The ATP and WTA Tours are currently in full swing, as the women are playing a 1000-level event in Dubai and the men are competing in 500-level tournaments in Doha and Rio de Janeiro — and the field in the Delray Beach 250 also happens to be loaded. With that in mind, we have a lot to cover over the next couple of days. I’ll be writing up my tennis best bets from Monday to Friday, then I’ll post my championship picks on the VSiN Pro Picks page on Sunday. That said, keep reading for my tennis best bets for Friday, February 20.
NOTE: Gill Alexander, host of A Numbers Game, posts a bunch of tennis plays to the VSiN picks page. He does a great job handicapping tennis. That page is also where I post all of my Challenger-level picks + plays for all of the tournaments I’m not writing up daily.
Elina Svitolina vs. Coco Gauff – Dubai
Svitolina absolutely crushed Gauff in Melbourne, earning a 6-1, 6-2 victory over the American. Svitolina is having a stellar year, as she’s 14-2 and has career-high marks when looking at hold percentage (74.7%) and break percentage (44.5%). Well, that makes it hard not to like her at plus-money odds here, even if this match should be more competitive than the last one.
We’re not getting the same juicy odds on Svitolina that we got at the Australian Open, but we also have a larger sample size that paints a positive picture for the Ukrainian and a negative one for the American. I know I had Gauff to beat Alexandra Eala on Thursday, but that was a match in which we still saw some service struggles. Also, Eala couldn’t find the court with the ball. Well, if Gauff isn’t hitting her spots as a server, Svitolina will make her pay. She’s an elite returner. Also, Svitolina has the rally tolerance to hang with Gauff and wait out errors from the American’s forehand side.
Bet: Svitolina ML (+134)
Sebastian Korda vs. Casper Ruud – Delray Beach
Chak Lam Coleman Wong vs. Flavio Cobolli – Delray Beach
The Korda-Ruud match is an interesting one, as I’d normally back the American pretty heavily just looking at the spot. Seeing the world No. 50 favored over the world No. 13, with our VSiN betting splits showing significant public action on Ruud, suggests sharp bettors are pouring in money on Korda. Well, I generally do my best to align myself with those sharp bettors. However, this is a really tough one to get behind. I understand Ruud came into this tournament with a general lack of form, and he didn’t play all that well in his win over Marcos Giron. On top of that, Korda has played some dynamite tennis lately, plus he’s from Florida. However, Ruud has accomplished so much more than Korda, proving to have bigger stones in key moments and an overall higher tennis IQ. That’s why I can’t get there with Korda, who can be a little fragile between the ears.
Not only am I not taking Korda but I’m taking Ruud to win a set. I understand he was throwing his racquet in practice a few days ago, and he was super sloppy in Set 1 against Giron. However, after gutting out Set 2, I thought Ruud was pretty sharp in Set 3. That said, what if he played his way into form? I’d be genuinely shocked if Ruud can’t win at least a set here. By TennisViz’s numbers, Ruud is more efficient in attack, he’s more reliable when it comes to stealing points, and he has major advantages when looking at the forehand and backhand wings. Really, over the last 52 weeks, Korda’s serve is the only weapon that is better than Ruud’s, but I’m not sure I even view the American as the better server.
I just love Ruud to get on the board in this match, and I’m pairing it with Coleman Wong to do the same. Nobody on the ATP Tour has looked worse than Cobolli when comparing 2025 performance to 2026 performance. The Italian has been extremely sloppy, so I can’t see him winning this one in straights. The serve has been an issue, as has his lack of precision from the back of the court.
PARLAY: Ruud +1.5 Sets & Coleman Wong +1.5 Sets (+103)
Added Plays
I usually have A LOT MORE on the Pro Picks page. Those plays count towards my record and have been a big part of my success this season. Make sure you check them out. I’ll probably add a few more over there, so refresh that page throughout the day if you’re looking for action.
