WTA Dubai, UAE

Dubai Semifinal Preview: Elena Rybakina vs. Mirra Andreeva, Karolina Muchova vs. Clara Tauson

Rybakina beat Andreeva in their only previous meeting in 2023, but the Russian was still in her learning-the-ropes phase back then. Will two years of experience be a difference-maker on Friday?

BySteve Tignor

Published Feb 20, 2025

TEEN TITAN: Mirra Andreeva stuns Iga Swiatek in Dubai

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Elena Rybakina vs. Mirra Andreeva

When does a player cease to be the young version of herself, and turn into the full-fledged, adult version? Andreeva is just 17, but after two years on tour, she would seem to have graduated to adult status. She’s been to a Grand Slam semi, she’s closing in on the Top 10, and she made straight-set work of Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals in Dubai on Thursday.

The question isn’t just an academic one. Rybakina beat Andreeva in their only previous meeting, in Beijing in 2023, but the Russian was still in her learning-the-ropes phase back then. Will two years of experience be a difference-maker on Friday?

At this point, these two long and lean women would seem to be pretty evenly matched. Rybakina has a slight edge on the serve and forehand, but Andreeva has the edge when it comes to movement, athleticism, and her two-handed backhand. They’re sure to meet on bigger stages in the coming years, and possibly in 2025, which means this match could be a tone-setter. I’ll say that Andreeva will set the same type of tone, and make the same type of statement, that she just did against Swiatek. Winner: Andreeva

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Will youth or experience be the difference-maker in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships semifinals?

Karolina Muchova vs. Clara Tauson

Tauson is fast turning into one of the pleasant surprises of the season. At 22, she has begun to fulfill some of the potential that she showed when she was the No. 1 junior in the world five years ago. She’s 14-3 on the season, she has a title, and this is her second semifinal in three weeks. In Dubai, she has beaten Svitolina, Sabalenka, and Noskova, in the only way he knows how: By hauling off and pummeling the ball.

Tauson and Muchova have never played, but it’s not hard to imagine that they’ll give us a severe contrast in styles. Where Tauson goes for knockout punches with every swing, Muchova aims to jab and nick and cut her opponents with a variety of shots and spins and ploys.

Each woman has survived a third-set tiebreaker, and then come back to play even better the next day. So both should be in a groove and hard to disrupt on Friday. I’ll go with the more experienced of the two players to keep her groove going, and find a way to throw her younger opponent out of hers. Winner: Muchova

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