Bianca Andreescu will face 89th racket of the world Grit Minnen in the first round of the WTA tournament in Osaka. This will be their second confrontation.
Andreescu is returning to the tour after almost two months of rest. This season she played 17 matches, of which she won nine and reached the final in Hertogenbosch, breaking a two-year pause between finals.
Three years ago, Andreescu beat Minnen at a tournament in Flushing Meadows. A win will help her break a four-game losing streak. She is currently ranked 162nd in the live rankings.
Grit Minnen is also trying to regain his former form, having performed poorly in recent matches, including qualifying in Wuhan. She has 30 defeats in the season and only 25 wins, most of them on hard.
Nevertheless, Minnen is confident in her abilities. The best result of the year was the quarterfinals in Hertogenbosch. She is currently in 94th place in the live rating.
The winner of the match will play Diana Perry or Erica Andreeva for reaching the quarterfinals.