Elena Rybakina vs Anhelina Kanilina Odds & Prediction

Anhelina Kalinina doesn’t  have a career WTA Tour title yet, and she’s only been in one small final. So on Saturday night in Rome (1 pm EDT) she’ll be playing the biggest match of her career against Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina.

Rybakina vs Kalinina Odds

At -340 odds, world No. 6 Rybakina is favored in the Rybakina vs Kalinina Italian Open women’s final. Kalinina is the underdog at +140 odds. Rybakina vs Kalinina odds as of May 20 at FanDuel Sportsbook.

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Rybakina Beats Ostapenko in Testy, Rainy Match

As has been the norm in Rome for the Italian Open this year, the rainy weather played its part.

Ostapenko, who can be both sublime and ridiculous in the same match, had trouble finding the court in the first set. Then, she picked up her serving and started firing winners. And she was at 4-2 in the second set when the first rain delay came.

They tried to get on once, never got started. The Latvian gained no favour with the crowd by trying to talk the chair umpire into stopping play (and she appeared not to impress Rybakina too much, either). And by the time they did resume, she was broken.

And that was pretty much it in a 6-2, 6-4 Rybakina victory.

Kalinina, the Endurance Athlete

For Kalinina, who played the longest match of the 2023 season so far, late into the night Tuesday to beat No. 12 seed Beatriz Haddad Maia, Saturday’s semifinal against the Russian Veronika Kudermetova was another marathon.

It took her 2h51 to finish it off, after serving for the match in the second set and going down in a shocking streak of points lost, as the Russian took the second and forced Kalinina to regroup in the third.

And it was one that hit close to home, as well. There was no handshake; Kalinina did not see the value in that when her opponent’s country was invading her own, causing incalculable harm and affecting her family and friends greatly.

So, it was like that.

Rybakina vs Kalinina Head-to-Head

Russian Rybakina and Ukrainian Kalinina Friends

The final will be another Russia v Ukraine showdown, and Kalinina’s third top-20 opponent in a row.

Rybakina is Moscow born and raised. She represents Kazakhstan because that country’s biggest tennis patron is a billionaire who offered a number of Russian male and female players  financial support for their careers, at a time when Russians could easily switch citizenship to one of the other former SSRs.

That’s why she was able to play Wimbledon last year – and win it – when the Russians and Belarussians were banned.

But after her win over Ostapenko Friday, Rybakina said that she actually knew Kalinina well, “We are friends, if you can say that,” she said.

It won’t be as fraught. Although Kalinina should have far more raw nerve endings than Rybakina, who is the reigning Indian Wells and Wimbledon champion.

Rybakina vs Kalinina Match History

Rybakina vs Kalinina Prediction

Kalinina won their only previous meeting, on the American Har-Tru clay. But that was before Wimbledon, before everything.

This fortnight almost seems meant to be for her, as she’s playing for so much more than herself.

But the marathon matches are going to catch up to her, we predict – especially, unlike after the match against Haddad Maia where she had two days off, she has to go back to back. And the nerves in trying to win her first career title will surely hit.

Plus, Rybakina is just too good.

Rybakina vs Kalinina Prediction: Rybakina in Two Sets  (-120)