The 2026 tennis season is just around the corner, starting with a busy opening week that includes the United Cup and a pair of ATP 250s in Brisbane and Hong Kong. By 250 point standards, these draws are stacked. Among the players in action are Daniil Medvedev, Grigor Dimitrov, Nick Kyrgios, Lorenzo Musetti, Alexander Bublik and Andrey Rublev.
It’s time for the first predictions for 2026.
Brisbane International
Where: Brisbane, Australia
Surface: Difficult
Points: 250
Prize money: N/A
Top seed: Daniil Medvedev
Defending champion: Jiri Lehecka
Drawing analysis: You could actually argue that Brisbane’s unseeded players are better than the seeds. That’s how deep the field is to start the year Down Under. The unseeded contingent consists of Dimitrov, Kyrgios (probably not a good tennis player these days, but will at least attract fans), Frances Tiafoe, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, Tomas Machac, Sebastian Korda and Brandon Nakashima. That doesn’t mean the guys seeded are lanky. Medvedev joins Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Tommy Paul, Jiri Lehecka, Denis Shapovalov and NextGen ATP Finals champion Learner Tien on the list.
Although Joao Fonseca has withdrawn due to a back injury, the top half of the draw still offers plenty of danger. Medvedev begins his title bid against Marton Fucsovics before potentially facing Tiafoe in the second round, Reilly Opelka in the quarterfinals and Lehecka, Tien or Korda in the semifinals. At the bottom of the rankings there are tantalizing first round matches, including Davidovich Fokina vs. Nakashima, Paul vs. Mpetshi Perricard and Dimitrov vs. Pablo Carreno Busta.
Quarter-final predictions: Daniil Medvedev on Matteo Arnaldi, Learner Tien on Jiri Lehecka, Cameron Norrie on Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina on Raphael Collignon
Semi-finals: Medvedev over Tien and Davidovich Fokina over Norrie
Final: Medvedev about Davidovich Fokina
Bank of China opened
Where: Hong Kong, China
Surface: Difficult
Points: 250
Prize money: $780,000
Top seed: Lorenzo Musetti
Defending champion: Alexandre Müller
Drawing analysis: Hong-Kong won’t make as many headlines as Brisbane, but the 28-man draw is decent. Musetti, Bublik, Rublev and Khachanov are the top four seeds with byes. A formidable unsown crop is led by Marin Cilic, Miomir Kecmanovic, Jerry Shang, Botic van de Zandschulp and Coleman Wong from Hong Kong.
With what will surely be a raucous crowd behind him, an in-form Wong has a decent chance of at least reaching the quarter-finals – at which point he would likely face Musetti. Rublev is also in the top half of the draw, along with a pair of veterans who will immediately go head-to-head in Cilic and Adrian Mannarino. Bublik, the No. 2 seed, could meet Botic van de Zandschulp in the last 16 and Khachanov or defending champion Alexandre Müller in the semifinals.
Quarter-final predictions: Lorenzo Musetti on Coleman Wong, Nuno Borges on Fabian Marozsan, Karen Khachanov on Miomir Kecmanovic and Alexander Bublik on Francisco Comesana
Semi-finals: Musetti over Borges and Khachanov over Bublik
Final: Musetti on Khachanov
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