Australian Open 2025: Taylor Townsend vs Renata Zarazua preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick

Match Details

Fixture: Taylor Townsend vs Renata Zarazua

Date: January 14, 2025

Tournament: Australian Open 2025

Round: First Round (Round of 128)

Venue: Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia

Category: Grand Slam

Surface: Hard (outdoor)

Prize Money: A$ 96,500,000

Live Telecast: USA - Tennis Channel, ESPN | UK - Eurosport | Canada - TSN, RDS

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Taylor Townsend vs Renata Zarazua preview

Taylor Townsend at the Billie Jean King Cup 2024. (Photo: Getty)

Taylor Townsend will face Renata Zarazua in the first round of the Australian Open 2025.

Townsend reached her first quarterfinal in singles on the WTA Tour last year, achieving the feat at the Canadian Open. She also peaked at No. 46, a new career high. However, all of her significant triumphs came in doubles.

Townsend teamed up with Katerina Siniakova to win her maiden major title in the discipline at Wimbledon. The duo also reached the final at the WTA Finals, and made the semifinals of the US Open as well. The American also won a couple of WTA 500 titles with different partners.

Zarazua's only prior main draw appearance at a major was at the French Open 2020, where she reached the second round. She competed in all four majors last year, though she could only win a match at the US Open. She upset 28th seed Caroline Garcia before losing to Caroline Wozniacki in the second round.

Zarazua also cracked the top 100 of the WTA rankings for the first time, and became the second woman from Mexico to attain this milestone. She eventually peaked at No. 51 after winning her second title at the Challenger level in November. She started the new season with second-round appearances at the Brisbane International and the Hobart International.

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Taylor Townsend vs Renata Zarazua head-to-head

While the two haven't faced off in a main draw match at the WTA level, they have crossed paths thrice on the ITF circuit. Townsend has won all three matches, with their most recent tussle being the final of the ITF event in Templeton in 2023, which she won in straight sets.

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Taylor Townsend vs Renata Zarazua odds

Player	Moneyline	Handicap Bets	Total Games
Taylor Townsend	-190	+1.5 (-500)	Over 21.5 (-120)
Renata Zarazua	+145	-1.5 (+290)	Under 21.5 (-120)

(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)

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Taylor Townsend vs Renata Zarazua prediction

Renata Zarazua at the Brisbane International 2025. (Photo: Getty)

This is going to be Zarazua's second main draw appearance at the Australian Open, and she will be gunning to claim her maiden win at the venue. Townsend has competed here on six previous occasions, and has compiled a 2-6 record so far.

This will be Townsend's first match of the new season, while Zarazua has already played a few matches, and has a couple of wins under her belt. The American has beaten her opponent all three times they have met on the ITF level, and will now aim to replicate the feat on the WTA Tour as well.

If Townsend is off to a slow start due to her lack of match play, then that might be Zarazua's only window of opportunity to capitalize and put her on the backfoot. However, if the American is able to regroup or find her footing quickly, then she is likely to extend her winning record in this rivalry.

Pick: Taylor Townsend to win in three sets.