Ons Jabeur vs Elena Rybakina Odds & Prediction – Chicago Fall Tennis Classic Semifinals
- No. 5 seed Elena Rybakina squares off with No. 6 Ons Jabeur in one Chicago Fall Classic semifinal
- It will be the second match Saturday, to begin about 4pm ET
- Read on for odds, analysis and best bets
In an appealing contrast of styles, No. 5 seed Elena Rybakina will take on No. 6 Ons Jabeur in one of the two semifinals at the Chicago Fall Classic Saturday.
The two previous meetings between the two were split. And both were extremely close.
So it’s no wonder the odds are close as well, with the higher seed the slight favorite.
Jabeur vs Rybakina Odds
| Player | Spread | Moneyline | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| [6] Ons Jabeur (TUN) | +0.5 (-125) | +100 | O 21.5 (-125) |
| [5] Elena Rybakina | -0.5 (-110) | -125 | U 21.5 (-110) |
Odds as of Oct. 1 at Bet 365
Jabeur Finally Bests Svitolina
The rather routine 6-4, 6-2 victory over No. 1 seed seed Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals Friday reversed the trend of three previous Jabeur losses. To be fair, those were much earlier in her career – in 2012, 2017 and 2019 (on a retirement).
And Svitolina did not have a great day. The spirit didn’t seem fully willing, and the body seemed less than 100% cent with the wrap on her leg an indication of a pulled muscle.
🇹🇳 @Ons_Jabeur claimed a breakthrough victory against the top seed!
Quarterfinal recap at the Chicago Fall Tennis Classic 👇
— wta (@WTA) October 1, 2021
Still, a win is a win.
And Jabeur will move to a new career-high ranking next week (No. 14 win or lose against Rybakina Saturday, No. 15 if she loses and Rybakina win the tournament).
Jabeur vs Rybakina Head-to-Head
| 27 (Aug. 28, 1994) | Age | 22 (June 17, 1999) |
| Ksar El-Hallar, Tunisia | Birthplace | Moscow, Russia |
| 5-6 | Height | 6-0 |
| 1 | Career WTA Singles Titles | 2 |
| 0 | Career Grand Slam Titles | 0 |
| No. 16 (Sept. 27, 2021) | Career High Ranking | No. 16 (Sept. 20, 2021) |
| No. 16 | Current Ranking | No. 17 |
| $3,795,895 | Career Prize Money | $2,575,078 |
| 43-16 | 2021 Won/Loss record | 33-19 |
| 1 | Career Head to Head | 1 |
Bencic Retires Against Rybakina
It was a match – a rematch of their Olympic semifinal in August – that seemed to be going Rybakina’s way regardless.
But an innocuous-looking move with her right leg – the leg might have been locked, but the knee went anyway – at 4-6, 1-3 had Belinda Bencic immediately crumple to the court in tears of pain.
After some evaluation, the obvious was announced and Rybakina advanced on the retirement.
Belinda Bencic in tears as she gets her right knee looked at. She has been forced to retire, trailing 6-4, 3-1 to Elena Rybakina at @ChiTennisFest
Fingers crossed that she's ok. pic.twitter.com/Z25LDNOQMg
— TennisNow (@Tennis_Now) October 1, 2021
Before that, things had been going the way of the 26-year-old from Switzerland until 4-2 in the first set. After that, in a foul mood, she hit two double-faults to hand Rybakina the set.
Normally inscrutable on court – borderline catatonic at times – Rybakina had a bemused smile on her face at that point as she looked towards her coach. A “Yup, I’ve got this” kind of smile.
Still, Bencic is a great comeback artist and the point she injured herself on was a break point to get back on serve in the second set.
So Rybakina, who fired 10 aces and played at a very high level, was through.
Ons Jabeur vs Elena Rybakina Match History
| Year | Tournament | Surface | Score | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Dubai (R32) | Outdoor Hard | 7-6 (6), 4-6, 6-2 | Jabeur |
| 2019 | Wuhan (R32) | Outdoor Hard | 6-1, 6-7 (3), 6-2 | Rybakina |
Prior history shows that Jabeur has done very well against players from Russia (which Rybakina is, despite officially representing Kazakhstan). She has won her last eight matches against Russians.
She also has covered the game spread in seven of her last eight matches against Russians, per DraftKings.
Jabeur has done quite well in covering the spread, generally, this season (34-21-2) while Kasatkina is sub-.500 there.
The Tunisian’s variety is an excellent tonic to Rybakina’s power because, although she is a sweet stroker of the ball, she’s a rather immobile six-footer who gets into trouble when she’s moved around the court too much.
Both their meetings went three sets, with the winner losing the middle set. The first one, two years ago in Wuhan, came when Jabeur was ranked No. 54 and a lucky loser in the draw while Rybakina, at No. 50, squeezed straight in.
Their second was also a tight battle, again outdoors on a hard court. So the two meetings offer good comparables.
Rybakina Starting Another Hot Streak
But despite all that, the thing about Rybakina is that she’s had a couple of streaks in her short career where she has appeared, if not unbeatable, really tough to topple.
And that’s the feeling she’s giving off at the moment.
Every swing of the racquet looks effortless. The serving has added variety and is big. The groundstrokes are heavy.
Still, Jabeur’s tool kit poses challenges. So it won’t be straightforward.
Best Bet: Rybakina in three sets (+333)
Stephanie gets the straight dope from the tennis insiders. On court, she has represented her country internationally. A BA in journalism led to years on the MLB beat and a decade covering tennis globally. She's written for Postmedia, the Guardian, the New York Times and also publishes OpenCourt.ca.
