When will she stop?

Is the Russian written off before her time for the 2025 season?

We have two very different styles here with a balanced head-to-head:

• 2025 has been difficult for the Russian since her title in Cluj, regardless of surface. Combative, defensive profile, very mobile, she likes to prolong baseline rallies. Her forehand remains an incisive weapon, and slow hard courts suit her game well. However, her serve is still fragile, especially on second serves (40–45% of points won on average). She feels like a player always searching for solutions, who refuses to give up a rally.

• Linda Noskova, by contrast, relies on a powerful serve (top 5 in the ace race) that allows her to shorten points, but her double-fault rate remains high, which can hurt her at key moments. She likes to hit quickly and finish in 2–3 shots, but her game contains a lot of errors and her body language often betrays a form of apathy.

Potapova has put together a solid run this week in China (without dropping a set, and with an impressive list of wins). Noskova had an easy first round then a tough match against a weakened Zheng (at 70% of her capacity). This match is therefore her first real test.

A duel that promises to be long and tight. The books slightly undervalue Potapova: the value is on the Russian side, especially on a relatively slow surface.

The odds are high and I think we're closer to 50/50 than the 39.4% the odds imply.