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Karolina Muchova is the only member of the WTA top ten that has already withdrawn in Toronto and she has to be considered a potential doubt for the US Open, which would be a big blow for the Wimbledon Finalist who has had a career filled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