinal at the 2025 Citi DC Open will feature former Top 10 player and Major champion Emma Raducanu, taking on Anna Kalinskaya. Raducanu began her campaign at Washington with a 7-6 (4), 6-4 win over seventh-seeded Marta Kostyuk in the first round, followed by a dominant 6-4, 6-2 win over Naomi Osaka in the second round. In the quarterfinals, she won 6-4, 7-5 against another former Top 10 player, Maria Sakkari.

Kalinskaya began her campaign at Washington with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Russian qualifier Kamila Rakhimova in the first round, followed by a 6-4, 6-0 win over eighth-seeded Magda Linette in the second round. In the last eight, she won 6-3, 7-5 against fourth-seeded Clara Tauson.

This is the first meeting between the two players, but Raducanu is the favorite to win, as her current form is better than that of Kalinskaya.

Predicted winner- Emma Raducanu

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 Tushhita Barua