Canadian Masters Tennis Picks 2026 (Monday 3rd August)

We are now less than a month away before the final Grand Slam of the 2026 season begins and that means the Tour has to move through the first of two very important Masters tournaments on the North American hard courts.

Rain has been an issue over the first couple of days at the Canadian Masters and wet weather is expected in both Montreal and Toronto.

However, it is the tournament in Montreal where the ATP First Round is scheduled to be completed on Monday that looks to be most in danger of a washout.

Later this week, Toronto could also experience a few rain delays, but they should have a clearer Monday to get through the busy First Round and also a couple more clear days, which will give the Seeded players an opportunity to find some rhythm back on the court.

With that said, the focus for the opening Picks is on the First Round matches from the WTA Toronto event as we get this Masters run underway.

Yulia Putintseva - 3.5 games v Shuai Zhang: This has been a head to head dominated by Yulia Putintseva and she has produced the stronger hard court results in 2026.

The lack of competitive tennis since Wimbledon is a concern, but Shuai Zhang was beaten early in Washington last week and the 37 year old has not enjoyed this match up with seven straight defeats behind her.

Making it even tougher is that Zhang has won a single set in those seven matches and six of those have been on the hard courts.

Neither player has put together many strong hard court runs sincer very early in the season, but Yulia Putintseva may have enough of an edge to find a way to move past Shuai Zhang with a cover of this handicap mark.

Liudmila Samsonova - 3.5 games v Janice Tjen: Both played in Washington last week, but it was Liudmila Samsonova who impressed a little more than Janice Tjen and she can beat this opponent for the thitd time in 2026.

One previous win has been on a hard court, while the other was on a clay court, but both were very one-sided wins for Liudmila Samsonova and that can give her the mental edge when this First Round match is played.

The fact that both have a losing record on the hard courts is a disappointment,  but Liudmila Samsonova has the stronger numbers and that should not be ignored.

Adding that to the manner in which she has beaten Janice Tjen this season makes the higher Ranked player someone who can put an impressive win on the scoreboard in this one.

Alycia Parks - 2.5 games v Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva: Any player that comes through Qualifiers should be respected, but it did take Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva almost two hours and three sets to win her match.

The 20 year old will need a bit more out of the serve if she is going to earn an upset in the First Round, but that may be something that holds Kasintseva back in this match.

Alycia Parks is not easy to trust with her high-risk approach meaning great rewards, but also the lack of consistency that can lead to poor defeats.

The American looked in decent form in hard court events building towards the 2026 Canadian Masters and the edge in the serve gives Alycia Park the edge in the contest.

It has been the serve that has proved to be the difference in the two previous matches between the players and both have been won by the stronger server in Alycia Parks, which could be the case again on Monday.

MY PICKS: Yulia Putintseva - 3.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Liudmila Samsonova - 3.5 Games @ 2.00 William Hill (1 Unit)

Alycia Parks - 2.5 Games @ 1.91 William Hill (1 Unit)

Season 2026: 187-157, + 9.73 Units (529 Units Staked, + 1.84% Yield)

Tennis Picks 2026 (Saturday 1st August)

The tournaments continue on Saturday and, unfortunately, there has been some timing issues that have prevented me from writing out a fuller thread.

It has been a decent week, but there is still time for things to move either in a positive or negative direction and so it is important to round things out with a couple more winners ahead of the Canadian Masters.

MY PICKS: Taylor Fritz - 1.5 Games @ 1.72 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Jessica Pegula - 4.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Weekly Update: 5-3, + 1.14 Units (8 Units Staked, + 14.25% Yield)

Tennis Picks 2026 (Friday 31st July)

The Canadian Masters is set to be begin this weekend and that does mean that some of the players still involved in the four tournaments that are to be concluded could be facing some potential distractions. Those who are higher up in the World Rankings have less to be concerned about with a Bye into the Second Round at the expanded Masters events to be played this August, but others may be thinking about travel plans and that can have an impact on the focus on the court.

Of course that only becomes an issue if players are to reach the Semi Final in the two United States venues that are hosting this week and the opportunity to pick up a title ahead of the US Open can only be a positive.

The Quarter Final of the tournaments in Washington and Memphis will be played on Friday, but the tournament in Los Cabos is ensuring that the Final is played on Saturday to allow players to travel to Montreal for the Canadian Masters. There is clearly less travel time between Memphis and Washington to Montreal/Toronto, but the expansion of those Masters events in August has placed an additional pressure on the calendar, much to the frustration of players and fans alike.

There is o only so much room to fit in tournament as it is, which has resulted in a decision to have the Canadian Masters Final played in the middle of the week rather than the traditional weekend spot. It happened for the first time last year and it is part of the reason players are asking the governors of the sport to get together and figure out a better calendar plan, although that has been something that has long been asked without much being done anyway.

Taylor Fritz-Alex Michelsen over 0.5 tie-breakers: This is the third meeting on the Tour between these compatriots and Alex Michelsen is looking to beat the higher Ranked player for a third time.

After winning a Challenger title, Alex Michelsen has arrived in Washington filled with confidence and has been largely untroubled in getting through the opening couple of matches. He will still be expecting more out of the serve having faced 18 Break Points in those two matches, but Michelsen has been returning with some confidence and he has played the big points effectively this week.

Alex Michelsen will be happy with the majority of his ATP level results on the hard courts and he has held 86% of service games played on the surface.

There is still room for improvement on the returning numbers if Michelsen is going to take the next step in his career, but he has found a way to get into the Taylor Fritz serve, which is perhaps a surprise.

Taylor Fritz has won his two matches in Washington very well and he has built on his run at Wimbledon, although perhaps still playing through the pain barrier in order to be ready for the US Open. He is a very comfortable hard court player and Fritz has been in decent form in terms of the numbers, although he is going to need to put together some strong runs in the next couple of months to try and break the thirty win mark in a single season on this surface yet again.

Over the course of the season, Taylor Fritz is holding 89% of his service games on the hard courts and winning 71% of points played, but he struggled to really impose this part of his tennis on Alex Michelsen when losing to him at Indian Wells earlier this year.

Those numbers read 81% and 62% in the defeat to Michelsen and Taylor Fritz will need to be better, even if the scoreboard showed he was on the wrong side of a narrow loss.

It was Alex Michelsen who was much closer to his usual kind of numbers on the hard courts and this has the making of another match that will feature plenty of holds of serve. You have to anticipate at least one tie-breaker, which has been priced up quite appealingly, while the form this week suggests both have a comfortable serving rhythm on the Washington courts.

Small moments can have a big consequence on the score, and these two did create a lot of Break Points against one another when they met in Indian Wells.

A few more may have to be swatted away in this Quarter Final, but both Fritz and Michelsen are capable of doing that for long enough in a single set to at least reach that tie-breaker moment.

MY PICKS: Taylor Fritz-Alex Michelsen Over 0.5 Tie-Breakers @ 1.83 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Diana Shnaider @ 1.85 William Hill (1 Unit)

Cameron Norrie @ 1.80 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Weekly Update: 3-2, + 0.46 Units (5 Units Staked, + 9.20% Yield)

Tennis Picks 2026 (Thursday 30th July)

It was not a very good start to the week, but the tournaments being played this week are continuing into the Second Round on Thursday and there are three selections that have been identified below.

Ben Shelton - 1.5 games v Ugo Humbert: Two players that are hugely reliant on the serve have come through the opening Round in Washington and the layers are finding it quite difficult to split them as far as this handicap mark is concerned.

It has not been the 2026 Ben Shelton may have hoped for and he has perhaps taken a bit of time to recover from the injury that forced him to withdraw in the Third Round at the US Open last year. The recovery may have been more about the mental disappointment of having to pull out of his home Grand Slam, rather than the physical recovery, but Shelton has to find his way with some big Ranking Points to defend before the last Slam of the 2026 season begins.

He dropped a set in coming through the First Round, but Ben Shelton continues to be one of the tougher outs on a hard court.

Disappointing defeats at Indian Wells and Miami in Masters events earlier this year will have stung, but Ben Shelton tends to have plenty in the tank to overcome those players he is expected to beat.

One of those will be Ugo Humbert who was a dominant winner in the First Round, but who fell in straight sets when he faced Ben Shelton at the Australian Open back in January.

The Frenchman has struggled when facing top 20 Ranked opponents on the hard courts this year- Ugo Humbert's service numbers dip a little, but it is the return where he has struggled to have any kind of consistent impact and that has kept him under scoreboard pressure.

Overall his return numbers show Ugo Humbert breaks in 16% of return games played on the hard courts, but that dips to around 5% when only focusing on top 20 opponents in 2026.

It is an edge that Ben Shelton can exploit having created ten Break Points in the match between these two at the Australian Open.

Those fashioned against him amounted to three Break Points and the American player can use his serve to make sure he comes through this Second Round match.

Diana Shanaider - 1.5 games v Anastasia Potapova: Both of these players can point to strong runs during the clay court season for the current World Ranking position, but Diana Schnaider and Anastasia Potapova are both comfortable enough on the hard courts to build on those successes.

Disappointing grass court campaigns are behind both Schnaider and Potapova, while the latter has already beaten Venus Williams here in Washington.

This is the first match for Diana Schnaider who is a top four Seed in the draw and that has allowed her to earn a Bye through the First Round. Sometimes players would rather have a match under their belt than having a Bye through a Round, but Diana Schnaider will have known about her opponent for a couple of days and should be pretty familiar with the Anastasia Potapova game.

They have met on the hard courts earlier this season in the lead into the Australian Open, but Diana Shnaider will be expecting a much tougher match.

Both have struggled in hard court matches against top 50 Ranked opponents this season, but Diana Schnaider has had the edge on the numbers being produced and that could be key in this Second Round match.

The return numbers are similar, but Diana Shnaider is capable of getting a bit more out of the first serve and that could make all the difference on the day.

Alex De Minaur - 5.5 games v Cruz Hewitt: It is quite ridiculous to think Lleyton's son is now a pro Tennis player not because he is, but because it is a reminder of how old some of us have become.

Cruz Hewitt upset the odds to beat Marcos Giron in the First Round, but this is a much stiffer test against the defending Champion who came through a very tough opener in Washington.

Alex De Minaur should be pretty aware of the qualities of Cruz Hewitt and it may feel like the latter is playing a version of his own father in this match. Like Lleyton, Alex De Minaur looks to use his movement to frustrate opponents and make sure he is getting plenty of balls back in play, but also has an ability to turn things around in his favour when the opportunity comes up.

He will have a lot of respect for Cruz Hewitt and the kind of tennis he has been playing in recent weeks, but De Minaur's edge in experience cannot be dismissed.

A two hour match on Wednesday may have done Alex De Minaur some good in building up his rhythm for the remainder of this tournament and he can wear down Cruz Hewitt, who has already achieved plenty from his time in Washington over the last few days.

MY PICKS: Ben Shelton - 1.5 Games @ 1.72 Bet Victor (1 Unit)

Diana Shnaider - 1.5 Games @ 1.91 Bet Victor (1 Unit)

Alex De Minaur - 5.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet Victor (1 Unit)

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

Tennis Picks 2026 (Wednesday 29th July)

The US Open is just about a month away from beginning as the final Grand Slam of the 2026 season takes the spotlight, but the build to that tournament has already begun.

This week we have two 500 level events being played in Washington as both the ATP and WTA Tours make a stop here, while the hard court events in Los Cabos and Memphis offer further preparation places for those looking to build up the momentum on this surface.

Just days remain before the first of back to back Masters events on the hard courts in Canada and Cincinnati and those will be the last big tournaments before the US Open begins, although the likes of Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic have already announced they will not be playing in Montreal this summer.

Karolina Muchova is the only member of the WTA top ten that has already withdrawn in Toronto and she has to be considered a potential doubt for the US Open, which would be a big blow for the Wimbledon Finalist who has had a career filled with injury-related absences.

The 1000 level tournaments in Montreal and Toronto are for another week and the focus on the here and now for the Tennis Picks is on the tournaments being played in North and Central America through to the end of the weekend.

Timings of the release of the Order of Play does have an impact on how soon the selections can be released, at least for this week, but they will be posted before the day's play begins.

As has been the case in the last couple of weeks, there will not be selections every day if matches do not fit the criteria and that is why there have been no Tennis Picks made on the opening two days of the tournament.

Stefanos Tsitsipas v Alex De Minaur: This is the last of the First Round matches to be played in Washington and the defending Champion Alex De Minaur may have hoped for a better draw.

Not only is he facing an opponent who has won fourteen of the sixteen pro Tour matches between them, but Alex De Minaur has not played since Wimbledon and Stefanos Tsitsipas has picked up a title since then on the clay courts of Gstaad.

Of course this is a match played on a surface that Alex De Minaur will feel favours him, but Stefanos Tsitsipas is no slouch on the hard courts and has reversed his worrying trend in falling down the World Rankings.

Not only has the title win in Gstaad likely given the Greek player a huge boost in confidence, but it should be stated that he has little to no World Ranking Points to defend between now and the end of the season. He is the World Number 51 right now, but Stefanos Tsitsipas will believe he can force his way back into the Grand Slam Seeding positions by the time the Australian Open comes around in January 2027 and he will be confident in building from the title win earlier this month.

Stefanos Tsitsipas has decent enough hard court numbers, although the return of serve can be a weakness on the faster surfaces.

That was not the case when Tsitsipas upset Alex De Minaur in Miami in March and you have to believe the narrow underdog can get the better of an opponent who recently got married and may not have the court time to be ready to get the better of someone that has dominated the head to head previously.

Camila Osorio - 4.5 games v Anastasia Zakharova: Over in Memphis, Camila Osorio can get the better of Anastasia Zakharova for a second time in 2026 and for the first time on a hard court overall.

The World Number 56 is at her best on the clay, which is where she beat Anastasia Zakharova earlier this season, but Camila Osorio is also a solid hard court performer.

That is particularly evident in matches against those Ranked outside the top 50, and Camila Osorio has also produced very good numbers on the surface when facing those Ranked below her.

In those matches, Camila Osorio has made hay behind the first serve, but has also won almost 50% of return points played in an eight match sample and she will certainly feel she can hurt an opponent that won just three games on the clay courts of Madrid when they faced each other in the build up to the French Open. That is a victory in a tournament that plays faster than most clay courts, which is another confidence booster ahead of this match on the hard courts of Memphis.

Anastasia Zakharova did reach the Semi Final of a lower level hard court tournament in Istanbul a few days ago, but she has not been as effective on the return when facing opponents Ranked inside the top 100.

That could be key in this Second Round match and Camila Osorio may have just enough to move past the handicap line set in a winning effort.

MY PICKS: Stefanos Tsitsipas @ 2.20 Bet Victor (1 Unit)

Camila Osorio - 3.5 Games @ 1.75 Bet Victor (1 Unit)

Boxing Picks 2026- Edgar Berlanga vs Steven Butler (Sunday 26th July)

It has not had the kind of impact that Dana White promised when moving into the Boxing world, but Zuffa Boxing has made some big signings and this looks an interesting card as they go out for the ninth time in 2026.

The question remains as to how Zuffa Boxing intends to keep their top names happy if they are one, refusing to do business with other Promoters, and two, wishing to ignore the Boxing Organisations?

Of course hearing Jai Opetaia is planning to sure the IBF and a number of other names in the Boxing world after signing with Zuffa and then being forced to give up his World Title is an interesting move considering some of the statements made by those that the Australian has signed with... It is a power play? Potentially, but it has raised eyebrows considering all we have heard from Zuffa as to why Opetaia is so concerned about wanting that World Title back.

We will see that play out over the coming weeks and months, but Zuffa Boxing will continue to put their cards out and this is one that will be featured at Madison Square Garden, albeit in the Theatre rather than in the main room.

The main event is one that feels very important to the 'A side', but there are some potentially decent scraps on the undercard as well on what should be a decent night of action.

Edgar Berlanga vs Steven Butler

A little over twelve months have passed since Edgar Berlanga was being Stopped by Hamzah Sheeraz in Queens, but he is back in the Five Boroughs on Sunday night and with a new promotional team.

While most fighters would have been humbled by the manner in which Berlanga was beaten, the excuses were lined up and you do have to wonder if he has learned anything.

Of course Zuffa Boxing are going to want to see Edgar Berlanga win and win well and they have offered up an opponent that may allow him to showcase his talent.

Steven Butler has won thirty-eight fights and thirty-two of them have been in Stoppages, but the Canadian has lost five times and all before the final bell. He is unbeaten in four since his last defeat to Patrice Volny, but it has felt like Steven Butler has found this kind of ceiling too high to reach and that should suit Edgar Berlanga.

The Puerto Rican has lost two of his last four fights, but those have been defeats to Canelo Alvarez and Hamzah Sheeraz and both would be considered much stronger opponents than the one he is facing on Sunday.

Add in the fact that the other two fights in that run have both been won by Edgar Berlanga in Stoppages and it does feel like Zuffa have lined up a bout where one of the new signings can impress.

He should also be the naturally bigger man and Edgar Berlanga can find a way to secure the Stoppage as he moves through the gears after a couple of feel out Rounds.

Another fighter who has signed with Zuffa Boxing and is returning after a long layoff is Richardson Hitchins and the former Light Welterweight World Champion is making his debut in the Welterweight Division.

He has spoken about making up for lost time and Hitchins also feels he should have made the move to Welterweight sooner, and now the challenge is making a big statement and then chasing the big names.

The Knock Out record is not that eye-catching, but Richardson Hitchins will feel his power will be more telling in this weight Division.

Ricardo Adan Salas Rodriguez will know he has a big opportunity to push his own career forward, but the unbeaten home fighter should have too much for him and the feeling is that Richardson Hitchins will be in a position to turn the screw and eventually overwhelm this opponent in a chief support spot on this card.

Jalil Hackett is expected to do enough to earn a narrow Decision against veteran Sergiy Derevyanchenko, although the layers are giving the latter plenty of respect in what should be a competitive bout.

There is also a crossroads fight in the Heavyweight Division when Otto Wallin takes on Vladyslav Sirenko and the expectation is that the former will do enough to edge to the victory.

Otto Wallin has a win over Murat Gassiev on his resume, which looks all the stronger now that Gassiev has become a World Champion in the Division. That could be a rematch that would have been chased if Wallin has not signed with Zuffa Boxing, but the Swedish fighter should still be very motivated to remind everyone of what he can do after suffering defeats to Anthony Joshua and Derek Chisora since December 2023.

The Sirenko defeat to Soloman Dacres is a really disappointing one and Otto Wallin may have enough about himself to win this one on the cards.

There is another Heavyweight Fight during the preliminary part of the broadcast that could offer up a selection- both Kashaun Davis and Mihai Nistor are unbeaten with eleven and eight wins respectively and all have been inside the distance.

Both are making a step up compared with previous opponents beaten and this Eight Rounder could see one of the fighters move through the gears to not only remain unbeaten, but to maintain the run of a perfect Knock Out record too.

However, the lack of recent activity goes against Nistor as he returns for the first time in over two years and that may just give Kashaun Davis the edge in what could develop into a firefight.

MY PICKS: Edgar Berlanga to Win by KO/TKO/DQ @ 1.83 William Hill (2 Units)

Richardson Hitchins to Win by KO/TKO/DQ @ 4.00 Sky Bet (1 Unit)

Otto Wallin to Win by Decision/Technical Decision @ 2.10 Sky Bet (1 Unit)

Kashaun Davis to Win by KO/TKO/DQ @ 2.40 Sky Bet (1 Unit)

Boxing 2026: 20-34, - 9.46 Units (84 Units Staked, - 11.26% Yield)

World Matchplay Darts Day 9 Pick 2026- Final (Sunday 26th July)

The two stronger players both came through Semi Final matches without facing too much resistance against Dutch opponents and now Luke Littler and Gerwyn Price have one more match to win if they want to lift the World Matchplay trophy.

My thoughts on the World Matchplay Final can be read below.

Luke Littler over 15.5 180s v Gerwyn Price: The level produced by Luke Littler over the past week makes it almost impossible to imagine anything other than him lifting the trophy at the end of this match on Sunday.

So many players have looked beaten before the match against Littler has even begun, but credit has to be given to the World Number 1 for the numbers that have been put together.

He is hitting treble 20 for fun and Luke Littler has racked up the maximums with another sixteen produced in just twenty-two Legs against Dirk van Duijvenbode in the Semi Final.

The rate of the maximum hitting is simply outrageous, but Luke Littler has proven time and time again that he is playing with an ability to maintain the current levels we are watching.

Gerwyn Price will always head to the oche full of belief and he can offer some resistance having looked like he is getting stronger and stronger the longer he has been in this tournament.

The Semi Final in the Premier League saw Luke Littler edge Gerwyn Price 10-9 and the Welshman has certainly been able to push the top Seed.

However, Price will do well to ignore the fact he has lost nine in a row against Luke Littler and that looks like it will become ten by the end of this Final.

The chances are that Gerwyn Price will be able to score well enough to at least give himself an opportunity to win Legs, but that may also give Luke Littler the room from which he can surpass this total set for his personal maximums.

After adding those from the Semi Final, Luke Littler has now hit fifty-four maximums in eighty Legs played in this tournament.

It would be a surprise if we have fewer than twenty-five Legs in this Final and, on current rate, that would be enough for Luke Littler to surpass this number and the confidence of the World Number 1 means it is the easy market to back.

MY PICKS: Luke Littler Over 15.5 180s @ 1.83 Bet365 (1 Unit)

World Matchplay: 14-13, + 2.35 Units (27 Units Staked, + 8.70% Yield)