Watson secured consecutive wins in Queen’s Club qualifiers against Shibahara and Sonmez.
Heather Watson (No. 163) will take on Yulia Putintseva (No. 31) in the round of 32 clash of the 2025 LTA London Championships. The British veteran made into the R-32 after a straight-set victory over Zeynep Sonmez on Sunday in the qualifying round. Putintseva will gear up for the WTA event after facing the exit in the Round of 32 of the 2025 Roland Garros against Mirra Andreeva.
Also Read: French Open 2025 – Top 9 Moments That Defined This Year’s Roland Garros
Heather Watson is giving her final push in the grass season where she has scored a 3-1 record in 2025. The British ace failed to qualify for the main-round of the 2025 French Open. The 33-year-old secured a win in the Birmingham Classic and lost to Jessika Ponchet in round of 16 in a three-set thriller.
Watson, a former Eastbourne semifinalist secured consecutive wins in Queen’s Club qualifiers against Shibahara and Sonmez. She has been ranked outside the top 150 and spent most of the year in ITFs and Grand Slam qualifying.
Yulia Putintseva recently qualified to the third round of the 2025 Roland Garros and lost to the eventual quarterfinalist, Mirra Andreeva. With a 14-13 record this year, the Kazakh ace could be an underdog player in the Queen’s Club. Putintseva has posted a 20–23 record on grass and taking part in the competition for the first time. She is yet to play a grass-court matchup this year and dropped two games in 2024.
Heather Watson and Yulia Putintseva will play each other for the sixth time in a WTA competition. The British ace holds a 3-2 edge against Putintseva in the H2H meetings, including two straight wins in 2023. Both have given a proper toe-to-toe matchups in last three meetings.
| Year | Event | Round | Winner | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Rothesay International – Eastbourne | Qualifiers | Heather Watson | 6-3, 3-4 ret. |
| 2023 | Thailand Open | Round 1 | Heather Watson | 5-7, 6-4, 7-6(5) |
| 2018 | Australian Open | Round 1 | Yulia Putintseva | 7-5, 7-6(6) |
| 2015 | Wuhan Open | Qualifiers | Heather Watson | 6-2, 6-4 |
| 2014 | Japan Women’s Open Tennis | Round 2 | Yulia Putintseva | 6-4, 7-5 |
| Heather Watson | Category | Yulia Putintseva |
| 163 | Ranking | 31 |
| 424-352 | Career W-L | 436-333 |
| 12-11 | YTD W-L | 14-13 |
| 4 | Career Titles | 3 |
| 0 | Grand Slams | 0 |
| 0 | YTD Titles | 0 |
Heather Watson and Yulia Putintseva will make their debut in the 2025 Queen’s Club Championship. The former British No. 1 boats a strong grass-court profile and she also takes a home-court advantage. Putintseva, on the other hand, has an ability to counter the British veteran but she starts the tournament as an underdog. If game stretch longer and goes for three sets, the Kazakh ace will hold the advantage.
Prediction: Yulia Putintseva to win in straight sets.
As per the BetMGM, Heather Watson will find a struggle to counter Yulia Putintseva in the matchup. Yulia Putintseva has a 75% chance to take the opening set and might get a tie-break alert in the second or third set.
Heather Watson: +275
Yulia Putintseva: -180
Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
