Preview: Cincinnati Open: Aryna Sabalenka vs. Emma Raducanu - prediction, head-to-head, tournament so far

A blockbuster Wimbledon reunion headlines Monday's action at the Cincinnati Open, where defending champion Aryna Sabalenka and British number one Emma Raducanu meet in the women's singles third round.

The world's best player overcame a stiff test posed by Marketa Vondrousova first up, while Raducanu took down Olga Danilovic in her second-round encounter.

Match preview

Having been in the capable hands of long-time associate Mark Petchey for the past five months, Raducanu - whose coaching alterations sometimes make as many headlines as her on-court feats - is now also working with a seasoned veteran of the training game.

The 2021 US Open winner is in the earliest days of her partnership with Francis Roig, who was part of Rafael Nadal's coaching team during the Spaniard's era of French Open supremacy from 2005 to 2022, before also mentoring injury-hit Italian Matteo Berrettini for a brief period.

If the first signs are anything to go by, the Raducanu-Roig relationship could prove to be an incredibly fruitful one, as the British number one made light work of Serbia's Danilovic in a 6-3 6-2 second-round victory on Saturday.

Bypassing the first round courtesy of her 30th seeding, Raducanu avenged her compatriot Katie Boulter's earlier Cincinnati loss to the towering Danilovic, breaking the world number 40 five times and sending seven aces flying past her.

A 73% win rate on second serves further highlighted Raducanu's hard-court nous on the back of a momentous run to the Washington Open semi-finals, although her only previous Cincinnati appearance in 2022 ended at this stage thanks to Jessica Pegula.

Two years down the line, Pegula was slain by Raducanu's upcoming foe in the championship match, as Sabalenka got her hands on the Cincinnati Open trophy for the first time after winning every single set at the 2024 edition.

The Belarusian powerhouse arrived in Ohio with an additional point to prove this time around, though; while successes at the Madrid and Miami Masters in the spring were incredibly praiseworthy, a coveted Grand Slam crown has eluded her so far in 2025.

Saturday's battle with 2023 Wimbledon winner Vondrousova marked Sabalenka's first match since her SW19 semi-final heartbreak at the hands of Amanda Anisimova, and after a tense opening set, the top seed ran away with the second in a 7-5 6-1 triumph.

The second-round scrap between two former Grand Slam winners could be described as clinical vs. wasteful, as while Sabalenka took all three of her opportunities to break Vondrousova, the Czechwoman had 12 chances to do so herself, but staggeringly missed all of them.

Such a striking statistic also says a lot about the Belarusian's diligent defensive work as well as Vondrousova's profligacy, and Sabalenka will continue her title defence against Taylor Townsend or Jessica Bouzas Maneiro in the last 16 if she can maintain her stronghold over an improving Raducanu.

Tournament so far

Aryna Sabalenka:

First round: Bye

Second round: vs. Marketa Vondrousova 7-5 6-1

Emma Raducanu:

First round: Bye

Second round: vs. Olga Danilovic 6-3 6-2

Head To Head

Wimbledon (2025) - Third round: Sabalenka wins 7-6[6] 6-4

Indian Wells Masters (2024) - Third round: Sabalenka wins 6-3 7-5

The third time will have to be the charm for Raducanu on Monday, as the British number one is 0-2 in her previous WTA Tour scraps with Sabalenka - one hard-court defeat and one grass-court loss.

With the boisterous British crowd behind her, Raducanu gave Sabalenka a decent run for her money at Wimbledon this year, but the world number one shot down the home hopes in a hard-fought two-set win.

The reigning Cincinnati champion also claimed a straight-sets triumph when the pair met for the first time at Indian Wells last year, at which point Raducanu was ranked 250th in the world after her injury-hit 2023.

We say: Sabalenka to win in three sets

Whisper it quietly, but Raducanu may be playing her best tennis since conquering Flushing Meadows in 2021, and there are reasons to believe that she could spring a surprise here.

The top-ranked British player gave a brilliant account of herself against Sabalenka in her homeland, while the world number one conceded a multitude of break points to Vondrousova last time out and would have counted herself fortunate not to have lost serve once.

However, when all is said and done, we still expect the raw power of Sabalenka to shine through as Raducanu bows out to the world's best again.