Dubai Tennis Championships 2025: Donna Vekic vs Sofia Kenin preview, head-to-head, prediction and pick

Match Details

Fixture: (16) Donna Vekic vs (WC) Sofia Kenin

Date: February 16, 2025

Tournament: 2025 Dubai Tennis Championships

Round: First round (Round of 64)

Venue: Aviation Club Tennis Centre, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Category: WTA 1000

Surface: Hard (Outdoor)

Prize Money: $3,654,963

Live Telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Sky Sports

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Donna Vekic vs Sofia Kenin preview

Vekic in action against Linda Noskova during the first round on Day Two of the Qatar TotalEnergies Open - Source: Getty

16th seed Donna Vekic will face the 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin in the first round of the Dubai Tennis Championships on Sunday, 16 February.

Vekic has a 3-5 win-loss record in 2025, having only tasted victories at the Australian Open. She suffered two losses at the United Cup, and then first round losses at the Adelaide International and the Qatar Open.

At the Australian Open, she defeated Diane Parry and Harriet Dart in her first two matches, before winning a three-hour marathon against the 12th seed Diana Shnaider in the first round. She lost to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the round of 16 in Melbourne.

On the other hand, Kenin has a 7-5 win-loss record in 2025. She reached the third round at the Qatar Open last week, where she defeated her compatriots Ashlyn Krueger and Alycia Parks, before losing to Ons Jabeur.

She lost to another American, Coco Gauff in the first round at the Australian Open last month and her best result came at the Hobart International, where she reached the quarterfinals.

Kenin competes in her round of 16 match against Ons Jabeur during the WTA Qatar TotalEnergies Open 2025 - Source: Getty

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Donna Vekic vs Sofia Kenin head-to-head

Kenin and Vekic have never played each other on the WTA Tour in the past.

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Donna Vekic vs Sofia Kenin odds

Player	Moneyline	Handicap bets	Total games
Donna Vekic	TBD	TBD	TBD
Sofia Kenin	TBD	TBD	TBD

(Odds will be added when available)

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Donna Vekic vs Sofia Kenin prediction

World No. 19 Donna Vekic is making her third appearance at the Dubai Open. She made her debut in Dubai in 2019, when she lost to Ons Jabeur. She missed the event for the next four years.

Vekic, who reached her career high ranking, World No. 17 last month, stunned the second seed Aryna Sabalenka at last year's Dubai Open, before losing to Sorana Cirstea in three sets.

The 2024 Paris Olympics silver medallist has won four WTA titles in her career and three of them were on hard courts. Her last WTA title was 2023 Monterrey Open.

Former World No. 4 Sofia Kenin has not won a match in Dubai in her last four appearances. She has a 2-5 win-loss record at the event, and her last win was against Daria Kasatkina in the second round of the 2019 Dubai Open.

Kenin has won five WTA titles in her career and four of them were on hard courts. She has not won a WTA title since winning the 2020 Lyon Open.

Pick: Vekic to win in straight sets