With each passing tournament, the end of the 2024 season is nearing. As a result, players are vying hard to end their seasons on a high. The action shifts to the Asian continent where some of the top players will be in action at the WTA 500 tournament in Seoul, South Korea. The American interest in the tournament will be high as the event will feature as many as five players from the United States. Among them is Amanda Anisimova.

An exciting prospect, the 23-year-old Anisimova will take on the sixth seed, Putintseva in what promises to be a thrilling encounter. The stakes will be high for these two stars as they look to go all the way and claim the trophy in Seoul.

Amanda Anisimova vs Yulia Putintseva: Preview

“I put the work in, I kept my head down, and I tried to come back to the sport with more of a relaxed feeling,” Amanda Anisimova said after playing the final in Toronto last month. The American star missed many big tournaments this year due to her arm injury. However, she has had promising results of late, as she reached the final in the Canadian Open before losing to Jessica Pegula. Additionally, she also reached the last eight at the Citi Open.

However, given her immense potential, it has been a disappointing year for Anisimova as she has yet to win a title in 2024. The Korea Open presents a golden opportunity for her to get back to winning ways again.

Anisimova’s opponent Putintseva though won’t be an easy nut to crack. She has had a fairly consistent season so far and she also won the Birmingham Classic earlier this year. Further, at the recently concluded US Open, she reached the third round before going down against Jasmine Paolini. Given her performances this year, the Kazakh looks like the favorite going into this match.

Anisimova vs Putintseva: Head-to-head

Both Putintseva and Amanda Anisimova have been playing on the WTA circuit for quite some time now and aren’t strangers to each other. They have faced each other twice before with both players sharing the honors. Interestingly, both of their encounters were in 2022, one at the Charleston Open which was won by Anisimova, and the other at the US Open, won by Putintseva. Thus, expect a see-saw battle as the two go up against each other for the third time.

Prediction: Putintseva to win a tough encounter

Statistically speaking, Putintseva has a clear numerical advantage going into the match. She is ranked 30th on the WTA rankings chart whereas Anisimova lies just inside the top 50 at the 46th position. Additionally, Putintseva has won an impressive 35 matches in 2024, out of the 53 that she has played. On the other hand, Anisimova has just won 17 matches and lost 11 in 2024.

Another impressive thing about Putintseva’s game has been the number of points she has won near the net. In her second-round win against Xinyu Wang of China, she won 93% of the net points, that is, 13 of the 14 points. However, Amanda Anisimova will try to neutralize this with her powerful return game and drag the match into three sets.

Putintseva is expected to win this match and enter the second round. The match will take place at the Center Court tomorrow.