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)