Tennis Picks 2026 (Saturday 28th February)

The latest week on the Tour is coming to a close this weekend before both Tours come together in Indian Wells next week.

It has been a really good week for the Tennis Picks with the ATP Dubai and Acapulco Finals set to be played on Saturday.

All of the selections have been from the tournament in Dubai where some of the bigger names have been in action, while the other events being played have seen the top Seeds falling pretty early.

After Saturday, the next selections will be from the Indian Wells Masters, although I am still not sure whether there will be any before the Second Round gets underway, at least on the WTA Tour which is going to be starting on the schedule.

The draw will dictate that, but there is one more selection to come from the ATP Dubai Final, which can be read below.

Daniil Medvedev - 4.5 games v Tallon Griekspoor: These two players have only met once on the Tour and that was right here in Dubai twelve months ago in a Quarter Final match.

On that occasion it was Tallon Griekspoor who somehow stayed in the match having been the inferior player for a couple of sets, but who then went on to win the match and move through to the Semi Final.

In the first two sets, Griekspoor faced 14 Break Points compared with the 5 Break Points he created and he was gracious enough to admit that he had a bit of fortune on his side.

The World Number 25 stated the same thing after the Semi Final over Andrey Rublev on Friday having overcome significant issues with his hamstring- Tallon Griekspoor admitted that he may have pulled out of the match if he had not won the First Set and then rallied deep into the Second Set Tie-Breaker to come through in straight sets.

Throughout his press conference, Tallon Griekspoor made it clear that the next twenty-four hours were all about recovery as he prepares to play in his second ATP 500 Final and just the sixth on the Tour.

It was the serve that proved to be the big weapon for Griekspoor in his Semi Final win and he will need to be as close as possible to full health to make sure that remains the case.

Daniil Medvedev has been in very good form all week in Dubai and his dominant win over Felix Auger Aliassime underlines his danger.

The return of serve continues to be a big part of the Medvedev success and he has also been using the conditions very well in the tournament when it comes to his own delivery. He had Felix Auger Aliassime under pressure throughout the Semi Final and Daniil Medvedev should be able to do the same against this opponent.

His focus will have to be on the tennis he wants to play and not just expecting a wounded opponent to just crumble in front of him- one of the mistakes made by Andrey Rublev was allowing Tallon Griekspoor to get himself into a rhythm, but Medvedev will extend rallies and wear down the underdog.

The form shown this week gives Daniil Medvedev a big edge, even if Tallon Griekspoor was at full health, and he can win yet another match with a strong look on the scoreboard.

MY PICK: Daniil Medvedev - 4.5 Games @ 2.00 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Weekly Update: 8-2, + 5.29 Units (10 Units Staked, + 52.90% Yield)

Tennis Picks 2026 (Friday 27th February)

The tournaments since the Australian Open have been a little up and down for the Tennis Picks, but this one has been a strong bounce back ahead of the back to back hard court Masters events in Indian Wells and Miami.

The focus has been on the ATP Dubai event and the two Semi Final selections can be read below.

Full markets for the tournaments that are taking place in the United States, Mexico and Chile will not be out until Friday morning (United Kingdom time) so any selections from those events will be added to this thread.

Felix Auger Aliassime-Daniil Medvedev over 0.5 Tie-Breakers: All four Semi Finalists in Dubai have been playing some exceptional tennis this week and there may be very little between them.

The first Semi Final looks a really competitive one when Felix Auger Aliassime, the Number 1 Seed, takes on Daniil Medvedev, the Number 3 Seed.

In three wins each, the two players have combined to lose serve just three times and the numbers have been very solid. Felix Auger Aliassime has held 97% of service games played and has been winning 75% of service points played, while Daniil Medvedev has 91% and 69% marks in both categories.

No one will be very surprised to hear that Medvedev has had the superior return numbers, but he has also faced much weaker opposition compared with Felix Auger Aliassime.

The initial meetings on the Tour had been dominated by Daniil Medvedev, but Felix Auger Aliassime won the last completed match at the Paris Olympics a little over eighteen months ago. Last year he beat Medvedev when the Russian retired at the end of the first set in Doha, but the previous seven hard court matches have all been won by Daniil Medvedev.

Felix Auger Aliassime has really struggled to impose his serve in those previous hard court matches, while also having difficulty dealing with the Daniil Medvedev serve. That is perhaps the main reason he is set as the narrow underdog, but this should be close considering what we have seen from both players, not only here in Dubai, but in general over the last month.

The high level performances of both players should mean they are both operating with a lot of confidence and that could make this a really competitive Semi Final.

It may be one that features at least one Tie-Breaker with the expectation that there may be very little between these high Ranked rivals.

My narrow edge is with Daniil Medvedev and the superior return game, but Felix Auger Aliassime has served well enough to deserve a lot of respect.

Andrey Rublev-Tallon Griekspoor over 0.5 Tie-Breakers: There was very little form put together by Tallon Griekspoor prior to the tournament beginning in Dubai and so his appearance in the Semi Final is something of a surprise.

However, the Dutchman will point to some strong numbers in the three wins this week, which have included a couple of wins over opponents Ranked Number 10 and Number 13.

Tallon Griekspoor has held 97% of his service games played at the tournament and he has only allowed four Break Points in three matches- he will need to continue producing at that level if he is going to earn an upset and reach the Final.

The World Number 25 has long been someone who has struggled on the return, but he can build scoreboard pressure behind strong serving. At the tournament, Tallon Griekspoor has only broken in 19% of return games played and has won 36% of return points played and now has to face Andrey Rublev, who has opened 2026 in really strong form on the hard courts.

A 10-3 start to the year will have given Andrey Rublev a lot of confidence ahead of the back to back Masters events which are going to be played over the next month, but he will want to reach a Final.

Last week a close loss to Carlos Alcaraz in the Semi Final in Doha would have hurt, but Andrey Rublev has continued operating at a high level.

Much like his opponent, Andrey Rublev has held 97% of his service games played, although he has been challenged a little bit more with eight Break Points faced.

There is a clear edge in favour of Rublev when it comes to the return of serve, while he has beaten Tallon Griekspoor in all three previous matches on the Tour.

It has been almost two years since they faced one another and Andrey Rublev was a top ten Ranked player in all three previous matches, while the closest contest was on the Doha hard courts in 2023.

In that match, Andrey Rublev was the slightly stronger server and that may be the case in this Semi Final, although like the first, it could be competitive at least for a while. This may be another match in which at least one Tie-Breaker is needed to separate two players who have been using the conditions very effectively and you have to believe the serving power is going to put both in a position to roll through some games without feeling much pressure.

This may end up focusing the two to get to at least one Tie-Breaker and that could be pivotal to the outcome of the contest.

MY PICKS: Felix Auger Aliassime-Daniil Medvedev Over 0.5 Tie-Breakers @ 1.83 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Andrey Rublev-Tallon Griekspoor Over 0.5 Tie-Breakers @ 2.00 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Weekly Update: 7-1, + 5.29 Units (8 Units Staked, + 66.13% Yield)

Tennis Picks 2026 (Thursday 26th February)

The selections this week have been focusing on the ATP Dubai tournament, but the events in Acapulco and Santiago are moving into the business end too.

Of course the Final in the Middle East events are scheduled for Saturday so Dubai is a little further along compared with the other tournaments.

Any selections from the other two events will be added to this thread on Thursday, but there are three picks from the ATP Dubai Quarter Final matches that are set to be played through the day.

Daniil Medvedev - 4.5 games v Jenson Brooksby: This has been a solid couple of days for Daniil Medvedev, but he will not want to lose any momentum in Dubai with solid Ranking Points on offer.

It is also an opportunity for Daniil Medvedev to regain a bit of lost confidence and perhaps win a second title of the season before the Tour moves to North America for two big Masters events. He is not going to be able to crack the top ten again in the World Rankings, but Medvedev has some important Ranking Points to protect at the Indian Wells Masters and would love to head to California with another trophy to add to his collection.

Two strong wins have shown the Daniil Medvedev strength.

The first serve has been a big weapon, and it has allowed the World Number 11 to have a real aggressive approach to the return, which has resulted in at least four Breaks in each match won. Daniil Medvedev has been keeping opponents under constant pressure with his return of serve and that is going to be the ambition he will be looking to show once again in this Quarter Final.

Credit has to be given to Jenson Brooksby for winning a couple of matches here this week having shown little form prior to the tournament beginning in Dubai.

He may not have impressed as much as Medvedev, but Jenson Brooksby has not dropped serve this week and that will give him some confidence to take into the match.

The level has been higher than what has been seen in the 2026 season and so Brooksby may be playing with a bit more belief in what he is trying to do.

Even then, it may be asking too much for the World Number 49 to find the right tennis to earn an upset and it could also be tough for Jenson Brooksby to keep the scoreboard competitive if things start poorly.

When these two players met previously on the Tour, it was Daniil Medvedev who ended up pulling away after a competitive first set, but this one could potentially be a bit more routine.

Felix Auger Aliassime-Jiri Lehecka over 0.5 Tie Breakers: A poor run Down Under that culminated in a First Round exit at the Australian Open in a match that Felix Auger Aliassime was unable to finish will have been a cause for concern for his fans.

Those have been eased after the Canadian returned to the Tour to win the title in Montpellier and follow up by reaching the Rotterdam Final before coming up short against Alex De Minaur.

Two wins in the tournament in Dubai has maintained the strong form and Felix Auger Aliassime will move into the top six of the World Rankings by winning the title in Dubai. The serve has been a huge weapon in 2026 with 92% of games ending in holds and Auger Aliassime has impressed by finding a Break in 20% of return games played.

Throughout his career, Felix Auger Aliassime has struggled for consistency on the return and so his form this year will offer a huge amount of encouragement.

The Quarter Final will not be easy against Jiri Lehecka who also struggled through the opening weeks of the season before finding some form last week. He reached the Quarter Final in Doha and has backed that up in Dubai, although Jiri Lehecka has benefited by beating two opponents Ranked outside of the top 100.

Felix Auger Aliassime deserves to be favourite, but the two hard court matches between the players have both been dominated by the server.

In those, Auger Aliassime has held 97% of service games played and Lehecka is at 92% and you have to feel that this is going to be a match where both should be able to roll through service games.

These two players have had to play seven sets on the hard courts against one another and four of those have needed a Tie-Breaker to determine the outcome.

It certainly looks overpriced to have at least one Breaker in this Quarter Final with the serving prowess that both possess and that looks the right play.

Andrey Rublev - 3.5 games v Arthur Rinderknech: He has always been a comfortable performer on the hard courts, but Andrey Rublev had a dip in form in 2025. With that in mind, Andrey Rublev will be much happier with the way things have begun in 2026 and he will make a big move back towards the top ten in the World Rankings if he can win the title in Dubai.

He has twice reached the Semi Final in hard court events this season and Andrey Rublev is looking to at least match that run by coming through this Quarter Final and backing up the run in Doha.

Holding serve in 89% of service games and backing that up with Breaks in 25% of return games will make Andrey Rublev tough to beat and he gave Carlos Alcaraz something to think about in coming up short last week.

In two wins this week, Andrey Rublev has yet to drop serve, but he has perhaps not been as composed when the Break Points have come his way. Five Breaks have been secured in two wins, but Andrey Rublev has needed 25 Break Points to do that and he will need to be a little more efficient against a server like Arthur Rinderknech.

The World Number 31 did win a match at the United Cup, but he had lost early in Melbourne, Rotterdam and Doha and wins over two players who were Ranked 200 or lower in the Davis Cup would not have given Arthur Rinderknech much confidence. That makes the two wins here in Dubai will have been a boost, especially the victory over Jack Draper who is Ranked considerably higher than the Frenchman.

Arthur Rinderknech has dropped a set in both wins this week, but his serve is still a big weapon with 89% of games ending in holds.

He has offered little in the returning department, but has made use of the moments when Rinderknech has found a way into those returning games here in Dubai.

It may be more difficult to do that against Andrey Rublev who has won all three previous matches against Arthur Rinderknech and all of those have been on the hard courts.

The lower Ranked player has not only struggled for consistency on the return, but Arthur Rinderknech has allowed Andrey Rublev to Break in 30% of return games played against him.

In the 2024 US Open, Arthur Rinderknech will have felt he should have beaten Andrey Rublev having moved two sets ahead, but the current form suggests this one should be a match that the World Number 18 can eventually control and cover the handicap set.

MY PICKS: Daniil Medvedev - 4.5 Games @ 2.00 Bet Victor (1 Unit)

Felix Auger Aliassime-Jiri Lehecka Over 0.5 Tie-Breakers @ 1.91 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Andrey Rublev - 3.5 Games @ 1.85 William Hill (1 Unit)

Weekly Update: 4-1, + 2.53 Units (5 Units Staked, + 50.60% Yield)

Tennis Picks 2026 (Wednesday 25th February)

Last week was a tough one for the Tennis Picks and that has dented some of the early numbers, which have been updated below.

At least Tuesday proved to be a decent start to the next set of tournaments to be completed before the entire Tour moves to Indian Wells.

The opening selections on Wednesday are from the ATP Dubai event, but any additions from the other ATP 500 event in Acapulco will be added to this thread.

Daniil Medvedev - 4.5 games v Stan Wawrinka: A crushing win in the First Round has moved Daniil Medvedev into a match with a veteran having one last hurrah on the Tour.

As far as we know, Stan Wawrinka is going to be retiring at the end of the 2026 season, even if some are speculating that he may choose to play on if he can maintain the current levels being produced. He has been able to rejoin the top 100 of the World Rankings and Wawrinka had little issue in coming through his own First Round match, although the level of opponent picks up considerably on Wednesday.

The older player has been relying very much on the strong serving to put himself in a position to win matches, but Stan Wawrinka has found it very difficult on the return. That has led to plenty of defeats in 2026, but he is outperforming expectation levels and Stan Wawrinka has a 2-3 record on the hard courts when only considering matches played against top 100 Ranked opponents.

Daniil Medvedev has been struggling to back up his own serve as effectively as he will need if he is going to win big titles, but there has been little wrong with the return.

In the First Round, Medvedev broken the Juncheng Shang serve four times and ended up producing a comfortable win over Stan Wawrinka when these two last faced one another on the Tour in Rotterdam in February 2025.

The line is a dangerous one if Stan Wawrinka continues to serve as well as he has been in the opening weeks of the season.

However, you do have to feel that Daniil Medvedev can force his way into enough rallies to eventually create the Break Points needed to have a chance of covering and he can wear down the veteran over the course of a couple of hours on the court in Dubai.

Karen Khachanov - 2.5 games v Jenson Brooksby: It has been a difficult start to 2026 for Jenson Brooksby who had suffered opening Round defeats in Melbourne, Dallas and Doha. Prior to the arrival in Dubai, Brooksby had only earned a single win on the Tour in 2026 and that was against an opponent Ranked way outside the top 500.

It makes his First Round win in this tournament feel really important and especially as it came against an in-form Zizou Bergs.

Now the American has to face another player who is producing some confident tennis when taking on Karen Khachanov- last week Khachanov reached the Doha Quarter Final before losing in a tough battle against Carlos Alcaraz. Karen Khachanov has to be really happy about his run in Doha and the World Number 16 has been playing with more confidence compared with his opponent.

Holding onto 89% of his service games will always give Karen Khachanov a chance to win matches.

You may not always see Karen Khachanov as a really strong return player, but his numbers on the hard courts have tended to be solid enough. We have not seen him find the consistency on the return in 2026 compared with the numbers he has produced in recent years, but Khachanov may feel he can put plenty of pressure on Jenson Brooksby and his 78% service games held mark.

Two previous matches on the hard courts have ended with each of these players winning once- the most recent of those have been won by Karen Khachanov in Cincinnati last summer as the Tour continued building up towards the final Grand Slam of the season.

Prior to that, Jenson Brooksby beat Khachanov in Indian Wells, but that was back in 2022 and it is the higher Ranked player who looks to be putting together enough quality tennis to frank the victory earned on the hard courts several months ago.

Tallon Griekspoor-Alexander Bublik over 0.5 Tie-Breakers: This is going to be the fifth time that these two opponents are meeting on the Tour and it is Alexander Bublik who has won all of the previous four.

All of those wins have been on the hard courts with the most recent being right here in Dubai two years ago and Alexander Bublik looks to be playing with a lot more joy and confidence on the hard courts.

That has seen him open 2026 with a 12-3 record on a surface that Bublik has openly disparaged, and he has been really dominant behind serve with 88% of service games ending holds. This has been the important part of the wins that have been produced, but Bublik still needs to find some improvement on the return of serve with just 18% of return games ending with a Break.

He will know what to expect from Tallon Griekspoor, although Bublik will have to respect the fact that the World Number 25 looks to have fully come out of a slump in form to open the season.

Tallon Griekspoor lost his first four matches this year, including his opening match at the Australian Open, but he has reached a couple of Quarter Finals on the hard courts of Montpellier and Rotterdam. Those are indoor hard court events, but Griekspoor is going to hope he can continue to find some rhythm on the serve with the full knowledge that his return has not been good enough or consistent enough on the hard courts.

In 2026, Griekspoor has only broken in 10% of return games played and you have to believe that the serve is going to be extremely important for both players.

In the previous four matches, Tallon Griekspoor and Alexander Bublik have competed in nine sets- six of those have needed Tie-Breakers, including both played here in Dubai a couple of years ago and they may need at least one in this Second Round match.

MY PICKS: Daniil Medvedev - 4.5 Games @ 2.10 Bet Victor (1 Unit)

Karen Khachanov - 2.5 Games @ 1.85 William Hill (1 Unit)

Tallon Griekspoor-Alexander Bublik Over 0.5 Tie-Breakers @ 1.80 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Weekly Update: 2-0, + 1.63 Units (2 Units Staked, + 81.50% Yield)

Season 2026: 54-44, + 9.96 Units (164 Units Staked, + 6.07% Yield)

Tennis Picks 2026 (Tuesday 24th February)

The Tennis Tour continues this week with the ATP 500 events being the big tournaments to be played, while the WTA Tour turns its attentions to the upcoming Indian Wells Masters.

The majority of the top names will be finally earning some rest after the controversial swing through the Middle East, and the same will apply in the main for the top names on the ATP Tour. None of these events are mandatory for the latter, while that is not the case for those on the WTA Tour and that is something that will need to be addressed.

On Tuesday, any selections from the ATP Acapulco event will be added to this thread and the season total will also be updated.

Daniil Medvedev - 4.5 games v Juncheng Shang: This is the second time during the Middle East swing that these two players are facing off and Daniil Medvedev is expected to frank his win over Juncheng Shang.

The Australian Open run ended very disappointingly and Medvedev has struggled for some consistency since then.

He has now lost three of the last four matches played, but the exception is the win over Juncheng Shang in Doha and Daniil Medvedev is still playing at a level that should be too good for the World Number 262.

Injuries have contributed to that World Ranking mark for a 21 year old who was as high as World Number 47 less than eighteen months ago. Juncheng Shang has a 3-3 record on the hard courts at the start of the 2026 season, but the losses have all been pretty comfortable and that means the numbers being produced are not very impressive.

Juncheng Shang does have a serve that can cause problems, but he has only been breaking in 14% of return games played, which has put pressure to serve well. He was not able to impose that shot on Daniil Medvedev in Doha with the second serve in particular being a shot that was attacked by the higher Ranked player and that saw Shang broken three times.

The Daniil Medvedev serve is not as potent a weapon as you would expect for a former Grand Slam Champion, but the World Number 11 has long been someone who can rattle opponents with his return of serve. This year Medvedev has been breaking in 31% of return games played and he will have learned plenty about the opponent when beating him pretty convincingly in Doha.

It may not be quite as wide as that win last week, but Daniil Medvedev can be backed to cover the same line that was presented to him in the other tournament taking place on this Middle East swing.

Jakub Mensik-Hubert Hurkacz over 0.5 Tie-Breakers: When they met at the Australian Open in January 2024, Jakub Mensik was an 18 year old trying to make an impact on the Tour, while Hubert Hurkacz was a top ten Ranked player.

The match lasted five sets before Hurkacz was able to pull through and the big Pole earned another win over Jakub Mensik last year on the clay courts of Rome.

That time it was Jakub Mensik who was Ranked higher than Hubert Hurkacz, but a bigger gap has developed between the players ahead of this latest match up in Dubai.

Only ten places separated them in May 2025, but now Mensik is on the edge of cracking the top ten of the World Rankings, while Hubert Hurkacz has slipped out of the top 50 as injuries and a loss of form have become contributing factors.

Hubert Hurkacz won four matches at the United Cup in the build up to the Australian Open, but has lost every match played since winning a First Round contest in Melbourne. The serve continues to be a huge weapon, but Hurkacz has been struggling on the return and that has led to a number of disappointing results at tournaments that have been played.

Jakub Mensik had been playing well in Melbourne, but was forced to give Novak Djokovic a walkover as he was not fit enough to take his place on the court. That has been one of the disappointing aspects of his career so far with injuries needing to be overcome, but Mensik has shown plenty of mental resolve and he bounced back to reach the Semi Final in Doha last week.

He has already won a title on the hard courts and Jakub Mensik will be confident enough in his serve, even if the numbers are a little below expectations- he has won 65% of service points played, but that has only led to 81% of service holds as he has perhaps struggled to win the big points.

However, the likelihood is that Mensik is not going to be facing a lot of Break Points in this one as long as he serves as he has been, while his own return is not expected to have the same impact against a server as effective as his opponent.

The younger player should eventually prevail, but it could be similar to the Doha Semi Final where you have to believe the servers can do just enough to force at least one Tie-Breaker.

In the two previous matches which have had eight sets played, three have needed Tie-Breakers and Jakub Mensik was not broken in the match on a clay court last year. In that one he took one Break Point, but a faster surface should suit both when it comes to the serving power and it would be a surprise if at least one of the sets is not decided by a first to seven point situation.

MY PICKS: Daniil Medvedev - 4.5 Games @ 2.10 Bet Fred (1 Unit)

Jakub Mensik-Hubert Hurkacz Over 0.5 Tie-Breakers @ 1.53 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Tennis Picks 2026 (Friday 20th February)

The week has been a difficult one and the fine margins have just leaned the wrong way on one too many selections.

Some of the matches barely missed entering the criteria, which was a shame, but there are still a couple of days to round out the week before we put this one into the books.

Next week is going to be a quieter week all round with the WTA Tour moving into a couple of 250 events as attention turns to Indian Wells, which begins the following week.

Of course the WTA 1000 title in Dubai has to be handed out before that, while the ATP Tour will have big events in Dubai and Acapulco at the 500 level.

Once again the attention has to remain on the present and any selections from the ATP tournaments in Rio and Delray Beach will be added to this thread when the weekly totals will also be updated.

Jessica Pegula - 2.5 games v Amanda Anisimova: The WTA 1000 tournament in Dubai is down to the final four and there will be at least one American in the Final on Saturday.

Both of these players came through testing Quarter Final matches, but you do have to believe that Amanda Anisimove invested a lot more emotional energy in her battling win over Mirra Andreeva.

Not only did she come from a set behind, but it looked like Anisimova's run in the Middle East was drawing to a close when she fell 6-5 behind in the final set, but a break of serve and then coming through the Tie-Breaker has kept the dream alive of winning another title in this part of the world. Last year Amanda Anisimova won the title in Doha, and beating the defending Champion in Dubai has to have filled her with confidence.

Spending over two and a half hours on the court and putting herself through the mental and physical wringer could be a factor in this Semi Final, while Amanda Anisimova is also going to be trying to get the better of compatriot Jessica Pagula for the first time.

These players met at the Australian Open and Jessica Pegula was the better player on the day and she did get to play earlier in the day on Thursday when coming through in three sets against Clara Tauson.

It was a very tough match in the Quarter Final and Jessica Pegula has to be given credit for holding herself together at key times during that match. Getting through has maintained a strong start to the season and Jessica Pegula should be well rested having decided to skip Doha last week.

The serve is going to be a big weapon for both players, but it is Jessica Pegula who has just been producing at a slightly higher level compared with Amanda Anisimova. There isn't much between them, but Pegula is the player that is likely going to have the majority of the Break Points and having a bit more energy without a day break between matches should be in her favour.

At some point you would imagine Amanda Anisimova will begin to turn the tables on her older compatriot, but that may not be ready to begin on Friday in this big Semi Final.

Arthur Fils-Jakub Mensik over 0.5 tie-breakers: The ATP Doha Semi Finals do feature Carlos Alcaraz, but Jannik Sinner was beaten in the Quarter Final by Jakub Mensik who will now be under some pressure to back that up.

Last year Mensik was able to do that when winning the Miami Masters having beaten five players Ranked Number 21 or higher.

One of those wins was against Arthur Fils, who is the Semi Final opponent on Friday.

The Frenchman missed the opening month of the season, but has looked in solid form so far in Doha where the conditions make his serve dangerous.

The same can be said for the Jakub Mensik serve and that was an important weapon for him in the upset over Jannik Sinner.

You have to believe both are capable of putting the other under pressure behind the serve and both Arthur Fils and Jakub Mensik have needed at least one Tie-Breaker to be played in two of the three wins put together in Doha.

Arthur Fils has held 88% of service games played and has won 66% of service points played, which makes it tough for opponents.

Jakub Mensik has 89% and 69% marks in both of those categories and the sole match on the main Tour last year in Miami needed a first set Breaker to separate the two players.

MY PICKS: Jessica Pegula - 2.5 Games @ 1.91 Bet Victor (1 Unit)

Arthur Fils-Jakub Mensik Over 0.5 Tie Breakers @ 1.83 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Tennis Picks 2026 (Wednesday 18th February)

A tough day in the office has to be set aside in what has been a difficult week with two poor days out of three.

That is a disappointment and it did feel like some meat was left on the table with a couple of selections not quite making the grade, but ultimately coming in as winners.

However, the last thirteen months have produced a positive return and that means 'trusting the process' rather than worrying about what may have been.

The opening Picks on Wednesday are concentrating on the Third Round matches in Dubai- the Second Round matches in Doha look awkward with some big spreads set, but not big enough to want to trust the underdog either.

Any selections from the ATP tournaments in Delray Beach or Rio will be added to this thread.

Amanda Anisimova - 4.5 games v Janice Tjen: There are going to be questions about the WTA Tour calendar when scheduling consecutive 1000 events on back to back weeks in the Middle East. While the tournament in Doha largely went as planned, there have been a huge number of withdrawals and mid-match retirements here in Dubai as we only get into the Third Round.

Something will have to change, although neither Doha nor Dubai are going to want to hear that the tournaments they run are being downgraded- both are ATP 500 events rather WTA 1000, but even that may not be enough to appease them and a new Council will come together and see how they can help.

Amanda Anisimova has been one of the beneficiaries of a walkover in the Second Round, which means she has only played one match since the Australian Open. Even that match ended with a mid-match retirement when Anisimova had to pull out with an illness, but she has stated she is feeling better and a couple more days of recovery can only help.

This is an important week for Amanda Anisimova who won the title in Doha last year, but who was not able to defend those World Ranking Points last week.

There is some room for improvement in the early season form, but Anisimova is very comfortable on the hard courts and she can get the better of Janice Tjen.

The 23 year old enters the tournament in Dubai under a new career-high World Ranking of Number 46 and this season offers Janice Tjen a big opportunity to really build on that mark. Improving the World Ranking means being able to enter bigger tournaments and Janice Tjen showed how comfortable she is on the hard courts with a huge amount of wins on the surface in 2025.

Of course it should be noted that those were against players of a lower level than what she will be facing at the tournaments she will now be entering and a 5-4 record over the last six weeks suggests this is something of a learning curve. Janice Tjen has won two matches here, which will help the confidence, but she has yet to really get to grips with the return of serve at this level.

The Indonesian player has struggled against the very best players on the Tour and that has led to two straight-forward losses to top 20 Ranked opponents. In those two losses, Janice Tjen has not only struggled to protect the second serve, but she has won just 23% of return points played and someone like Amanda Anisimova can put her under enough pressure to pick up the Breaks of serve needed to cover this spread.

Mirra Andreeva - 5.5 games v Jaqueline Cristian: Another player who earned a walkover in the Second Round in Dubai is the defending Champion Mirra Andreeva.

She had a dominant run here in 2025 and Mirra Andreeva just reached the Doha Third Round, but there will be some pressure to get as close as possible to defend the title and the Ranking Points. That may not be a big issue for older players, but Mirra Andreeva is still developing and will not want to slip out of the top eight of the World Rankings ahead of the Grand Slams to be played.

The lack of competitive tennis this week may be a potential problem, but Andreeva should be happy enough with the conditions having had so much success at the tournament already.

There has been a lot to like about the level being produced early in 2026 and Mirra Andreeva has a 20-6 record on the hard courts when facing players Ranked outside of the top 20 over the last twelve months. She has won over 49% of the return points played in those matches and the World Number 7 will certainly feel she can put this opponent under some extreme pressure.

Jaqueline Cristian won the first set of her Second Round match without dropping a game before her opponent decided to call it a day.

That means the World Number 39 has played three completed sets in Dubai on her way to the Third Round and Cristian has only dropped two games. However, both of those matches have been against opponents Ranked Number 69 or lower and this is a considerable step upwards for a player who had a 5-5 record on the hard courts before the tournament in Dubai begun.

The year started with a run to the Quarter Final in Adelaide, but it has been tough for Jaqueline Cristian since then with early losses becoming the norm before this event.

Over the last twelve months Jaqueline Cristian has played well on the hard courts, but she is just 1-8 when facing top 20 Ranked players on the surface. In those matches, Cristian has been put under significant pressure when serving, and she has struggled to really make a big impact on the return, which is going to be something that Mirra Andreeva looks to exploit in this Third Round match.

It should be noted that in those eight losses against top 20 Ranked opponents, Jaqueline Cristian would have won enough games to stay within this spread four times.

However that also means she has failed to cover in the other half of those defeats and Mirra Andreeva has covered this spread in seventeen of the twenty hard courts wins produced against players Ranked outside the top 20.

Coco Gauff - 3.5 games v Elise Mertens: A really disappointing performance in the Australian Open Quarter Final loss to Elina Svitolina saw Coco Gauff's anger on display when cameras caught her backstage smashing her racquet. She stated in her press conference that she did not want her frustration to be shown to those who look up to her and that was the reason she waited until she had left the court, while other players have not been happy with what they feel was too much intrusion at that opening Grand Slam.

An early defeat in Doha has just kept Coco Gauff out of the headlines, but she showed some character to come through some sticky moments in beating Anna Kalinskaya in the Second Round here.

Despite her own early exit in Doha, Coco Gauff was restored to the American Number 1 spot on the WTA Tour and she will certainly be looking to build on the solid win over Kalinskaya.

Next up is a match against a reinvigorated Elise Mertens who has won all four sets in Dubai by the same 6-2 scoreline as she has cruised through the draw.

Three wins at the United Cup and a run to the Fourth Round at the Australian Open have given the Belgian some real confidence and there is no denying that the overall numbers have been impressive.

It is the first serve in particular that has been a big weapon for Elise Mertens and she will need plenty of those to try and keep the American opponent under some pressure.

Elise Mertens has also won a couple of matches against top 20 Ranked opponents on the hard courts this season, which is a big improvement on the 0-5 record against those players in 2025. The second serve has been a weakness in those matches, although Mertens may have more success against the Coco Gauff serve than she has had in the main against those higher Ranked players.

Double Faults have been the big problem for Coco Gauff for some time and that was the case in the Second Round win.

She cannot afford to give away too many points to Elise Mertens, but Coco Gauff will take confidence from the perfect 4-0 record that she has against the World Number 22 on the Tour.

Two of those wins have been on the hard courts, although Coco Gauff and Elise Mertens have not met for a couple of years and that may help the underdog from a mental point of view.

Even with that in mind, Coco Gauff may still find herself coming out on top at key moments and she can do enough to get through to the Quarter Final with a cover of the handicap set for the match.

MY PICKS: Amanda Anisimova - 4.5 Games @ 1.61 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Mirra Andreeva - 5.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Coco Gauff - 3.5 Games @ 1.91 William Hill (1 Unit)

Alejandro Tabilo - 2.5 Games @ 1.85 Bet Victor (1 Unit)

Weekly Update: 4-6, - 2.49 Units (10 Units Staked, - 24.90% Yield)

Tennis Picks 2026 (Tuesday 17th February)

After the disappointing opening to the week, Monday proved to be a bounce back day, although there is more work to do in order to get the totals back into a position that we want to see.

There is some momentum from the Monday performance, but it is early in the week and we will need some fortune, which has perhaps been missing in the last couple of weeks.

Any selections from the ATP 500 tournament in Rio and the ATP 250 tournament in Delray Beach will be added to this thread with both of those events really getting going after the usual quiet opening day.

Marton Fucsovics - 4.5 games v Hady Habib: The swing through the Middle East is an opportunity for one or two players to pick up Wild Cards and try and use those to build up Ranking Points that can see them earn direct entry into other events on the Tour. In most cases those Wild Cards will be handed out to bigger names who may need them, but there are a couple of beneficiaries in Doha who perhaps are fortunate to be given this opportunity.

One of those is World Number 334 Hady Habib who at 27 years old reached his career best World Ranking mark of 159 last May.

Twelve months ago he received Wild Cards into both the tournaments in Doha and Dubai, but Hady Habib was beaten in opening matches each time.

Credit has to be given to the player for trying to bust his way through on the Tour, but Qualifying has proven too difficult at the bigger tournaments and Hady Habib has lost all three matches played on the hard courts in 2026 without winning a set. The real concern is that in five of the six sets he has dropped, Habib has failed to win more than three games and he has not faced anyone Ranked higher than World Number 143 in that time either.

The serve has been vulnerable in those early matches and Hady Habib has struggled to have any kind of real impact on the return.

Over the last twelve months on the Tour, the Lebanese player has put together a 3-14 record on the hard courts and he is 0-5 in matches against top 100 Ranked opponents. In those matches against the stronger players on the Tour, Hady Habib has struggled to make an impact with his serve, which has only increased the pressure on the return and it may be tough for him to compete with a veteran in the First Round here in Doha.

Marton Fucsovics suffered a really disappointing defeat in Rotterdam, but he was guilty of playing the Break Points poorly in that match.

The 34 year old has not served as well as he would have liked through the opening six weeks of the season, but Fucsovics continues to cause problems with his return. He is a comfortable player on the ground and over the last twelve months Marton Fucsovics has a winning record when facing opponents Ranked outside the top 50 of the World Rankings, while putting some strong numbers on the board.

This is not a player who is adverse to an upset, but Marton Fucsovics has won six of the ten matches played on the hard courts over the last twelve months when he has been the higher Ranked player going into the match.

He has held 88% of his service games played in the Tour matches, which do not include the two Davis Cup matches that were played under those conditions, while Marton Fucsovics has broken in 38% of return games.

As long as he is focused, you have to imagine the quality of tennis will find a way to shine through and Fucsovics can get the better of this awkward line in this best of three set First Round match in Doha.

Stefanos Tsitsipas - 4.5 games v Moez Echargui: The first thing that has to be stated is that Stefanos Tsitsipas is not an easy player to trust when it comes to a spread that could need as many as three Breaks of serve to have any chance of earning a cover.

However, he is facing a Wild Card in the First Round and an opponent who has not had a lot of experience facing players at the very top of the Tour.

Moez Echargui is the World Number 139 and the 33 year old was a few places higher in December, which is the career best mark.

Suffice to say, Echargui has to find some considerable levels to get the better of Stefanos Tsitisipas.

Over the last twelve months, Moez Echargui has put up plenty of wins on the hard courts, but those have been below the main Tour and against players of similar Ranking or lower. That is far from the case when playing in the ATP 500 event in Doha and Moez Echargui lost both matches against top 100 Ranked opponents pretty comfortably in that time period.

Even throughout his career, Echargui is 0-4 against top 100 Ranked opponents on the surface and his serve has been a huge issue for him, which is something that even a limited return player like Stefanos Tsitsipas should be able to exploit against a player who is considerably below the level he is normally used to facing.

However, one of the big disappointments for Stefanos Tsitsipas is that he is only 7-7 when facing players Ranked outside the top 50 on the hard courts over the last twelve months. That record becomes much better when only noting the matches against players Ranked outside the top 100, where Tsitsipas is 5-0, although the hope for the underdog in this one is that those wins have not always been as convincing as they perhaps should have been.

Even then, the World Number 33 is expected to be a little too good as long as he remains focused.

He should be afforded enough Break Points to get into a position to cover this mark and Stefanos Tsitsipas is not expected to have slipped so much that Moez Echargui can make this competitive for more than a set.

Ugo Humbert - 1.5 games v Fabian Marozsan: While it should be noted that the travel time from Rotterdam to Doha is not exactly excessive, it is tough for players to back up big weeks as we have seen time and time again on the Tennis Tour.

That is what Ugo Humbert will be attempting to do having reached the Semi Final in Rotterdam on Saturday before being very unfortunate in losing to Alex De Minaur. His performances have to offer some encouragement and Humbert has a game that is well suited to the hard courts, while the Frenchman will feel very unlucky to have faced a top ten Ranked opponent in the First Round at the Australian Open, despite only being four places out from being Seeded himself.

Ugo Humbert is the World Number 36 and will be looking for a couple of strong runs over the next month, which could push him into a Seeding position for his home Grand Slam in Paris.

There is very little to defend in terms of Ranking Points, but this is not an easy First Round match and Ugo Humbert is going to have to serve well.

He is going in against Fabian Marozsan who is just finding it tough to build up the consistency to really take a leap in the World Rankings.

The Hungarian almost beat Daniil Medvedev at the Australian Open, but capitulated in the five set defeat, while Fabian Marozsan has not played a hard court match since the tournament in Melbourne. He has been in action in the Davis Cup, albeit on a clay court, but Fabian Marozsan will not be lacking confidence considering how he performed through the opening month of the season.

In recent years, Fabian Marozsan has been an inconsistent player on the hard court, which is underlined by the fact he has a 0.500 record on the surface between 2023 and 2025. This year he has begun with a 5-3 record thanks to a strong run in Auckland, but Marozsan is not as effective a server as someone like Ugo Humbert and that could make the difference in what have been quick conditions in the Middle East.

Both have some limitations on the return and that is where the superior serving that Ugo Humbert can produce should make the difference in the outcome.

Fabian Marozsan did win the most recent match up between the players on a clay court in 2025, but Ugo Humbert has won the sole previous hard court match and can get the better of this opponent again.

Elina Svitolina - 3.5 games v Paula Badosa: Injury has been one of the biggest issues for Paula Badosa after cracking through on the Tour and reaching World Number 2 in 2022.

She has entered the WTA 1000 event in Dubai as the World Number 70 and that is because Paula Badosa has not been able to get herself healthy to defend the Ranking Points she had been producing.

Much of the second half of the season was missed, which meant Badosa lost the Ranking Points she had produced by winning titles and reaching the business end at a number of the North American hard court events leading into the US Open and then into the Asian Swing. Paula Badosa reached the Australian Open Semi Final thirteen months ago, but was beaten in the Second Round at the 2026 tournament, while she has to reach the Fourth Round in Dubai to match the run put together here in 2025.

At full health there is no doubting how good Paula Badosa can be on the hard courts- she has a solid first serve and the heavy, aggressive groundstrokes had propelled her up the World Rankings.

However, it has been very difficult finding her rhythm on the return from injury and the numbers over the last six weeks have been disappointing, which leaves Paula Badosa vulnerable in this Second Round match.

A solid First Round win has to give Badosa confidence, but she may need to find another level to compete with Elina Svitolina, even after the latter had a poor showing in Doha last week.

That was the first tournament played since Elina Svitolina reached the Australian Open Semi Final and Elina Svitolina will be looking for a much more impactful run before heading to the United States for the big events coming up.

Out of the two players, Paula Badosa will still feel her first serve is the big weapon, although Svitolina will look at her second serve and return numbers as being a key for herself. If she gets enough looks at the second serve, the World Number 9 has to be given the edge, while the mental advantage is with Elina Svitolina having won both previous matches against Badosa.

When they met on the hard courts in a Billie Jean King Cup match on the hard courts in September, Elina Svitolina created more than double the number of Break Points compared with Paula Badosa.

She also won 10% more points behind serve, and you have to believe the veteran can find a way to cover this spread set as the Second Round is played in Dubai.

Emma Navarro v Elise Mertens: There are a lot of games scheduled to be completed in Dubai as the Third Round is set for Wednesday.

That does not mean there are lot of great options and the second selection from the order of play on Tuesday is once again getting behind Emma Navarro.

The American produced a winner for the pages on Monday and it was stated at that time that it felt like Emma Navarro was turning a corner after what has been a difficult six months. The dip in confidence has meant losing tight matches rather than coming out on top, but the couple of wins in Doha will have sparked something and Emma Navarro was solid, if unspectacular, in her First Round win.

She will need to be a little better if she is going to beat Elise Mertens, but two previous wins on the Tour should give Navarro some further belief.

Those matches were both on the hard courts, but they were played early in the 2024 season, including one win in Doha.

It turned out to be something of a down season for Elise Mertens on the hard courts, but the now 30 year old Belgian player has opened 2026 in decent form.

The numbers have been solid, although Elise Mertens has taken advantage of the draw at times and that is underlined by the big dip in those numbers when only considering matches against top 100 Ranked opponents. In those matches, Mertens has not been nearly as dominant behind the serve, while her return game has not been quite as effective either and that is something that Emma Navarro can exploit.

Despite her record against top 100 Ranked opponents so far in 2026, Emma Navarro has produced numbers that will turn the results around.

With her head to head with Elise Mertens and the slightly stronger consistency around the serve, Emma Navarro may be worthy of backing as a slight underdog on Tuesday.

MY PICKS: Marton Fucsovics - 4.5 Games @ 1.91 William Hill (1 Unit)

Stefanos Tsitsipas - 4.5 Games @ 1.80 William Hill (1 Unit)

Ugo Humbert - 1.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Elina Svitolina - 3.5 Games @ 1.87 Bet Victor (1 Unit)

Emma Navarro @ 2.20 William Hill (1 Unit)

Weekly Update: 3-3, - 0.40 Units (6 Units Staked, - 6.67% Yield)

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)