Cincinnati Open Predictions 2026: Zverev & Sabalenka Favoured

Alexander Zverev and Aryna Sabalenka are the tennis betting favourites ahead of the 2026 Cincinnati Open.

The men’s draw is missing the world’s top two players in Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, along with veteran Alexander Bublik. On the women’s side, Hailey Baptiste, Jasmine Paolini, Victoria Mboko, and Emma Raducanu are among the big names that have withdrawn from the event.

Men’s

With Sinner and Alcaraz sidelined, the men’s draw is absolutely wide open. Zverev, Alex de Minaur, Daniil Medvedev, Flavio Cobolli, and Taylor Fritz fell in the second or third round of the Canadian Open. Ben Shelton was the only top 12 seed to reach the last eight of the competition.

Fritz won in Washington and enters this event as the seventh seed. The ascendant Rafael Jódar was a finalist in the capital and has made his way to the quarters of the Canadian Open thanks to straight sets wins over Lorenzo Musetti and Jiří Lehečka.

Jódar won in Casablanca earlier this year and has repeatedly proven he must be taken seriously as a contender. Only one win against a top 10 player makes it hard to back the Spaniard to go all the way in Cincinnati, though.

A semifinalist in Miami and a quarterfinalist at Indian Wells, 22-year-old Frenchman Arthur Fils has two wins against top 10 players this year. He’s played some good tennis this year and will face Jódar in the last eight in Montreal. Don’t write him off heading into this one.

The betting favourites are fallible in Cincinnati. Anyone can win an ATP 1000 event when Sinner and Alcaraz are sitting on the sidelines, so it’s worth looking at the longer odds options when trying to identify the value. Jódar, Fils, and Fritz are names to consider.

Women’s

Sabalenka’s patchy form continued with a fourth-round defeat to Ekaterina Alexandrova in Toronto. The world number one hasn’t reached a final since Miami back in March and looks far more vulnerable than she did earlier in the year.

Jessica Pegula and Mirra Andreeva also suffered premature exits in Canada. In Washington, Pegula was a finalist, while Elina Svitolina was beaten by Alexandra Eala. Naomi Osaka, who appears to have found some form, reached the last four in Washington and has a tantalising matchup with Elena Rybakina in Toronto.

It’s hard to know what to make of Rybakina. This run in the Canadian Open suggests she’s back on track, but the big-serving 27-year-old hasn’t had a strong showing since she won in Stuttgart back in April. We know Rybakina is capable of beating anyone on her day – can she put it all together in Cincinnati?

Eala’s success in Washington should stand her in good stead. It’s not like she completely flopped in Toronto, though the defeat to Belinda Bencic was emphatic.

Sabalenka and Rybakina were in a league of their own on the hard courts earlier this season. Neither of them are in the best form heading into this one. As a result, there are at least 10 players who can realistically believe they can go all the way in Cincinnati.

Coco Gauff, for instance, is going to be in the mix. Pegula played well in Washington. Elina Svitolina has beaten Anastasia Potapova and Amanda Anisimova in Toronto.

It’s a very difficult tournament to call. Svitolina certainly represents value, and it’s worth considering Marta Kostyuk, even after a fourth-round exit at the hands of Iga Świątek in Canada.