The first Grand Slam of the 2026 tennis season is only a week away, but it’s not quite time to turn our full attention to the Australian Open. Before we can do that, there are two more ATP 250 events on the schedule in Auckland and Adelaide. And even though a slam is on the immediate horizon, the player fields this coming week are strong. Among those taking the court are Ben Shelton, Casper Ruud, Jakub Mensik, Gael Monfils, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Tommy Paul, and Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Let’s break down the action in Auckland and Adelaide.
ASB Classic
Where: Auckland, New Zealand
Surface: Hard
Points: 250
Prize money: $766,290
Top seed: Ben Shelton
Defending champion: Gael Monfils
Draw analysis: Shelton leads the way as the top seed, followed by fellow first-round bye recipients Ruud, Mensik, and Luciano Darderi. It is an extremely deep draw, especially by 250-point standards. The field also includes No. 5 seed Cameron Norrie, No. 6 Alex Michelsen, defending champion Gael Monfils, 2024 winner Alejandro Tabilo, Jenson Brooksby, and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard. Even Sebastian Baez was on fire at the United Cup and will be playing with a ton of confidence.
Shelton could face either Baez or Brooksby in the quarterfinals before possibly running into Darderi or Michelsen. On the other side of the bracket, Ruud will likely face Monfils in his opening match. Menik’s first opponent will probably be Aleksandar Kovacevic, a Brisbane semifinalist. An intriguing first-round matchup pits the up-and-coming Mpetshi Perricard against veteran Roberto Bautista Agut.
Quarterfinal predictions: Ben Shelton over Jenson Brooksby, Alex Michelsen over Alejandro Tabilo, Cameron Norrie over Jakub Mensik and Casper Ruud over Nuno Borges
Semifinals: Michelsen over Shelton and Norrie over Ruud
Final: Michelsen over Norrie
Adelaide International
Where: Adelaide, Australia
Surface: Hard
Points: 250
Prize money: $766,290
Top seed: Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
2025 champion: Felix Auger-Aliassime (not playing)
Draw analysis: It’s safe to say that this title is completely up for grabs. Davidovich Fokina lost his opening match in Brisbane; Paul missed the last two months of 2025 and also lost right away in Brisbane; Francisco Cerundolo is more dangerous on clay than he is on hard courts; Tallon Griekspoor lost his opening match at eight of his final 10 tournaments last season. Those are the top four seeds in Adelaide; none inspires any confidence.
There is plenty of depth in the field, however. Tsitsipas played well at the United Cup, Tomas Machac is always dangerous albeit extremely volatile, No. 5 seed Valentin Vacherot was the tour’s breakthrough sensation last fall, and No. 6 Brandon Nakashima is currently in the Brisbane final. Adelaide’s unseeded contingent includes Sebastian Korda, Ugo Humbert, and Jaume Munar. The top quarter of the bracket is especially stacked. Korda opens against Thanasi Kokkinakis before possibly running into Vacherot in round two and Davidovich Fokina in the quarters.
Quarterfinal predictions: Sebastian Korda over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Ugo Humbert over Brandon Nakashima, Jaume Munar over James Duckworth, and Stefanos Tsitsipas over Tommy Paul
Semifinals: Korda over Humbert and Munar over Tsitsipas
Final: Korda over Munar
who ya got?
I like the predicitions but probably think Machac can beat Duckworth. I have the exact same predictions for Auckland but think Brooksby can upset Shelton. But just letting you know that this article can’t been on the main page and I only found it by pressing the news tab.
thanks. it’s up now.
Both tough but esp.Auckland. What top seed is going to want to hang around this weekend with the AO starting a day later?
None, Id say, so have to agree with Shelton and Ruud going out , also Nakashima went deep this week.
Decent enough picks, Only thing worries me about Michelson is that he has to play Giron m who in great form . Norrie too, chokes here every year, his home town.
yep, weeks before a slam are always an absolute crapshoot
Korda out already but so is my winner Tsitsi
Michelsen out
Giron would be tough for him
I saw that in my crystal ball
Proper predictions start at the weekend
Crystal ball will need put on the charger lol