by
Lou Aguila
in
Tennis Picks
Fresh from her first top-50 wins, Alina Charaeva targets another signature win against former top-10 Daria Kasatkina at the 2026 WTA 125 Catalonia. Charaeva is a +198 underdog in this match.
Current Form:
Daria Kasatkina reached the quarterfinal for the first time this season after drubbing Laura Pigosi 6-2, 6-2 in the second round. The former top-10 player had been trying to find a competitive form after winning only four matches this year before this tournament in Catalonia. Kasatkina hopes the victories over Pigosi and Emiliana Arango 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 will get her momentum going in this WTA 125 event.
Alina Charaeva bagged her first top-50 win of her career after grinding out a 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 win over world’s No.31 Xinyu Wang. Ranked 129th in the world, Charaeva has silently put together a strong clay-court record of 6-3 this year. Charaeva qualified for the main draw of the 2026 Madrid Open after picking up wins over Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-3, 6-4 and Nikola Bartunkova 6-7, 6-2, 7-6 but she succumbed to Janice Tjen 6-4, 6-2 in the first round.
