WTA Qatar Open: Jessica Pegula vs Daria Kasatkina; Preview, head-to-head and prediction

Okay, so we have an exciting R16 match on the 2025 Qatar Open: In-Form American Jessica Pegula, which goes up against Russia’s Daria Kasatkina. Pegula you could remember had to skip the Middle East -swing last year due to injury, but she was a finalist here in 2023, so she definitely got some history with this tournament. Kasatkina’s best race was back in 2017 when she made the quarterfinals and she had an early exit last year, so she will be hungry to do better this time. Both players have something to prove that should create a good match. But the big question is: Who comes out on top?

Jessica Pegula vs Daria Kasatkina: Preview

By 2025, Jessica Pegula has already played two tournaments so far. She reached the final of Adelaide International, where she was defeated by her compatriot Madison Keys in a three-set thriller. When she walked on the similar path, she was then defeated in R3 in 2025 Australian Open. Then came Doha, where she exceeded Ukrainian star Elina Svitolina by 6-3.7-6 (3) in R32.

While Daria Kasatkina reached QF from Adelaide International in 2025, but she looked pretty common in the rest of the tournaments this year. She went down to America’s Emma Navarro in R4 in Melbourne! However, things look quite bright in Doha for this Russian superstar! She is currently on a two-match winning row in Doha. Kasatkina defeated Armenia’s Elina Avanesyan by 6-2.6-3 in the previous match. Can she disturb the American star in the next match?

Pegula vs. Kasatkina: Head-to-head

Jessica Pegula and Daria Kasatkina have met three times on the trip so far. Even if they were going to play against each other in SF in Adelaide in 2024 InternationalPegula was forced to withdraw from that match. At the moment their H2H record is 2-1 in favor of American.

• 2024 Charleston SF: Kasatkina 6-4.4-6.7-6 (5).
• 2023 Tokyo QF: Pegula 6-1.6-0.
• 2021 Rom R64: Pegula 7-5.6-3.

Prediction: Pegula to win in three sets

Beating Jessica Pegula here won’t be easy! Although she did not appear in this tournament last year, the American looked quite impressive on these surfaces in the 2023 season. The conditions favored her at the time. Should we see a repeat of the same this year?

Jessica Pegula has been in relatively better form in the last few months, so excluding her in this epic battle will not be a wise decision. If we look at the figures, Jessica Pegula (5) had a 39-17 win record in the previous season while recording 6-2 in the 2025 season so far. How has Daria Kasatkina performed in the last few months?

Well, Daria Kasatkina (12) had a win-loss record of 40-23 in the 2024 season, but by 2025 she managed to set a record of 8-4 right now. Now Daria Kasatkina, who is now a Baseliner player with an artificial style of play. She loves to use a variety of shots, including heavy top spin-heads, one-handed backhands, drop shots, kicks serve and guess what? Kasatkina is often seen using tweeners in her matches too!

She loves to outlast her opponents with her tactics, and maybe she also tries the same against someone as Jessica Pegula. However, her biggest concern has so far been a large number of double fault counts. She hit 106 aces in the 2024 season, but committed 316 double errors!

On the other hand, Jessica Pegula loves to play an aggressive brand of tennis. Her game usually consists of strong basic strokes, and Pegula loves to use her wide wing buckle to full effect in her matches. Power and precision are the two key factors in this 30-year-old American’s Game. Jessica Pegula’s favorite shot is backhand down the line. She also has a good return game, and interestingly, Jessica Pegula is also considered one of the most tactically intelligent players on the tour. Who wins the battle for the two tactics? Well, the American has over the moment!