T365 Fantasy Week 9 Predictions: Paula Badosa and Jessica Pegula backed for successs
ATP and WTA action continues with a busy week of action to end February, with five tournaments spread across three different continents.
Our writers Kevin Palmer, Shahida Jacobs, Oli Dickson Jefford and Ewan West predict their Merida, Austin, Dubai, Acapulco, and Santiago champions.
(WTA 500) Merida Open
KP: Time for another Paula Badosa WTA Tour win.
SJ: Marta Kostyuk has threatened to have a good run for a while now and hopefully she will go all the way in Mexico.
ODJ: Paula Badosa may have scar tissue from a painful defeat to Dubai but I expected the former No 2 to bounce back in Merida.
EW: Paula Badosa to win her first title of 2025 in a manageable draw.
(WTA 250) ATX Open
KP: Jessica Pegula has not been in top form, but she should overpower her rivals here.
SJ: Diana Shnaider to show that her 2024 season was no flash in the pan with her first title of the new campaign.
ODJ: One of just two top-40 players in the draw, anything other than victory would be a disappointing result for Jessica Pegula.
EW: It’s hard to look beyond the top two seeds in this draw, so I’ll back Jessica Pegula on home soil.
(ATP 500) Dubai Tennis Championships
KP: Alex de Minaur is due a big tournament win and he is in fine form right now.
SJ: Andrey Rublev has a nice draw, but it is always difficult to win back-to-back titles. Rather going with Arthur Fils.
ODJ: This is a tough one to call, but Doha champion Andrey Rublev has a good draw again here.
EW: I won’t be picking Daniil Medvedev for the third time this month. Andrey Rublev is confident and has a kind path, which may help him overcome any fatigue from his Doha run.
Tennis News
(ATP 500) Mexican Open
KP: Ben Shelton’s serve should fly in the Acapulco conditions.
SJ: Casper Ruud has a decent record in South America, winning two titles and finishing runner-up three times. I expect it to be three trophies by the end of the week.
ODJ: There could be an opening for Ben Shelton this week, though this tournament is up for grabs.
EW: Another tricky one, but I’ll triple down on Alexander Zverev — an Acapulco champion in 2021 — despite his awful draw here and disappointing results in the last two weeks.
(ATP 250) Chile Open
KP: Francisco Cerundolo should have a good chance on South American soil.
SJ: Expecting a South American winner so going with Tomas Etcheverry.
ODJ: With home favourites Alejandro Tabilo and Nicolas Jarry struggling for form, there is a big opportunity for top seed Francisco Cerundolo here.
EW: Sebastian Baez did the Rio-Santiago double last year, and I think he can pull it off again with some of the other top contenders struggling.
T365 Fantasy Game
This season, our writers are competing to see who can earn as many points as possible by predicting the champions at every ATP and WTA-level tournament.
Five points are available for a correct champion pick, with three for a runner-up, and one for a semi-finalist.
This becomes seven points for a champion, five for a runner-up, three for a semi-finalist, and one for a quarter-finalist at Grand Slams.
Last week was a tough week for Kevin, Shahida, and Ewan, with key picks such as Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka, Novak Djokovic, and Carlos Alcaraz all faltering – meaning that no points were scored.
That means that, despite missing the week, Oli remains in front for now.
Current standings
1) Oli Dickson Jefford – 50 points
2) Ewan West – 35 points
3) Shahida Jacobs – 33 points
4 Kevin Palmer – 22 points
