GSTAAD NEWS & NOTES
*Cabral-Miedler took home the titles last year as the top seeds with a 6-7(4), 7-6(4), 10-3 win over (3)Jebens-Olivetti. Cabral-Miedler were 1.63 (-158) favorites. It was the second straight year in Gstaad that the championship match went to a super tie break with the last one coming back in 2017 prior to that. 2025 was also the second consecutive season a seed won after three straight from 2021-2023 saw an unseeded pair take the titles.
*Last year’s final was the fifth super tie break out of the 15 completed matches. The other four instances came in round one with only one involving a seeded pair. That number was down from seven in 2024. That was also the lowest number since 2019. 2021-2024 each saw at least six super tie break matches. If you’re looking for a round with the most instances, check out round one. There have been at least four STBs in four of the last five runs in Gstaad.
*Underdogs did not find much joy last year here with only three dog hits, the lowest total since 2019. Two of them did hit at 3.00 (+200) or better though with one in round one at 3.51 (+251) and the other at 3.09 (+209) when (2)Schnaitter-Wallner lost. Most years prior to 2024, there were four or five underdog wins consistently with the majority of them coming in the opening round.
*Now don’t get the lack of underdog wins twisted as matching up to unseeded pairs not doing much. They still made up half the semifinal field in 2025. From 2021-2024, there had been at least one unseeded pair in the final with three unseeded champions during that stretch. It also very much pays to look at any Swiss-led pairs in this regard with four of the last six runs of the Swiss Open seeing an all-Swiss unseeded pair in the semifinals.
*As the calendar turns from grass to this awkward few weeks of clay before the North American hard court swing, it’s an interesting combination of entries. One half of last year’s champions is back with a different partner as Miedler teams with Wimbledon mixed doubles runner-up Marc Polmans to form the top seeded pair in Gstaad. The other three seeds are semi-regular or regular pairings we’ve seen with Schnaitter-Wallner, Halys-Hebert and Nouza-Oberleitner rounding out that group. There are also a couple of all-Swiss pairs I will touch on in the Unseeded Menaces section, but one of the big draws for me this week is seeing Stan Wawrinka play this tournament for the final time AND being in the doubles draw! It’s rare to see the Stanimal play doubles and this could well be one of the last tournaments in his career where he’ll do so.
As I mentioned previously, all-Swiss pairs have made a habit of pushing into the semifinals recently in Gstaad. There are two pairs that fit that role this year with both being wildcard entries. Let’s start there first as we try to hunt down a dark horse team or two.
Kym-Wawrinka
Probably the longest shot with neither having played a doubles match in 2026 and this being their first time to team up. Kym has doubles skills for sure with a clay title at the Challenger level last year along with a runner-up finish in Canberra 2 to boot. He’s played Basel a few times as one of his very limited forways at the ATP main level and the results have been competitive with some wins. Wawrinka plays doubles for the first time since this tournament in 2025. Stan seeks his first doubles win since 2023, but that was here in Gstaad when he won the doubles titles with Dominic Stricker.
Deitrich-Stricker
Stricker is a former Gstaad doubles champ as I just mentioned, but this time around it’s another first time partner in Dylan Deitrich. This likely will be a bigger challenge with Deitrich last playing doubles in 2024 an he still has only 19 professional doubles matches to his credit. Many of those have come at the Futures level. Stricker doesn’t play a lot of doubles, but he does play the Swiss stops regularly when available. I don’t think you completely rule them out as a dark horse in this situation because we don’t know if they’ll have chemistry or not.
GIlle-Verbeek
They battle Romboli-Smith in round one who in their own right could be an unseeded menace, but they’re also traveling from the US after losing the Newport Challenger final on grass on Sunday. The quick turnaround and surface switch will be tough and clay hasn’t been kind to them (1-4). So let’s focus on Gille-Verbeek who own a win over them on clay and have gone 15-8 on dirt this year. That includes three Challenger titles. This 250 field should set them up better for success than they’ve seen in their other runs at the ATP main level in 2026 on this surface, so keep an eye on these two.
Paul-Seggerman
These two only have three tournaments together, but they are already showing good chemistry with a Challenger title on clay. They also did not look out of place at Wimbledon, losing to Harrison-Skupski 7-6, 7-6 in round two. Jakub Paul is the one to watch here as the home Swiss player with a good history here. He made the semis last year with Stricker and owns a 15-7 mark on clay in 2026.
Jebens-Vocel
They’re limited with just three matches together and all were on grass, but these are two veteran doubles guys who have looked competitive so far. Like others I talked about, the 250 field should aid their chances of being a bit of a surprise this week as even some of the seeds carry in some questions. Being in the Miedler-Polmans quarter where that pair could be boom or bust could give this pair an outside shot to advance farther than expected.
ONE AND DONE WATCH
Last year, there were no round one upsets of seeds, but that was an outlier as you can see above. Mostly over the last five runs in Gstaad, seeds have been in peril in round one. Let’s take a look at the seeds with the toughest openers this year.
(1)Miedler-Polmans
I put them here simply because we don’t know how the two will gel or if they will gel. Obviously when you look at them apart, they both have a lineage of doubles success. There’s little doubt if they have chemistry, they’re instant contenders in this draw, but that remains to be seen. They draw singles pair Collignon-Rinderknech, who have not played together. I will touch more on them in the draw preview section, but don’t sleep on those two with both having shown the ability to play very competitive doubles matches.
(2)Schnaitter-Wallner
The Germans have some good results on clay with their title run in Munich as the big one, making it from qualifying through to the titles. That said, their opening round results on clay at this level in 2026 show four wins going to a super tie break and they have been saddled with four opening round losses. They also come to Switzerland having lost their opener in three of their last four tournaments, all of which were on grass. Chandrasekar-Yuzuki are the opponents and while most of their best stuff has come on hard courts, they have pushed their last two opponents on clay to a super tie break and third set (French Open). This could be tricky.
(3)Halys-Herbert
The French pair bring a wealth of doubles experience with a French Open semifinal this year leading the way as the standout result. The question though is how will they fare outside of France? Six of their ten wins have come in France this year albeit they did have a quality result on Doha in their first tournament together in February when they made a semifinal. Still, let’s see how it goes. They draw Carou-Cerundolo who are 6-4 all-time in doubles, all on clay. One of their wins was over Schnaittner-Wallner, so they have shown the ability to beat veteran pairs.
DRAW PREVIEW
Click HERE for the doubles draw
TOP HALF
If (1)Miedler-Polmans are aligned and in rhythm, they certainly should have the run of this quarter. They get a first time pair like themselves in round one with Belgian Raphael Collignon teaming with Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech. Collignon’s doubles play has been sparse, but he did pair with Bergs in Paris to craft an upset of Gille-Verbeek in round one of the French Open. Rinderknech has more doubles experience, going 7-7 this year, but clay has been a bug-a-boo with losses in eight of this last ten matches. He’s rarely been outclassed though, so this could go to a super tie break with both pairs trying to find their rhythm. The match opposite of this pits Jebens-Vocel against Buse-Cervantes, who are 0-3 without winning a set. This should set up Jebens-Vocel to have a shot to steal the semifinal spot in this quarter no matter who they may go up against.
The second quarter is led by (3)Halys-Herbert. If these two are motivated, they’re certainly a pair that can win these titles with ease. The minor drawback here is that Halys is also in the singles draw, so there’s always that chance that this pair pulls out during the week. Carou-Cerundolo are likely to provide a decent test in round one and there’s some upset potential depending on how the French pair does outside of France. The match on the other side of the quarter seeds unseeded menace Paul-Seggerman battling Martos-Munar. The Spaniards do have some reps together, but none since 2024. That should give Paul-Seggerman the edge and I do think that pair has the goods to push through this quarter and earn a semifinal spot. Even if Halys-Herbert show up and show out, this could well be a very competitive quarter.
TOP HALF FORECAST
A lot could hinge on whether or not Miedler-Polmans have any chemistry. The top seeds have the easier set up to make a push into the semifinals although Jebens-Vocel I still think will have something to say about that. The second quarter could see some bangers before it’s all sorted out. French Open semifinalists Halys-Herbert will be the popular choice, but I really think Paul-Seggerman have a good shot here. This is a half where seeing both seeds in the semis wouldn’t be a shock and not seeing either of them in the semis would also not be a shock. Such is life at 250s, especially in this purgatory part of the calendar.
SEMIFINAL PIX: (1)Miedler-Polmans vs Paul-Seggerman
BOTTOM HALF
The third quarter kicks off with an intriguing clash with one of the Swiss wildcards, Deitrich-Stricker, taking on (4)Nouza-Oberleitner. I’m a fan of this seeded pair who have already made two clay Challenger finals, winning one, and snagged a French Open quarterfinal finish. Although Swiss pairs have had success here, this is a tough match-up for the home players. Still, I wouldn’t be surprised if this went to a super tie break. Seven of Nouza-Oberleitner’s 15 matches in 2026 have gone the distance. The winner won’t have any easier time in the quarterfinals where it’ll be Gille-Verbeek or Romboli-Smith. My guess is Gille-Verbeek who have been much better on clay than their round one foes. If it comes down to Nouza-Oberleitner and Gille-Verbeek, it will be a repeat of the Cagliari Challenger final that saw Gille-Verbeek win 10-4 in the super tie break. This should be a fun quarter to watch.
The final quarter houses (2)Schnaitter-Wallner as the seeds. The Germans will square off with Chandrasekar-Yuzuki in round one. I already touched on the potential of an upset in round one with Schnaitter-Wallner with the Germans having dropped their opener in three of their last four tournaments. Chandrasekar-Yuzuki already transitioned back to clay at the Braunschweig Challenger last week, but lost their opener in a super tie break. I think this will be a somewhat tricky first rounder to predict. As for the other match in this quadrant, all eyes will be on Stan Wawrinka as he continues his farewell tour. Playing at home, you have to give a boost to his doubles chances with Kym. They go against Demoliner-Galloway who played once back in Houston this Spring, splitting two matches there on clay. That should be a fun round one battle. Even with Wawrinka and Kym having never played, I wouldn’t put it past the Swiss pair to make that competitive and even pull of an upset.
BOTTOM HALF FORECAST
I really like Nouza-Oberleitner, but this is a significantly competitive half. They’ll definitely earn it, if they can work through to the final. Gille-Verbeek and both Swiss wildcards could have something to say in this half if it goes off the rails to an unseeded pair. I tend to think Schnaitter-Wallner are going to come up short in this half. Not because they don’t have the talent, but simply because there are a lot of pairs that seem similar to them or better in their path.
SEMIFINAL PIX: (4)Nouza-Oberleitner vs Kym-Wawrinka
250s don’t usually go the way you think they’re going to as far as seeding, so it’s always an interesting ride to get from Monday to the final in a given week. In Gstaad, there are some very good seeds like Halys-Herbert and Nouza-Oberleitner who could be the top choices any week on this surface in this kind of draw. Miedler-Polmans are certainly the X-factor. Will they gel? I also think there are certainly a couple of unseeded pairs that could make that noisy run to a final. Gille-Verbeek stand out, but also are in arguably the toughest quarter in Gstaad. My outsiders for the week are Paul-Seggerman. If nothing else, it’s another chance to salute Stan Wawrinka as he finishes out a stellar career AND playing doubles this week!
Nouza-Oberleitner
Paul-Seggerman
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