Pegula vs Kalinskaya Prediction 21 May 2025

Jessica Pegula's history on clay courts isn't exactly filled with triumphs. She has a win this season in Charleston and a runner-up finish in Madrid in 2022. Her preferred surface is hard court. However, in Strasbourg, she enters as the top seed, which provides a great opportunity for her to secure a victory here. Pegula stumbled in Rome, Madrid, and Stuttgart, and she needs to make up for lost ground if she wants to maintain her third position in the world rankings. Jessica is well aware of this, so she'll be aiming to approach Strasbourg in peak form. The key is to avoid the kind of mistakes she made in previous matches. For instance, against Mertens, Pegula had three double faults, lost four service games, and struggled with her returns. Although Strasbourg isn't the most prestigious tournament, such errors won't go unpunished even here.

Kalinskaya is having a tough year with injuries, viruses, and missed tournaments. Back in October 2024, she was ranked 11th in the world, but now she's dropped to 30th. Her success has mainly come in doubles, where she clinched a title in Madrid. It's true that having a partner eases the physical demand, but she needs to push herself in singles as well. However, things aren't clicking for Kalinskaya in that regard. Old injuries seem to be haunting her, and her mental health is also taking a toll. As a result, we've only seen her reach the semifinals in Singapore this season.