Tennis Picks 2026 (Monday 16th February)

That was not the start to the new week that I would have wanted, but it is frustrating that it was a point or two that saw both Picks slip into the losing side of the ledger.

Linda Noskova and Liudmila Samsonova both had opportunities to break serve which would have put them in command of the opportunity to cover the spread.

Instead those Break Points were won by the opponents and that leaves work to do in order to get this week back on track.

On Monday the rest of the First Round at the WTA 1000 event in Dubai will be completed and there are a couple of Second Round matches also scheduled.

The ATP 500 events in Doha and Rio will also get into main draw action, as will the 250 tournament being played on the hard courts of Delray Beach. Selections from the two tournaments played on the North and South American continents will be added to the threads on most days over the coming week and that is simply because those markets will come out much later than for the two events being played in the Middle East.

Ultimately it is all about getting back on track and trying to put the best week together since the end of the Australian Open.

Belinda Bencic - 4.5 games v Jessica Bouzas Maneiro: After stating her excitement about being back in Abu Dhabi where she had won titles in the previous two appearances, Belinda Bencic would have been extremely disappointed to have had to withdrawn before her first match with an illness. She did not take part in Doha last week either, which has meant slipping back outside the top ten in the World Rankings, but Belinda Bencic has begun 2026 in solid form and will be looking to pick up some important Ranking Points this week in Dubai.

This has not been a tournament in which Belinda Bencic has had nearly as much success as Abu Dhabi, but that does mean she has little in terms of Ranking Points to defend. In 2025 she was beaten in the Second Round and Belinda Bencic will certainly be targeting a longer stay before heading over to the United States to take part at Indian Wells and Miami.

A Second Round defeat in Melbourne would have hurt, but Belinda Bencic had a really strong run at the United Cup and she will know she should have won that match at the Australian Open.

Every player on the Tour will feel there is room for improvement and Belinda Bencic may want to protect the second serve a little more efficiently, but the overall performances on the hard courts over the last twelve months makes her a contender to win titles on the surface.

As much as you have to respect Jessica Bouzas Maneiro for working her way into the top 50 of the World Rankings, it cannot be ignored that she has had a difficult start to 2026.

The 23 year old has lost three of the four matches played since the beginning of the new season, while Bouzas Maneiro also finished with a losing record on the hard courts last year.

It would be something that could be excused if Jessica Bouzas Maneiro had been given some really tough draws, but she crushed Coco Gauff at the United Cup and has since lost to the then World Number 66 and World Number 367. The manner of those defeats would be a real concern, while Bouzas Maneiro was beaten by Anna Kalinskaya in very routine fashion last week in Doha.

As long as Belinda Bencic is still not feeling a lingering effects from the illness that forced her out of Abu Dhabi, the Swiss player should have too much on this surface and she can win with a break or two more in each set.

Emma Navarro - 2.5 games v Elena-Gabriela Ruse: You are never going to get over a difficult period where you have lost form and confidence very easily, but Emma Navarro did put at least one win on the board in Doha last week. That was not something she could extend to consecutive matches for the first time since Adelaide, but the American has an opportunity to at least the Second Round here in Dubai.

She will be opening up against Elena-Gabriela Ruse, who was beaten very comfortably in Cluj in front of the home fans.

The World Number 72 came through Qualifying wins in Brisbane and Adelaide, but was not able to win main draw matches, before Elena-Gabriela Ruse reached the Third Round at the Australian Open. Winning two Qualifying matches here in Dubai has to have given Ruse a boost in confidence, while the familiarity with the conditions is a factor that goes in her favour too.

Like many on the Tour, Elena-Gabriela Ruse knows the importance of backing up the first serve on the faster surfaces and that has led to a winning record on the hard courts over the last twelve months.

However, the numbers have taken a significant dip when only considering matches played against top 50 Ranked opponents on this surface in that time period. In those Elena-Gabriela Ruse has a 3-8 record, while she has not been able to serve nearly as effectively as she would like and that has placed additional pressure on the return game.

Of course she is facing an opponent who is not in confident mood and that will help, but Emma Navarro is still getting enough of her own serve to believe she will begin to turn things around.

Having little in terms of World Ranking Point to defend in the Middle East run is a help, but Navarro will also suggest she is still playing at a high enough level to beat this opponent in front of her.

Two previous matches, both on the hard courts, have gone in Emma Navarro's favour with the most recent being played around six months ago in Beijing.

It was far from a win as comfortable as the scoreboard may suggest with both players giving the other plenty to think about on the return of serve.

That is likely to be the case again on Monday in the First Round in Dubai, even in the quicker conditions we tend to see at this tournament.

Those conditions could help Emma Navarro a little more though and that is where the World Number 18 may find a way to battle past the opponent and the line set for this match.

Anna Kalinskaya - 3.5 games v Jelena Ostapenko: A spread like this one does look a little disrespectful to a former Grand Slam Winner in Jelena Ostapenko, but these days her most consistent tennis tends to be played on a Doubles court.

With that being said, respect has to be given to the World Number 24 for reaching the Doha Semi Final at a WTA 1000 event.

The run was unexpected considering Jelena Ostapenko had been 2-4 on the hard courts in 2026, but she took advantage of a number of upsets around her in Doha. While beating one top 20 Ranked opponent, the other three wins in the tournament were against players Ranked Number 57 or lower and Jelena Ostapenko found herself well beaten by Victoria Mboko in the Semi Final.

Over the last two and a bit years on the hard courts, Jelena Ostapenko's numbers have been declining and she finished with an 8-14 record on the surface last year.

Reaching the Semi Final in Doha will help the confidence, but Ostapenko played a lot of tennis at that tournament having also reached the Doubles Final. The Latvian, and her partner, blew a massive lead in that Final before being beaten and this is a match up that has given Jelena Ostapenko problems in the past.

Anna Kalinskaya has made a much stronger start to 2026, although she was beaten in the Quarter Final in Doha to eventual Champion Karolina Muchova.

All four of the defeats suffered in 2026 have been against top 20 Ranked opponents, which also deserves a lot of respect, and the Anna Kalinskaya numbers being put together on the hard courts have been much better than those produced by Jelena Ostapenko.

The World Number 28 will certainly feel she can be more effective behind the second serve compared with Jelena Ostapenko, while the latter is much more likely to throw in too many Unforced Errors.

In the three previous matches on the Tour, Anna Kalinskaya has not only won all three, but she has not dropped a set and the service numbers have been much stronger on her side of the net.

Having had a little more time to prepare for this tournament in Doha, most factors seem to be in favour of the lower Ranked player and Anna Kalinskaya can lay the foundation for another strong Middle East run by producing a strong win in this First Round match in Dubai.

MY PICKS: Belinda Bencic - 4.5 Games @ 1.72 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Emma Navarro - 2.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet Victor (1 Unit)

Anna Kalinskaya - 3.5 Games @ 1.87 Bet Victor (1 Unit)

Daniil Medvedev - 4.5 Games @ 2.05 Bet Victor (1 Unit)

Weekly Update: 0-2, - 2 Units (2 Units Staked, - 100% Yield)

Tennis Picks 2026 (Sunday 15th February)

It was an inconsistent week for the Tennis Picks, but avoiding a big losing one is always important.

Karolina Muchova would have enjoyed the week much more than most as she picked up the WTA 1000 title in Doha and she will be looking to complete the Middle East double with the Dubai event beginning on Sunday.

There have been a couple of high-profile withdrawals from the next tournaments taking place, but in the main this looks like one where the top names are ready for one more big effort before resting and preparing for the Sunshine Double in the United States next month.

Sunday is usually a quieter day for the Tennis Picks with most tournaments concluding on the day, but that is not the case then the Middle East swing is in operation with Finals scheduled for Saturday.

This week we also have some big ATP 500 events taking place and so it could be one of the busier weeks for the Tennis Picks if matches fit the criteria being used for selections. 

Linda Noskova - 3.5 games v Ann Li: The swing through the Middle East takes in two WTA 1000 events and the second of those begins on Sunday in Dubai.

There are a few Byes littered through the draw, but World Number 12 Linda Noskova will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing run in Doha. She is Seeded low enough to have to begin in the First Round in Dubai, while the 21 year old will be looking to put together some momentum before the big Masters events in North America which are played through March to conclude the first half of the hard court season.

The faster surfaces have been more productive for Linda Noskova over the last twelve months and that will be a reason she will be a little disappointed with her early results.

Linda Noskova continues to serve with some authority, but she has been put under pressure to make sure enough first serves are put into play. That is partly down to the relatively weak returning numbers and that is going to be tested on what have normally been pretty quick hard courts.

Of course that will allow Noskova to get a little more out of the first serve, but her opponent, Ann Li, is going to be very confident of using the conditions to her own advantage.

Her own first serve has proved to be a strong weapon on the hard courts, but Ann Li is perhaps not averaging as many first serves landing as she would like. This has put plenty of pressure on her own second serve and return game and Ann Li has found herself coming up a little short at key moments.

She played well in Doha, which will also give her some confidence, but Ann Li was beaten in a match she would have been favoured to win.

Both players will be looking to contain the threat of the other with the serve, but it does look like Linda Noskova deserves to be given favouritism.

The loss in Doha will have been a blow, but Linda Noskova has been very solid when facing opponents Ranked outside the top 20 on the hard courts over the last twelve months. The numbers back that up, while Ann Li has struggled to impose her tennis on top 20 Ranked opponents on this surface throughout her career and that may be the case in this First Round match in the latest WTA 1000 tournament.

Liudmila Samsonova - 2.5 games v Leylah Fernandez: Both of these players are Ranked inside the top 30, but neither can really point to much positive form to open the 2026 season.

Out of the two, Liudmila Samsonova has reached a couple of Quarter Finals, including in Abu Dhabi earlier this month, but she did suffer an opening Round defeat in Doha.

That is still considerably stronger form than Leylah Fernandez who has lost five of the six hard court matches played this season and all of those losses have been in matches in which she entered as the higher Ranked player. The Canadian is a former US Open Finalist, but Fernandez has struggled to put the consistency together and she has a record that is only just over 0.500 over the last twelve months to underline the statement.

A real concern for Fernandez is that she has struggled to be competitive- her sole win in 2026 has been against the World Number 220, and all of her defeats have been in straight sets.

The serve has been vulnerable, but it is the return game which has really been troubling Leylah Fernandez and she may struggle to get a lot of joy out of the Samsonova serve.

In the three previous matches against one another, it is Liudmila Samsonova who has won twice, but the numbers have suggested she has been the better player each time. The two hard court matches have been split with a win apiece, but the edge has to be with Samsonova against an out of sorts Leylah Fernandez.

MY PICKS: Linda Noskova - 3.5 Games @ 1.91 William Hill (1 Unit)

Liudmila Samsonova - 1.5 Games @ 1.85 William Hill (1 Unit)

Season 2026: 47-35, + 13.16 Units (148 Units Staked, + 8.89% Yield)

Tennis Picks 2026 (Friday 13th February)

The business end of the current tournaments has come around with the Quarter Final matches scheduled at the three ATP events, while the WTA Doha event has reached the Semi Final.

It has been an inconsistent week for the Tennis Picks, but there is still an opportunity to finish with some strong form and to add some positive numbers to the season total.

Any selections from the tournaments in Dallas and Buenos Aires will be added to this thread once assessed after the markets have been fully formed.

Karolina Muchova - 3.5 games v Maria Sakkari: After dropping the first set in her Quarter Final match against Iga Swiatek, Maria Sakkari was a significant underdog to progress.

Not only is the 30 year old dropping down the World Rankings, but Swiatek had not been beaten in her previous 109 WTA 1000 level matches after taking the opening set.

The World Number 52 has had to spend two and a half hours on the court in the Quarter Final, but that victory will be pushing Maria Sakkari back up towards the top 30 in the World Rankings. She will have taken a lot of confidence from the win over the top Seed in Doha and Maria Sakkari has put together four good wins in the tournament to move into the Semi Final.

After a decline in 2025, Sakkari will be feeling much better about her level of performance in the early events in 2026 and she will certainly feel she has the tennis to give Karolina Muchova plenty to think about.

One mid-match withdrawal aside, Karolina Muchova has eased through the draw and her win over Anna Kalinskaya in the Quarter Final continues her fine form.

She has faced a much more manageable part of the draw compared with Maria Sakkari who has two top ten wins on the board.

However, Karolina Muchova has been playing at a higher level on the hard courts over the last twelve months and she has been winning a lot of tennis matches on the surface since the beginning of January.

With the upsets that have taken place in the tournament, Karolina Muchova will feel there is a big opportunity for her to win the title here, while that may be good enough to earn her a return to the top ten herself.

Both players have been backing up the serve very effectively here in Doha, but it is Karolina Muchova who has been getting slightly more out of that shot. It is the World Number 19 who has also been the slightly more effective return player and that could show up in this latest meeting between the two veterans of the Tour.

They have not faced one another since August 2023 when Karolina Muchova beat Maria Sakkari on the hard courts of Cincinnati, but it was a match that went the distance. Back then Maria Sakkari was the higher Ranked player and it may be tough for her to bridge the gap, especially having put in so much physical and mental effort to win the Quarter Final on Thursday.

MY PICKS: Karolina Muchova - 3.5 Games @ 1.72 Bet Fred (1 Unit)

Alex De Minaur - 4.5 Games @ 1.85 Bet Victor (1 Unit)

Weekly Update: 8-7, + 0.23 Units (15 Units Staked, + 1.53% Yield)

Premier League Darts Night 2 Picks 2026 (Thursday 12th February)

The expectation within the Premier League Darts tournament is that the two Lukes will make it through to the Play Offs and the other six players are fighting it out for two places.

However, those other six are all amongst the best players on the Tour and you just know that none of them are thinking the same way, while Night 1 saw neither Littler nor Humphries make the Final.

Instead it was Michael van Gerwen who got the better of Gian van Veen as the former looks to bounce back from a poor 2025 Premier League campaign.

With the majority of the players resting ahead of the first night in Antwerp, an opportunity is available to those heading into Night 2 knowing that both Lukes will not be able to pick up points as they open in the Quarter Final.

The bottom half is the one where the four players will all feel they can reach the Final and at least put some quality points on the board even if they come up short of winning, but we are obviously still very early in this tournament which comes to a conclusion at the end of May.

With that being said, that does not mean this is not a big night for all involved as we saw last year how things can spiral out of control if those early points are not placed on the board.

On Night 2, the bottom half does look weaker and that is where Gerwyn Price could make hay after his narrow Quarter Final loss last week.

He has been one of those playing at the two Players Championship events on Monday and Tuesday and the effort in the second of those has continued to show the form that Price is producing.

The Quarter Final is not going to be easy, but the Welshman could build some real momentum into the Final and he is set as the second favourite here.

Last week I also mentioned that Luke Littler has not performed on Night 1 in the previous two editions of the Premier League and he suffered another early exit- he reached the Final in 2024 on Night 2 and won in 2025 and so it is perhaps no surprise he has been set as the player to beat, even when competing in the tougher half fo the draw.

Luke Littler to win & most 180s v Luke Humphries: The Premier League Final was won by Luke Humphries when facing Luke Littler, but it is the World Number 1 who has won the last four matches between these players.

In last year's Premier League, Littler had won five of the eight matches between the players in the table before losing that Final.

He did beat Luke Humphries in a highly competitive Final at the World Masters earlier this month and Luke Littler made a point out of the fact that Humphries continued to fight hard and believe in what he was trying to do even when the match seemed to be slipping away from him.

This has been one of the criticisms of Luke Humphries, who never really got to enjoy his time as World Champion and World Number 1 for as long as he would have imagined with all that happening at the same time as Luke Littler's emergence.

The former World Number 1 has high praise for his young rival, but you have to feel the urgency will be with Luke Littler after the disappointing defeat in the Quarter Final last week.

Even in a losing effort, you would anticipate that Littler's power scoring and maximum hitting would surpass Luke Humphries, as it did in the defeat to Gian van Veen. Both players rested earlier this week rather than travelling to play the opening Players Championship tournaments, which is something that both Lukes have suggested will be a long-term part of the schedule management when those tournaments are played outside of Wigan.

Tiredness and fatigue should not be a factor, as it may have been in the performances on Night 1 just days after the World Master Final. That should mean plenty of big scores, but Littler looks the right player to back having shown his Night 2 recoveries after poor Night 1 performances in the last couple of years of the Premier League.

Michael van Gerwen to win & over 1.5 180s v Josh Rock: 2025 was a difficult personal year for Michael van Gerwen and that had to have an impact on his performances on the oche.

He did win a TV title, but van Gerwen was seen significantly behind the top two players in the World Rankings and he entered the World Darts Championship as a relatively big outsider compared with his previous successes.

That being said, the Dutchman has also been speaking much more positively about 2026 and what can be achieved and he is still very confident that his best level will give any opponent problems.

Winning one of the two Masters events played in the Middle East in January has been followed by a Night 1 win in the Premier League and Michael van Gerwen will be looking to build on that.

Last year he failed to Qualify for the Players Championship, but Michael van Gerwen took in both tournaments earlier in the week and reached the Semi Final on Monday and Quarter Final on Tuesday. The performances were at a very good level and the World Masters aside, he has looked much closer to what we have come to expect from him over recent years.

He can beat Josh Rock, who lost on his Premier League debut to Jonny Clayton and who did play earlier this week.

There is no doubting the talent that Rock possesses, but this is a learning curve for him to be playing with the elite every week and that can be tough both mentally and physically. The Northern Irishman has perhaps not played up to the level that helped his nation win the World Cup back in June and Rock was crushed by Luke Littler at the World Masters.

You do have to wonder if Josh Rock is going to be a little undercooked early in the Premier League with the limited competitive darts played since the World Championship.

He did have a couple of close wins over Michael van Gerwen in 2025, which will help in the confidence department, but the World Number 4 has looked really focused and secure at least two maximums on his way to a win in this Quarter Final.

Jonny Clayton-Stephen Bunting both over 2.5 180s: At the start of the Premier League, these two players could not be split easily by the layers when it came to finding a favourite to finish bottom of the League standings.

The 2025 Premier League could not have gone much worse for Stephen Bunting and he suffered yet another Quarter Final defeat on Night 1 of the 2026 tournament. He has been struggling for consistency for several months now and that was one of the main reasons so many believed that he should not be included in the Premier League this time around.

As much as Bunting insists that he is not worrying about what the critics think, you do know the pressure is going to ramp up if he cannot start putting some strong points on the board very soon.

Jonny Clayton is a former Premier League Champion and has been desperate to find the consistency to force his way back into the elite competition. He had a solid year to earn one of the eight places and Clayton has Qualified for the Play Offs in each of his previous appearances in the Premier League.

He will have been hurt by so many people writing him off, but Clayton did win a match last week before losing to Gian van Veen in the Semi Final and he is in the 'weaker' half of the Night 2 tournament.

Both players were resting ahead of this match and it is Clayton who has been set as a deserved favourite- both are capable of getting things ramped up in the maximum hitting market and a match that should go at least nine Legs can see both rack up three of those.

Whoever can handle some of the pressure the best with the potential for decent points to be secured may be the one that comes out on top with the narrow lean being with the Welshman.

Gerwyn Price to win v Gian van Veen: Five of the eight Premier League players did not take part in the Players Championship tournaments played earlier in the week, but both Gerwyn Price and Gian van Veen did.

They had very different performances.

Gian van Veen was beaten in the Second Round in Players Championship 1 and the opening Round in Players Championship 2 and he will have been disappointed with the numbers. Yes, he was beaten by another impressive effort from Justin Hood, but the loss to Madars Razma was not against an opponent producing huge numbers and the Gian van Veen performances were not what we have come to expect from him.

Perhaps it was down to reaching the Final on Night 1 of the Premier League in his debut appearance at the event.

The World Number 3 was solid in his two wins over Luke Littler and Jonny Clayton, but found Michael van Gerwen too good and Gian van Veen will need Gerwyn Price to have cooled down.

Like his opponent, Gerwyn Price was beaten in the Second Round on Monday, but that was after putting an average of over 103 on the board against Connor Scutt.

Things went much better on Tuesday as Price crushed opponents on his way to the Final and he was beaten by Wessel Nijman, despite having an average of over 107 after all of the best of fifteen Legs were needed.

The Welshman lost in the Quarter Final last week, but will feel he should have beaten Luke Humphries, much as the Ice Man will feel he should have beaten Luke Littler at the World Masters.

There is no doubt that Gerwyn Price is right amongst the very best performers on the Tour right now and he has been for a number of months, even if the big titles have just eluded his grasp.

This is going to be a fun match, but it was a surprise that Price was going to be a slight underdog across the board, although that may not be the case now.

Even then, Gezzy looks the right player to back in this Quarter Final on the form he has been putting together in 2026.

MY PICKS: Luke Littler to Win & Most 180s @ 2.30 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Michael van Gerwen to Win & Over 1.5 180s @ 2.15 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Both Jonny Clayton & Stephen Bunting Over 2.5 180s @ 2.30 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Gerwyn Price @ 1.91 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Darts 2026: 6-9, - 0.96 Units (14 Units Staked, - 6.86% Yield)

Tennis Picks 2026 (Thursday 12th February)

The tournaments continue at a pace this week and we are into the Quarter Final Round at the WTA 1000 event being played in Doha.

Some of the players will have already made the short journey across to Dubai for the next 1000 event that begins on Sunday, while the ATP Tour continues with the stops made in Buenos Aires, Dallas and Rotterdam.

Wednesday proved to be an incredibly mixed day for the Tennis Picks, but Thursday is a new day and selections will be added to this thread.

Elena Rybakina - 4.5 games v Victoria Mboko: After coming through a match in which she had to Break serve to avoid losing, Victoria Mboko may feel she is playing with house money.

Beating Elena Rybakina in a big event is something that Victoria Mboko has already achieved in her young career when coming from behind to earn a Semi Final victory over this opponent in the Montreal Semi Final last year. That was also in a WTA 1000 event, but Victoria Mboko was beaten either side of that win in Washington and Tokyo and she has been second best in all three matches.

The youngster is plenty talented and Victoria Mboko continues to get on the front foot when the first serve lands, which has led to plenty of points won.

However, this is a player who has seen her numbers decline in each of the last three wins in Doha and Mboko has just had one or two issues dealing with the return of serve without having played someone like the Australian Open Champion.

Elena Rybakina also needed three sets to win her match to reach the Quarter Final, but she has played one fewer match in Doha compared with Victoria Mboko and there is a real confidence around this player.

The World Number 3 has kept the pressure on opponents with her very strong serving performances over the last several months. That is going to be important for Elena Rybakina again and she has had a considerable edge in the three previous matches against Victoria Mboko with all taking place on the hard courts.

This is a big spread when you think of some of the inconsistency that Elena Rybakina has put on the board when it comes to the return of serve, but she will have the edge if she sees enough second serves in this match and that can see her find a way to edge past this number set.

Karolina Muchova - 3.5 games v Anna Kalinskaya: A retirement helped Karolina Muchova past another compatriot, but she continues to put together some very solid tennis that has put her on course to just take a leap in the World Rankings and potentially win a big title.

The WTA 1000 events are as big as it gets below the Grand Slam level and Karolina Muchova would end the tournament in Doha back inside the top ten of the World Rankings if she can go on and win the title here.

That is not going to be easy and this Quarter Final could prove to be awkward.

Anna Kalinskaya had to play later than imagined on Wednesday, but she will have taken a lot of confidence from earning a win over Elina Svitolina as she prepares to face another opponent with a winning record against her.

Another couple of wins could see Anna Kalinskaya move back inside the top 20 of the World Rankings and there has been a real confidence around her performances this week. Twelve months ago, Kalinskaya was beaten early in Doha and Dubai, but the Middle East swing has been much more positive in her three wins in 2026.

There is a nice balance to the Anna Kalinskaya game, which makes her dangerous on both sides of the net, but this is another tough match to overcome.

Karolina Muchova has been very good behind the serve and the all court abilities continue to pose a threat towards opponents who have simply not been used to playing someone with this kind of skillset very often.

Both players are going to be leaning on some strong serving to put themselves in a positive position within the match, while Anna Kalinskaya may feel she has the superiority when it comes to the return.

The numbers are actually really competitive, but it is Karolina Muchova who has been able to impose her will on the Anna Kalinskaya in previous matches against one another. That may give her the slight mental edge, while Muchova may be the player who earns a few more easier points over the course of the Quarter Final, which can just see her come through some pressurised moments within sets.

This may ultimately show up on the scoreboard and Karolina Muchova can move into another Semi Final with a cover of the spread set for this battle.

MY PICKS: Elena Rybakina - 4.5 Games @ 2.05 Bet Victor (1 Unit)

Karolina Muchova - 3.5 Games @ 1.91 Bet Victor (1 Unit)

Denis Shapovalov - 2.5 Games @ 1.70 William Hill (1 Unit)

Weekly Update: 6-6, - 0.38 Units (12 Units Staked, - 3.17% Yield)

Tennis Picks 2026 (Wednesday 11th February)

The middle of the week tends to be the busiest time for the tournaments that are played over seven days rather than the longer events that have begun to be scheduled for the Masters events which are played simultaneously by the men and women.

This week looks to be no different with a lot of matches set to be played in Doha, Dallas, Rotterdam and Buenos Aires and the Tennis Picks will be added to this thread.

For now the focus is on the WTA Doha Third Round matches and one of the remaining First Round matches in Dallas- any selections from the Second Round will be added once all of the matches are scheduled following Tuesday's night of play.

Mirra Andreeva - 2.5 games v Victoria Mboko: For the second time in 2026, two teenagers who are both Ranked inside the top 20 on the WTA Tour will face one another on the hard courts.

Last month Mirra Andreeva made relatively easy work of getting past Victoria Mboko in the Final in Adelaide, although it should be pointed out that the latter had some tough matches earlier in the tournament. That had seen her spend a lot more time on the court compared with Andreeva, which is something that you should factor into the outcome of the Final.

Despite that, Mirra Andreeva may feel she had room to spared in winning having broken five times compared to just the once for the Canadian. Mirra Andreeva dominated behind serve and won 56% of the return points played and that will give her confidence, as will the way she handled the Second Round win over Magda Linette when coming through some sticky moments to focus at key times.

Being a higher Seeded player means Mirra Andreeva has had to play one match to reach the Third Round, while Victoria Mboko has had to win two matches.

The latter has been solid in her two victories in the tournament and the consistency is something that has pushed Victoria Mboko close to breaking into the top ten of the World Rankings. She has not produced spectacular numbers, but sometimes players just have an 'x factor' that sees them knuckle down and win the big points and that is seemingly something that the 19 year old possesses.

Both players will be aware of the importance of the first serve and making plenty of those deliveries to get on top of the opponent.

The second serve numbers have been decent enough, but Mirra Andreeva and Victoria Mboko will both believe they have the returning power to put the other on the back foot when getting looks at that second serve. Both have produced some very solid returning numbers and that should mean we are in for a closer match than the first meeting between the two.

In saying that, there is still a feeling that the younger player, Mirra Andreeva, is operating at a slightly higher level compared with the lower Ranked Victoria Mboko.

She has a slight edge on the first serve and on the return and that win in Adelaide will still give her a mental edge, even if Mboko feels that she had run out of energy.

All fans should have eyes on this Third Round match in Doha between two youngsters that have the potential to win multiple Grand Slam titles between them, but right now it feels Mirra Andreeva can frank the first victory over Victoria Mboko by producing another here.

Elina Svitolina - 3.5 games v Anna Kalinskaya: A run to the Semi Final at any Grand Slam event deserves plenty of respect and personal pride, but you do have to believe that Elina Svitolina will have been seriously disappointed with her effort in that match against Aryna Sabalenka last month at the Australian Open. It was a run that has taken her back inside the top ten of the World Ranking though and that has allowed Elina Svitolina to begin this tournament in the Second Round where she was a convincing winner of a compatriot.

As has been mentioned a few times in matches involving Elina Svitolina, there is no doubt that the World Number 9 has been highly motivated when playing opponents who are Russian or Belarusian nationals.

That may not have been enough to see her beat the World Number 1, but during that run in Australia, Elina Svitolina was able to beat both Diana Schnaider and Mirra Andreeva, two Russian players who are inside the top 23 of the World Rankings. The win over Andreeva was particularly impressive and Elina Svitolina will be very keen to get one over on Anna Kalinskaya in the Third Round in Doha.

Anna Kalinskaya was the World Number 11 in October 2024, but has not maintained that consistency even if she is still inside the top 30.

She has shown how competitive she can be when pushing Iga Swiatek in a three set loss at the Australian Open and Kalinskaya has won a couple of matches here in Doha. The Second Round win over Emma Navarro underlined the kind of character that Anna Kalinskaya has on the court and she has won a set in each of the three losses suffered on the hard courts this season.

The numbers have to be admired, but this has proven to be a tough match for the World Number 28.

These two players have met three times on the Tour and all since May 2024, while playing one another twice last year.

All of those matches have been won by Elina Svitolina in straight sets, while the Ukrainian beat Anna Kalinskaya on the hard courts of Dubai and Montreal in 2025. Those two wins have been very one-sided with Elina Svitolina keeping Anna Kalinskaya under pressure on the return and serving with effectiveness to contain any threat that the lower Ranked player has been able to put together.

It is almost impossible to ignore the fact that the four sets played between the players last year were won 6-1, 6-2, 6-1, 6-1 by Elina Svitolina.

You cannot really expect the World Number 9 to continue to beat a talented opponent as comfortably as that every time they meet, but Elina Svitolina's motivations are clear and she should have enough about her to cover this spread that has been set for the Third Round meeting in Doha.

MY PICKS: Mirra Andreeva - 2.5 Games @ 1.75 Bet Victor (1 Unit)
Elina Svitolina - 3.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet365 (1 Unit)
Maria Sakkari - 3.5 Games @ 1.85 William Hill (1 Unit)

Karolina Muchova - 5.5 Games @ 1.95 Bet Victor (1 Unit)

Tommy Paul - 3.5 Games @ 1.85 William Hill (1 Unit)

Weekly Update: 5-3, + 1.77 Units (8 Units Staked, + 22.13% Yield)

Tennis Picks 2026 (Tuesday 10th February)

In the Monday Tennis Picks, I mentioned that this is a really busy week of tennis with some big events to be played, but finding selections on Tuesday have proven to be a little more difficult than anticipated.

There are plenty of matches scheduled, but the stricter approach taken that has led to a solid return in 2025 and a positive start to 2026 has to be applied.

With all of that said, there are two Picks from the matches to be played at the WTA 1000 event in Doha as the Second Round is completed.

The Monday selections are yet to be completed at the time of writing, but the numbers to start the week will be updated and placed in this thread on Tuesday morning.

Linda Noskova - 4.5 games v Varvara Gracheva: One of the more surprising names in the top 20 of the World Rankings on the WTA Tour is Linda Noskova, but the 21 year old is improving as a player. She did reach the Quarter Final at the Australian Open in 2024 and the Fourth Round at Wimbledon last year, but the majority of her better work has been done below the Grand Slam level and that does mean there are some big Ranking points to be earned with strong efforts at the Majors.

That did not go to plan in Melbourne last month when Linda Noskova was beaten in the Third Round, although she did make some use of the her Seeding for a third Slam in a row.

Strong runs in Asian events after the US Open helped the young player improve her World Ranking and Linda Noskova arrived in Doha twelve months after entering the tournament as the World Number 33.

A convincing First Round win will have given Linda Noskova some confidence and her numbers are solid on the hard courts, even if they are far from spectacular. Importantly Noskova has tended to beat those players she should and has won thirteen of the sixteen matches played against those Ranked outside the top 50 on the hard courts over the last twelve months.

The first serve has been a big weapon for Linda Noskova in the majority of her hard court matches, as it was in the First Round win over Maya Joint, and she will need to use that shot to keep Varvara Gracheva at bay.

Early losses to Elina Svitolina and Elena Rybakina have made it a slow start to the season for the World Number 73, but she has come through two Qualifying matches and beaten Laura Siegemund in the First Round here in Doha. The performance level in the three wins here have been impressive, but Varvara Gracheva would be the first to admit that this is a different kind of test and the fact is that she has struggled to compete with the top players on this surface.

A losing record against top 50 Ranked opponents on the hard courts is one thing, but the numbers have taken a serious dent when Varvara Gracheva has had to face a top 20 Ranked opponent over the last twelve months. The serve becomes a vulnerability, while the 25 year old has really struggled to make enough impact on the return to put any significant scoreboard pressure on those opponents.

This has ultimately made it very difficult to remain competitive and the biggest shots in this match up should be from the Linda Noskova side of the court.

The spread is set in a slightly awkward line for someone with Noskova's inexperience to cover- in the last twelve months, Linda Noskova has had twelve hard court wins against players Ranked outside of the top 50 which have been in completed matches (one a mid-match retirement win) and she would have covered this line seven times.

There are times when a loss of concentration can see Noskova throw away games or sets, but the key here is serving well enough to just get through a couple of sticky moments. If she can get enough first serves in play, Linda Noskova should be able to keep Varvara Gracheva under the cosh and she has shown she can return well enough against those lower down the World Rankings to really get after the serve she will face in the Second Round.

Karolina Muchova - 3.5 games v Tereza Valentova: There is always some kind of pecking order in tennis and two players from the same nation will be well aware of where they stand in that order.

18 year old Tereza Valentova is making her way into the WTA Tour and she has entered the top 50 of the World Rankings, while she reached the Third Round at the Australian Open last month before losing to eventual Champion Elena Rybakina.

This is still the early stages of her career and that has meant Tereza Valentova has had to win a couple of Qualifiers to earn her spot in the main draw in Doha. However, all credit has to be given to the teenager for winning those two matches before crushing her way past Alexandra Eala in the First Round.

Being comfortable in the conditions will give Valentova an edge, but she is facing a well known figure in Czechia tennis circles and a current top 20 Ranked player.

Karolina Muchova has a win over Elena Rybakina under her belt, but that was in Brisbane rather than Melbourne, while the only two losses suffered on the hard courts in 2026 have been against Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff. The World Number 19 was a comfortable First Round winner here in Doha and Karolina Muchova has long been a consistent force on this surface, as well as having all court skills that makes her a tough out on the clay and grass courts too.

The serve is an important weapon for Karolina Muchova, while she is someone who can get up to the net and show off some of her volleying skills.

The real test here is whether Tereza Valentova can produce the level needed to take on one of the better players on the Tour and someone she would likely have followed as she was getting closer and closer to turning professional.

Tereza Valentova has played three hard court matches against top 20 Ranked opponents over the last twelve months and all have ended in relatively comfortable defeats. Two of those losses have been against Elena Rybakina, while the other has been against Madison Keys, but Valentova has a dangerous first serve and it will be important for her to get plenty of those into play to try and put some pressure on Karolina Muchova.

Another test will be getting a bit more out of the return of serve, but the youngster is still learning and this could be another somewhat painful lesson.

MY PICKS: Linda Noskova - 4.5 Games @ 2.05 William Hill (1 Unit)

Karolina Muchova - 3.5 Games @ 1.91 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Weekly Update: 4-2, + 1.86 Units (6 Units Staked, + 31% Yield)

Tennis Picks 2026 (Monday 9th February)

Last week was not the most convincing for the Tennis Picks, but a new set of tournaments offers an opportunity to bounce back.

There were a number of 250 events taking place last week alongside the WTA 500 event in Abu Dhabi, but three big tournaments are set to be played over the coming days.

The WTA Doha event is the top one as an 1000 event with some of the very best players on the Tour involved, including new Australian Open Champion Elena Rybakina.

On the ATP side, tournaments in Rotterdam and Dallas are 500 level events, while the Golden Swing begins in South America.

So while last week was a relatively quiet one for the Picks after the conclusion of the Australian Open, this week should be busier, which means considerable work to do in order to get back to putting some solid returns on the board.

Monday is usually a quiet day at most tournaments, especially the start of those tournaments, but the Middle East swing means those events begin on Sunday and so there is plenty of tennis scheduled in Doha.

Any selections from Buenos Aires from the Monday schedule will be added to this thread.

Amanda Anisimova - 5.5 games v Karolina Pliskova: The Australian Open is now in the history books and the WTA Tour is swinging through the Middle East with back to back 1000 events.

The Second Round is where the majority of the top names enter the tournament in Doha and Amanda Anisimova is going into the event as the Number 3 Seed.

Her head to head with Karolina Pliskova has to be a concern with the veteran winning five of the six previous matches on the Tour, although it has been over two and a half years since they last played one another. That was on the hard courts in Canada and Karolina Pliskova only dropped two games, while all of those previous matches have been on this surface, which has to give Pliskova a huge boost.

Of course it should be noted that Karolina Pliskova was the higher Seeded player in all of those previous matches and was in the top 15 of the World Rankings in all of those.

Things have changed in February 2026 with Karolina Pliskova making her way back up the World Rankings having missed much of 2025 through injury and she is the World Number 416. An early loss in Cluj will have dented some of the confidence that was earned by reaching the Australian Open Third Round, but Pliskova was a strong winner in the First Round in Doha and the serve continues to be a big weapon.

It should be a positive for her in this Second Round match against an aggressive player in Amanda Anisimova, but one who has yet to really get on top of return games as much a World Number 4 may expect.

However, that return number has improved when Amanda Anisimova has played against opponents Ranked outside of the top 50 on hard courts over the last twelve months. She has been able to back up her improvement by winning twenty-one out of twenty-five matches in that spot, while the American has also been able to back up her powerful first serve very efficiently.

The performances over the last month have given Karolina Pliskova some confidence, but she was beaten pretty handily by Madison Keys in Melbourne.

Madison Keys is the highest Ranked player Pliskova has played since she returned to the Tour at the end of last year and the other matches have been against players who have not been Ranked above Number 59. Confidence and having plenty of experience taking on some of the stronger players on the Tour will give Karolina Pliskova enough to carry her onto the court, but Amanda Anisimova may prove to be a little too tough and can earn the Breaks of serve that can see her move through to the Third Round.

Mirra Andreeva - 5.5 games v Magda Linette: Reaching the Fourth Round of a Grand Slam would be seen as a positive for most 18 year olds, but that is not the case for the current World Number 7.

After reaching the Quarter Final in Brisbane and then winning the title in Auckland, Mirra Andreeva looked to have plenty of momentum to take into the first Grand Slam of the season. She made a decent enough start to the event, but the performance in the Fourth Round defeat to Elina Svitolina will have really been one that disappointed her and her team and Andreeva will be looking to bounce back in Doha and Dubai over the next couple of weeks.

Big Ranking points are on offer in those events, but looking too far ahead would be a mistake and Mirra Andreeva will be aware of the threat this opponent poses.

Magda Linette has started the season with a 5-2 record and she did upset Emma Navarro at the Australian Open, although the latter has been in poor form for several months. The two defeats were both in one-sided contests, including a crushing loss at the hands of Karolina Muchova in Melbourne, while Magda Linette has mainly feasted on beating those further down the World Rankings.

She battled past Sonay Kartal in the First Round in Doha, but Linette is going to have to be a lot better if she is going to upset one of the top Seeds in the tournament.

With Aryna Sabalenka missing, Mirra Andreeva has to be amongst the favourites to win the title in either Doha or Dubai, and her overall numbers remain very impressive.

The first serve continues to be an improving weapon for the young player and Mirra Andreeva can be a very dangerous returner when at her best.

The expectation is that Andreeva is going to be able to attack Magda Linette in plenty of the games played on the Linette serve, and that should keep the scoreboard pressure on the lower Ranked player.

Of course it has to be respected that Magda Linette has played a match here meaning having some experience of the conditions, while Mirra Andreeva is playing her first match two weeks. This could mean needing a bit more time to find her feet, but the World Number 7 should have a considerable edge on the serve and that has been the case in the three previous matches on the Tour.

They have not faced one another since the latter part of the 2024 season, but Mirra Andreeva is improved since that match in Beijing which she dominated and she can move through the gears to produce something like a 6-4, 6-2 kind of win in the Second Round here.

Last year Mirra Andreeva was beaten in the Third Round in Doha before winning the title in Dubai and she can make a positive start to her return to the Middle East.

MY PICKS: Amanda Anisimova - 5.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Mirra Andreeva - 5.5 Games @ 1.91 Bet Victor (1 Unit)

Dayana Yastremska - 1.5 Games @ 1.87 Bet Victor (1 Unit)

Linda Noskova - 3.5 Games @ 1.75 Bet Victor (1 Unit)

Brandon Nakashima - 3.5 Games @ 2.20 William Hill (1 Unit)

Sebastian Korda - 3.5 Games @ 2.00 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Season 2026: 38-27, + 13.21 Units (131 Units Staked, + 10.08% Yield)

NFL Super Bowl LX Pick 2026- New England Patriots vs Seattle Seahawks (Sunday 8th February)

If you go back in time and let people know that this is the Super Bowl that will conclude the 2025 season, I am not sure there will be too many that would believe you.

It may not be quite up to the 'Back to the Future Part II' odds of the Chicago Cubs winning it all in that movie, but the Seahawks were 60-1 and the Patriots 80-1 in the pre-season odds to win the Super Bowl.

None of that matters to the fans of either teams and it will certainly not matter to the Coaching Staff and the players as they look to cement their place in history.

Out of the two teams, it really does feel like the Seattle Seahawks have a significant edge on both sides of the ball, but the NFL season has been a strange one from the start and it would not be a big surprise to anyone if the New England Patriots were to win the first Championship since Tom Brady departed as Quarter Back.

Many would have been hoping the Patriots were going to have to suffer through a long period without success having been the dominant team with Brady and Bill Belichick, but Drake Maye and Mike Vrabel have had plenty to say about that.

Of course there are big stories that can be completed on the other side with Sam Darnold's fight to finally be seen as one of the top players in the position perhaps being determined by the final result. The Seahawkss rebuild has to be admired and of course they have a British Defensive Co-Ordinator in Aden Durde who has been a remarkable success story for others to follow and has helped form a very strong Seattle Defense that looks to be the best unit on the field on either side of the ball.

This has been a tough season for the NFL Picks and snaps a strong run over the last couple of years.

Some of that has been down to what has been an incredibly inconsistent League and perhaps without adjustments being made quickly enough, but it is something to learn from over the next six months before a 'new game' begins.

My Super Bowl thoughts and Pick can be read below.

Super Bowl LX Pick: The AFC Champion New England Patriots (17-3) meet the NFC Champion Seattle Seahawks (16-3) in the Super Bowl, which is the repeat of Super Bowl XLIX played in February 2015. That was a game one by the Patriots, but all Seattle fans will still remember the decision to throw the ball rather than handing it to Marshawn Lynch and seeing that pass Intercepted to prevent the Seahawks from repeating as Champions.

The Seahawks have not been back to the Big Game since then, while the New England Patriots won a couple more Super Bowls with Tom Brady at Quarter Back. The future Hall of Famer has also led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a Super Bowl success, but the New England Patriots had been struggling to find a Brady replacement until this season.

Drake Maye is not the most experienced, but the Quarter Back has been a key part of the turnaround for the Patriots who had won just eight games in the previous two seasons before this stunning 2025 season. Head Coach Mike Vrabel deserves a lot of credit for influencing this roster too, but New England will be the underdog when they face Seattle.

They deserve credit for getting past the Los Angeles Chargers, Houston Texans and Denver Broncos, but it also should be stated that this has not exactly been a 'murderer's row' of opponents. The Chargers and Texans had glaring issues, which were exposed by the Patriots, while the Denver Broncos had to play with a backup Quarter Back and that did make a difference in a close game.

Much of the credit has to be given to the Patriots Defensive unit.

They have really stepped up and will need to be at their best against the Seattle Seahawks who got the better of two Divisional rivals San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams and who have definitely earned their place in the Super Bowl by taking on a much tougher schedule than the one New England have had to play.

All of that won't matter on Sunday in the Super Bowl when it is all about executing properly on the day.

While the Seattle Offensive unit have put up better numbers than the Patriots, the Defensive unit is the stronger for the Seahawks as it is for the AFC Champion.

With that said, it is going to be a game that feels like it is going to be decided by which of the two Defensive units is able to impose themselves the best.

The Line of Scrimmage is going to be really important when the Seahawks have the ball- they will want to keep Quarter Back Sam Darnold in third and manageable spots as much as possible and try and keep the pressure from someone who has had a history of struggling in big spots. Over the last month, Sam Darnold has not really had those moments, but there is always a concern about the Quarter Back until he proves there should not be and so the game plan will still involve seeing a lot of Kenneth Walker III.

He is going to be running behind a very good Seattle Offensive Line, but the Patriots have really had a good Playoff clamping down up front and this is going to be a key battleground. You have to feel the Patriots 'must' stop the run and try and see if they can put Sam Darnold in a position where he feels he has to win the game for Seattle, which can lead to mistakes, while the Seahawks missed Zach Charbonnet and his ability to not only pound the rock, but to be that safety blanket for the Quarter Back.

Throwing against this Secondary is going to be a big challenge for Sam Darnold- his favourite Receiver is likely going to be blanketed by New England's best Defensive Back, Christian Gonzalez, and Jaxson Smith-Njigba will be fighting for room, but that will mean focusing on the experience of Cooper Kuup and hoping that Rashid Shaheed can also take the top off the Secondary.

Seattle may ultimately decide that they don't want to make too many mistakes and play the field position and so running the ball is going to be key.

You can say the same on the other side of the ball.

While the Patriots Defensive Line have stepped up the level in the post-season, the Seattle Defensive Line has been one of the best at stopping the run through the campaign.

The Seahawks did have some trouble stopping the Los Angeles Rams running the ball, but that might have something to do with Matt Stafford at Quarter Back and the familiarity the teams had with one another. This time the Seattle game plan may be to ask Drake Maye to beat them with his arm, especially as he is playing behind an Offensive Line that have been much better at run blocking than pass protection.

New England will not shy away from what they want to do and will be happy to play the field position if they have to and that means they will continue to pound the rock for as long and as often as is needed.

Third and long spots will definitely favour the Seahawks who have a decent pass rush and who will certainly have seen the issues New England have had in giving Drake Maye time to throw down the field. Those issues have been compounded by the fact that Maye has struggled to hold onto the ball when he is being Sacked and it is those turnovers that could become a huge factor in the final outcome of the Super Bowl.

Drake Maye will make some plays- he can throw the ball to some experienced Receivers, while he showed he is willing to tuck the ball and run for First Downs when needed. That will help the New England Patriots, but it does feel like the Super Bowl could come down to which of the two Quarter Backs makes the fewest mistakes.

There is also a feeling that the Seattle Defensive unit is the superior of the two that will be on the field on Sunday and that is where the difference could be made with the likelihood that they can win the turnover battle.

The underdog has covered in each of the last five Super Bowls played, while four of those have ended with the underdog earning an outright win.

Everything is pointing to a low scoring game, which is not uncommon in recent Super Bowl games played, and that does make the spread a little more awkward. Having this many points gives the underdog a chance for a backdoor cover in the worst case, but there is an underlying feeling that the Seahawks are much more battle-hardened and have an Offensive unit capable of making one or two more plays than the Patriots.

Keeping stakes relatively low looks to be the best approach with a game that could come down to one or two plays, but the edge before kickoff is with the NFC Champion to win the Super Bowl for a second year in a row and with another cover in a winning effort.

MY PICKS: Seattle Seahawks - 4.5 Points @ 1.91 William Hill (1 Unit)

Championship: 1-1, - 0.14 Units (2 Units Staked, - 7% Yield)

Divisional: 2-2, - 0.26 Units (4 Units Staked, - 6.50% Yield)

Wild Card: 0-5, - 5 Units (5 Units Staked, - 100% Yield)

Week 18: 3-4, - 1.51 Units (7 Units Staked, - 21.57% Yield)

Week 17: 5-6, - 1.45 Units (11 Units Staked, - 13.18% Yield)

Week 16: 3-5, - 2.28 Units (8 Units Staked, - 28.50% Yield)

Week 15: 3-2, + 0.73 Units (5 Units Staked, + 14.60% Yield)

Week 14: 0-1, - 1 Unit (1 Unit Staked, - 100% Yield)

Week 13: 3-4, - 1.50 Units (7 Units Staked, - 21.43% Yield)

Week 12: 1-5, - 4.17 Units (6 Units Staked, - 69.50% Yield)

Week 11: 2-4, - 2.23 Units (6 Units Staked, - 37.17% Yield)

Week 10: 3-3, - 0.34 Units (6 Units Staked, - 5.67% Yield)

Week 9: 2-2, - 0.18 Units (4 Units Staked, - 4.50% Yield)

Week 8: 4-3, + 0.52 Units (7 Units Staked, + 7.43% Yield)

Week 7: 3-2, + 0.69 Units (5 Units Staked, + 13.80% Yield)

Week 6: 3-4, - 1.09 Units (7 Units Staked, - 15.57% Yield)

Week 5: 3-3, - 0.33 Units (6 Units Staked, - 5.50% Yield)

Week 4: 2-3, - 1.14 Units (5 Units Staked, - 22.80% Yield)

Week 3: 5-3, + 1.56 Units (8 Units Staked, + 19.50% Yield)

Week 2: 3-2, + 0.67 Units (5 Units Staked, + 13.40% Yield)

Week 1: 0-2, - 2 Units (2 Units Staked, - 100% Yield)

2025 Season: 51-66, - 20.45 Units (117 Units Staked, - 17.48% Yield)

Boxing Picks 2026- Nick Ball vs Brandon Figueroa (Saturday 7th February)

The big fight garnered plenty of attention, but in the end, Shakur Stevenson was clearly a level above Teofimo Lopez and ran away a very comfortable winner.

Long has it been suggested that Stevenson is the best pound for pound fighter in the United States, and certainly amongst the leading names around the world, and he looks to have targeted a fight with Devin Haney next.

That would be another really good fight and Haney may have enough skills to make it closer than his rival Lopez was able to do, but Shakur Stevenson is likely going to be a strong favourite against anyone he faces unless he moves up too many weight classes.

Great Britain was also able to produce a new World Champion when Josh Kelly upset the odds last week and there is now a real hope that he can bring someone like Jaron Ennis over to the UK for a big fight.

However, it actually becomes more likely that he will actually have to face Bakhram Murtazaliev in a rematch after the former Champion wrote to the IBF complaining about some of the scoring on the cards.

That is something that should clear up in the next fortnight, although the Boxing world moves into February with some decent fight nights lined up.

We are going to have a quieter weekend after all of the cards that were scheduled for last weekend, but there is a big show in Liverpool where another British fighter defends his World Title against a Challenger that should give him plenty to think about.

Nick Ball vs Brandon Figueroa

It would be a huge surprise if these two fighters do not gel and produce an instant classic.

Both Nick Ball and Brandon Figueroa are proud of their conditioning and they will throw a lot of punches, although Ball has downplayed the fact that The Heartbreaker managed over 1000 thrown punches in his last fight.

The Champion is right to point out that those were against a different opponent and not against him, but Nick Ball's team have to know that Brandon Figueroa has long been one of the most active fighters.

On paper you would think Brandon Figueroa is going to use his height in a Division where he is very tall, but much like Sebastian Fundora, the Texan is happy to get down and dirty in the trenches and negate much of those attributes.

And that makes this a fascinating fight.

Brandon Figueroa is a two weight World Champion and his two defeats have been to the same opponent, Stephen Fulton.

There are some quality wins on the board in both the Super Bantamweight and Featherweight Divisions, but at 29 years old, you do have to be a touch concerned by the amount of wars Brandon Figueroa has already been through.

Nick Ball has performed well to remain unbeaten and even the Draw with Rey Vargas was a controversial one and Ball had looked to have done enough to win that fight considering he had two Knock Downs during the contest.

A Split Decision win over Raymond Ford saw Ball become World Champion and he is going to defending the Title for the fourth time and this time in front of the home fans. A fighter that might be short of stature, but high in skill, has shown he can use the jab effectively and Nick Ball carries plenty of power, which makes him very dangerous.

He will be targeting the Brandon Figueroa body and look to slow down the active Challenger by breaking him down, but the American hits harder than some may think and that makes him very dangerous.

I do genuinely think the odds are way out of line to the reality- Nick Ball should be favoured, but Brandon Figueroa is massively underrated.

At the same time you cannot ignore the comments from Liam Paro's team about being really happy to have secured the Purse Bid for his title fight with Lewis Crocker- they admitted they were concerned about 'dodgy' home judging and the Twelfth Round controversy from last week and Josh Kelly's win certainly underlines the statement.

Anything close is likely to go with the home Champion and that makes it hard to oppose him.

The cards are very likely to be needed with the conditioning and strength both of these fighters have displayed, although it would not be a surprise if there are some rocky moments.

Brandon Figueroa's output will be high, but the feeling is that the 'flashier' shots will come from Nick Ball and that may swing the Judges in his favour, while the home crowd will also play a part.

If this was a bout on a neutral site or in the United States, the Challenger would have every chance of upsetting the odds, but it is hard to back him here simply not being overly trustful of the Judging.

The chief support comes in the form of Andrew Cain who will be expected to be ordered to fight for the vacant WBC Bantamweight World Title with a victory on Saturday.

He has to be careful when facing a Mexican who is also pushing for World honours as Cain prepares to take on Alejandro Jair Gonzalez who has won six of the last seven fights since losing for a sixth time in his career.

You cannot overlook any fighter out of that country, as many British fighters have found out in recent years, although this is a long journey for the underdog.

Andrew Cain has power and this could develop into a shoot out, but you have to expect the home fighter to show some caution at times.

He can showcase stronger Boxing skills to make sure the Rounds are being banked, but eventually Cain may break the will of this opponent.

However, he looks short to earn a Stoppage and this may just be a card to sit back and enjoy with the main event surely going to live up to expectations.

Boxing 2026: 2-7, - 6.66 Units (16 Units Staked, - 41.63% Yield)

Premier League Darts Night 1 Picks 2026 (Thursday 5th February)

The first World Ranking tournament of the 2026 season was won by Luke Littler, but fans of the sport have to be really glad to have seen the likes of Gerwyn Price and Luke Humphries push him all of the way.

Ultimately they came up short, which is a disappointment for a sport that has been dominated by Littler over the last twelve months, but the fact that neither rolled over for the top player in the World can only be a positive.

We will get to see how much of a positive the rest of the top names in the field will take from those Semi Final and Final matches at the World Masters when the Premier League begins on Thursday and is played through to the end of May.

Luke Littler has appeared in the Premier League twice before, but he will not be the defending Champion this year having won on his debut, but beaten by rival Luke Humphries last year.

These two players have faced one another in the Final in each of the last two years and are expected to be the dominant forces in the tournament again.

It is Luke Littler who has topped the final standings in each of the last two years having competed in 15/32 Finals in the weekly events and he has only lost his first match seven times- a player who clearly gets stronger and stronger as he builds the matches under his belt continues to be the one to beat, although he is expected to be followed into the Semi Final by Luke Humphries who has finished second in each of the last two years before splitting title wins.

Both should be capable of moving through to the next Semi Finals at the O2 Arena in May, but picking another two players to head through with the two Lukes is a tougher task.

With some of the external criticism clearly getting to Stephen Bunting, you have to believe the World Number 7 is going to be playing with additional pressure having continued to proclaim he deserves his place in the Premier League. He finished bottom of the standings last season and things could spiral for Bunting if he is not able to make a fast start in 2026, and it is hard to make a case for him to finish in the top four.

The other five players making up the eight all will have their backers- Josh Rock is making his debut in the Premier League, but is clearly talented enough to find some consistent rhythm to become very dangerous, while Gian van Veen is going to go very close if he can deal with the nerves of playing in this format every week for the first time.

Michael van Gerwen did not have a good World Masters, but he reached two Finals in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia last month and has so much experience in the Premier League, while Gerwyn Price looks to have continued his consistently good form and is the one player that seems to be avoid being intimidated by the current top two in the World Rankings.

And Jonny Clayton is a former winner- this is his fourth appearance in the Premier League and he has yet to miss out on the Playoffs, which makes his short odds for finishing bottom look disrespectful.

Unsurprisingly Luke Littler will go into the Premier League as favourite, and he will likely be a favourite to win every Night over the course of the tournament.

He has not won on Night 1 in either of the last two years and Littler would have put in a lot of mental effort in winning the Masters on Sunday, which could leave him vulnerable.

However, he is in the weaker half of the draw and you would make him the favourite if he can beat Gian van Veen in the Quarter Final.

Michael van Gerwen is perhaps the most intriguing price to earn a spot in the Playoff in May, but there will be no outright selections after thinking about backing Josh Rock to finish bottom in his debut season, but believing things could unravel for Stephen Bunting for a second year in a row.

Jonny Clayton v Josh Rock: Both players had a decent showing at the World Masters, but would have been disappointed with how the tournament ended.

Jonny Clayton may be particularly aggrieved having blown a big lead in the 4-3 defeat to Gerwyn Price, while Josh Rock did reach the Quarter Final before being crushed by Luke Littler.

Both will be looking to make a fast start to the Premier League and these are the kind of Quarter Final matches that can make a big impact in the final standings. The likes of Luke Littler and Luke Humphries will have the consistency for enough deep runs so the points that can be produced against the others are that much more important, which puts some pressure on both Clayton and Rock.

The Welshman is a former Premier League Winner and that experience may give him the edge- he looked to be scoring a little better than Josh Rock at the World Masters and Clayton may just have the stronger finishing that gives him the edge in this opening 2026 Premier League match.

Luke Littler to win & over 3.5 180s: After the crushing win in the World Championship Final, Luke Littler will be keen to keep the dominance going against Gian van Veen, one of his potential big rivals on the Tour over the coming twelve months.

He started slowly when these two met in Saudi Arabia last month, but Luke Littler rallied and he has the consistency of the power scoring that can take him away from the World Number 3.

Gian van Veen does push Littler with his own heavy scoring, but he has been feeling a pressure facing his old rival and matches have tended to fall away from him.

Big 180 hitting encourages Luke Littler to do the same and you have to expect the top player in the world to continue to hit those big trebles in this Quarter Final.

Luke Littler remains the big maximum hitter on the Tour and was in strong enough form to win the World Masters on Sunday.

Perhaps that means he has some fatigue to shake off, even four days later, which is maybe the best chance Gian van Veen will have in winning his debut match in the Premier League.

It all feels unlikely though and Littler should be able to find at least four maximums in any winning effort on Night 1.

Gerwyn Price over 2.5 180s & 1+ 180 checkout: There is no doubt that Gerwyn Price feels inspired when it comes to battling either of the two Lukes at the top of the World Rankings.

He got the better of Humphries in Saudi Arabia and beat Littler in Bahrain last month, while the Ice Man was a dart away from beating the latter in the World Masters Semi Final last week.

The layers are very much aware of the form that Gerwyn Price has been putting together over the last twelve months and the head to head with Luke Humphries and Luke Littler.

This is reflected in the price for this Night 1 Quarter Final and it should be noted that Gerwyn Price has won the last five matches against Luke Humphries in the best of eleven Leg format. During that time Luke Humphries has won a best of thirteen Leg match as well as beating Price in the Grand Slam Semi Final 16-13, but the shorter formats have tended to lean in favour of the Welshman.

He is odds against to reach six Legs first on Thursday, but that is also down to the respect that Luke Humphries deserves after putting in some top quality performances at the World Masters.

Luke Humphries is keen to build on that run to the Final and he was throwing with real confidence last week, which suggests this is a Quarter Final that could go nine or more Legs.

Instead of backing a winner, it may pay out to look for Gerwyn Price to hit a couple of statistical marks.

He continues to hit plenty of 180s and Price will be looking to put a combination finish or two on the board in his bid to earn another victory over Luke Humphries.

Gerwyn Price had six triple digit checkouts in his four matches at the Masters and he looks capable of finding at least one in this Quarter Final to go with some big maximum hitting.

Michael van Gerwen to Win & Stephen Bunting most 180s: In a race to six, you would naturally feel the player hitting the most maximums would win.

In a lot of cases that will be true, but two of the last four races to six legs between these two players has seen the player with more 180s actually go on to lose.

Last week at the Masters, Stephen Bunting's maximum hitting was not the issue, but his finishing has been and he has lost to Michael van Gerwen twice last month, which is going to be an obstacle to overcome.

It wasn't the Masters that van Gerwen would have expected, but there are definitely stronger signs coming into the latest edition of the Premier League after missing the Playoff last year.

There have been more maximums thrown by MvG last month than we have come to expect from him in recent times, but he is still a little short of his absolute best. He still scores well enough and will also finish with some authority that may give him the edge in this Quarter Final and it is a big quote for the Dutchman to win a match in which he throws fewer maximums.

Stephen Bunting will likely need to win three or four Legs to ensure this happens, but both matches in the Middle East last month ended with ten Legs played and that may be enough for the former 'People's Champion' to hit the most maximums, even in a losing effort.

MY PICKS: Jonny Clayton @ 2.25 Ladbrokes (1 Unit)

Luke Littler to Win & Over 3.5 180s @ 2.00 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Gerwyn Price Over 2.5 180s & 1+ 100+ Checkouts @ 2.90 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Michael van Gerwen to Win & Stephen Bunting Most 180s @ 3.20 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Darts 2026: 5-6, + 0.79 Units (11 Units Staked, + 7.18% Yield)