We’ve quite a few blockbuster clashes at the 2025 Dubai Tennis Championships on Super Sunday! One among them is the match between Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina and Russia’s Anna Kalinskaya. Svitolina is a two-time winner of this competition. She won the Dubai Tennis Championships in 2017 and 2018, while on the other hand, Kalinskaya reached the final here in the last season. Elina Svitolina hasn’t won any titles on the hard court since 2021! Can she take the first step forward towards a title triumph in Dubai with a win against Kalinskaya?

Elina Svitolina vs Anna Kalinsakaya: Preview

Elina Svitolina started her season in style at the 2025 AO. She reached the QF of AO for the first time since 2019 and guess what? It was also her 12th career Grand Slam QF! After securing her spot in the QF, Svitolina shared her thoughts on the same by saying, “Feels like a lifetime ago…Many things happened and I’m really pleased with the performance throughout the tournament.” However, in that QF match, she went down to the eventual champion, Madison Keys by 6-3,3-6,4-6. After that, she was defeated in her R16 match of the Linz Open by Russia’s Anna Blinkova in two sets. Can she come up with a strong performance against the other Russian on Super Sunday?

Talking about the 26-year-old Russian tennis star, Anna Kalinskaya had a tough time so far in the 2025 season. She made an early exit from the 2025 Brisbane International and then after that she was forced to give a walkover to Belinda Bencic in the R32 match of the Adelaide International. Injuries and health issues have been her major obstacle in the 2025 season so far! She even pulled out her name from the AO at the very last moment. 

Anna Kalinskaya had then also shared an IG post saying, “Very sad and frustrating today to pull out from the Australian Open. I was really looking forward to it but got some virus. Health comes first.” After the AO, she made an SF run at the Singapore Tennis Open, but even there we saw a mid-match withdrawal! Although she played her full match against Cristina Busca in the R64 of the Qatar Open, Kalinskaya failed to progress to the next round. Hence, her journey was cut short in Doha! Can he make a strong comeback in Dubai?

Svitolina vs Kalinskaya: Head-to-Head

Elina Svitolina and Anna Kalinskaya have faced each other only once in their careers so far. Currently, their H2H record is in favor of the Ukrainian. Svitolina leads the H2H scoreline against Kalinskaya by 1-0!

• 2024 Rome R32: Svitolina 6-3,6-3.

Prediction: Svitolina to win in three sets

Beating Elina Svitolina here won’t be easy, especially when she’s in this form! However, considering Anna Kalinskaya’s performance in this tournament in the 2024 season, we expect her to come up with a solid fight in this epic duel. If we take a look at their numbers from the 2025 season, Elina Svitolina (22) has a win-loss record of 5-3. On the other hand, Anna Kalinskaya who’s currently ranked 18th in the world, has a win-loss record of just 3-4. So, even here Svitolina has an edge over the Russian player!

Talking about their playing styles, Anna Kalinskaya’s strength mainly lies in her dangerous forehand and solid backhands. Her aggressive game makes her a real threat on the court. Apart from that, Kalinskaya’s powerful serve and agile footwork are also some of the factors which at times put her opponents into some real trouble. Is it enough to disrupt the equations against someone as experienced as Elina Svitolina?

Well, looks a bit tough at the moment! Now, if we look at Svitolina’s playing style, she’s a defensive baseliner. Elina Svitolina can swiftly turn her defense into offense and she is also capable of hitting low-risk winners from defensive positions. Kalinskaya needs to be very watchful of Svitolina’s powerful groundstrokes. Elina Svitolina’s backhand is comparatively stronger, especially down the line and on the run, but both her forehand and backhand penetrate deep into the court.

Talking about her weaknesses, Svitolina’s second serve is on the weaker side and she’s often seen struggling against highly aggressive players. Is Anna Kalinskaya a highly aggressive player? Although Kalinskaya loves playing aggressively, still she can’t be called a ‘highly aggressive’ player! So, we expect Elina Svitolina to solve this riddle and move into the next round of the Dubai Tennis Championships.