Preview: Wimbledon: Clara Tauson vs. Elena Rybakina - prediction, head-to-head, tournament so far

Clara Tauson faces 2021 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina in the third round on Saturday, aiming for a last-16 spot at the All England Club.    

Rybakina has progressed with ease, and she seeks to use her grass-court expertise to outlast the young Dane, who had not won at SW19 until this year's tournament.  

Match preview

Tauson entered this year's Championships with a 0-3 record, but the 22-year-old has secured victories in rounds one and two to reach this stage for the first time.    

The 22-year-old, defeated by Barbora Krejcikova in 2021, Mai Hontama in 2022 and Danielle Collins last year, has fought hard for wins over Heather Watson in the opening round and outlasted Anna Kalinskaya in Thursday's second-set tie-break to avoid another three-setter.    

Now playing with little or no pressure after reaching this stage for the first time, the world No. 22 aims for another significant win on Saturday to upset Rybakina and progress to yet another fourth-round match at a Grand Slam.    

Tauson's previous run to the last 16 of any Slam was at the French Open last year, where she reached round three. This year, Wimbledon presents a different challenge, given her earlier exits at the All England Club.    

Having been involved in third-round matches at this year's Australian and French Opens, the 22-year-old Danish player now hopes to go one step further and avoid another Grand Slam exit at this stage.

That outcome will depend on the 2025 Auckland champion doing what no other player has managed at Wimbledon: beating Rybakina before the fourth round.    

The nine-time WTA champion has reached the second week at the All England Club four times, with her 2021 fourth-round exit being her earliest.    

Seeking to avoid a swift exit, the 26-year-old has dispatched Elina Avanesyan and Maria Sakkari in straight sets, dropping just three games in round one and four in round two to demonstrate her prowess on this surface.    

Thursday's 6-3, 6-1 victory over Sakkari saw the 2022 champion improve her overall record at SW19 to 21-3, boasting an impressive 87.5% win rate.    

This places Rybakina alongside Serena Williams and only behind Martina Navratilova (89.6%), Steffi Graf (91.4%) and Ann Jones (92.3%), further underlining her competence on grass.    

Eager to record her 22nd victory at the Championships, Rybakina, who has now improved to 31-12 in 2025, remains the favourite to progress in London.

Tournament so far

Clara Tauson:  

First round: vs. Heather Watson 2-6 6-4 6-3  

Second round: vs. Anna Kalinskaya 6-3 7-6[10]    

Elena Rybakina:  

First round: vs. Elina Avanesyan 6-2 6-1  

Second round: vs. Maria Sakkari 6-3 6-1  

Head To Head

Miami (2024) - Second Round: Rybakina 3-6 7-5 6-4  

Bastad (2019) - Round of 32: Rybakina 6-4 7-6(5)

Rybakina leads Tauson 2-0 in their head-to-head after defeating the young Dane in 2019 at Bastad and last year at Miami.    

Having secured wins over the 22-year-old on clay and hard courts, the former Wimbledon champion now aims to secure another victory in their first clash on grass.    

Despite those defeats, Tauson enters Saturday on a three-match winning streak against players ranked outside the top 10, beating Magdalena Frech in Bad Homburg and Heather Watson and Anna Kalinskaya at Wimbledon.  

We say: Rybakina to win in three sets

Given Rybakina’s grass-court prowess and her smooth progress at this year’s Championships, it is difficult to see beyond a victory for the former champion against Tauson.    

The Kazakhstani has not been eliminated before the quarter-finals in the past three years and is favoured to beat the young Dane for a last-16 clash with Iga Swiatek or Danielle Collins.

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