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Match Details
Fixture: (Q) Katie Volynets vs (Q) Arantxa Rus
Date: May 7, 2024
Tournament: Italian Open 2025
Round: First Round (Round of 128)
Venue: Foro Italico, Rome, Italy
Category: WTA 1000
Surface: Outdoor clay
Prize money: $6,911,032
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Sky Sports
Katie Volynets vs Arantxa Rus preview
In a battle of qualifiers, Katie Volynets will face Arantxa Rus in the first round of the 2025 Italian Open. For Volynets, her best result was at the ASB Classic, where she lost 1-6, 4-6 to Alycia Parks in the quarterfinals. The American has not performed well since, having six first-round exits in the year already.
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The clay season did not start well for Volynets as well she had second-round exits at Charleston and Madrid, losing against Ashlyn Krueger and Diana Shnaider, respectively. However, she did well at the Oeiras Ladies Open on clay, reaching the final, losing 6-4, 1-6, 2-6 to Dalma Galfi. In Rome, she beat Aliaksandra Sasnovich 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 and Varvara Lepchenko 6-2, 6-4 to enter the main draw.
Arantxa Rus, meanwhile, has been in poor form in 2025 as the Dutch player has not made it past the opening round at any of the Tour-level events she has played at. Her claycourt results have not been significant as well; she failed to qualify for the main draw in Madrid, losing 1-6, 5-7 against Rebecca Masarova.
Rus has done well at the ITF events, as she reached the semifinal of the W75 event in Kopfer, losing 5-7, 4-6 to Julia Grabher. She secured her main draw qualification in Rome with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Anastasia Abbagnato and 6-2, 6-2 win over Wang Xiyu.
Katie Volynets vs Arantxa Rus head-to-head
Volynets has a 2-0 lead in the head-to-head against Rus, with the American winning the last match 6-2, 6-7 (6), 7-6 (6) in Charleston in 2024.
Katie Volynets vs Arantxa Rus odds
(Odds sourced from BetMGM)
Katie Volynets vs Arantxa Rus prediction
Volynets has not reached any WTA-level final yet, but she has a claycourt title on the Challenger Tour, winning the 2024 Makarska International. She also has two claycourt titles on the ITF Tour, the last of which came at the 2022 US Clay Court Championships.
Rus has a clay court title on the WTA Tour, winning the 2023 Hamburg European Open with a 6-0, 7-6 (3) win over Noma Noha Akugue. The Dutch player has an excellent claycourt record at the lower-tier events as she has two titles on the Challenger Tour and 25 claycourt titles on the ITF Tour, the last of which came in Hague last year.
Given the current form of both players and the favorable head-to-head, Volynets is the slight favorite to win the upcoming match.
Pick- Volynets to win in three sets
