Last year’s runners-up, Daria Kasatkina, is all set to start her campaign at the 2025 Abu Dhabi Open against America’s Ashlyn Krueger. Kasatkina played some outstanding tennis in 2024, and she will now be eyeing to make a similar run (if not better) this season as well. On the other hand, the 20-year-old American already had a dream start to her campaign this season. Who will get the better of the other in this enticing R16 encounter in Abu Dhabi?

Daria Kasatkina vs Ashlyn Krueger: Preview

Daria Kasatkina reached the final at the Adelaide International last year, but she was defeated by Jelena Ostapenko in that match. She had even made it to the final at the 2024 Abu Dhabi Open, but even there, Kasatkina was outclassed by Elena Rybakina. Even in Charleston and the Korea Open, she witnessed a similar fate, but she managed to clinch her first title of the 2024 season at Eastbourne International. Daria Kasatkina won her second title at the Ningbo Open. In 2025, although she managed to reach the QF of Adelaide International, Kasatkina was defeated by Emma Navarro (USA) in the fourth round of the 2025 AO.

So, it’d be a big challenge for the Russian to bounce back from that defeat and make a winning start in Abu Dhabi. Ashlyn Krueger had a great start to her season in 2025. She reached the QF of the Brisbane International and the Adelaide International. However, unfortunately for the American, despite a hard-fought battle, she had to lose her first match at the 2025 AO against Ajla Tomljanović. Krueger is entering this match following her 6-3,6(4)-7,6-3 win against her compatriot McCartney Kessler in the R32.

Kasatkina vs Krueger: Head-to-Head

Daria Kasatkina has faced Ashlyn Krueger two times in her career, and guess what? Both of those meetings were in 2024, and the Russian had the last laugh on both these occasions. Currently, Daria Kasatkina leads the H2H scoreline against Ashlyn Krueger by a 2-0 margin.

• 2024 Charleston R32: Kasatkina 6-3,0-6,6-1.
• 2024 Abu Dhabi R16: Kasatkina 6-3,7-5.

Prediction: Kasatkina to win in straight sets

Ashlyn Krueger was impressive in Brisbane and Adelaide, but Daria Kasatkina’s overall performance in the 2024 season was quite extraordinary. She came closer to clinching titles on multiple occasions but failed to deliver when it mattered the most. Daria Kasatkina (11) had a win-loss record of 40-23 in the 2024 season, while Ashlyn Krueger (51) had a win-loss record of just 15-23. So, considering their performance in the past twelve months and their H2H record, we feel Daria Kasatkina has a clear edge in this contest.

Talking about their playing styles, Ashlyn Krueger has big serves and powerful groundstrokes in her armory. Her fiery forehand shots and her patience in waiting for proper openings before counter-attacking her opponents are something that makes her a very special player on the Tour. Apart from all these things, Krueger’s smooth, long, flat, deep shots can be really tricky to handle on this surface.

On the other side, Daria Kasatkina is a baseliner player with a crafty style of play. She loves employing a variety of shots, including heavy topspin forehands, one-handed since backhands, kick serves, drop shots, and tweeners during her matches. Daria Kasatkina is often seen outsmarting her opponents through tactics rather than hitting overpowering shots. However, her biggest concern so far has been the high number of double fault counts. She hit 106 aces last season but committed 316 double faults. It’ll be interesting to see if Kasatkina manages to keep things tidy against Krueger or not, and if she does, then it’d be really tough for the American to get a hold of this match. We feel the Russian would outclass Ashlyn Krueger in this battle!