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)
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