MONTERREY NEWS & NOTES
*Bucsa/Melichar-Martinez are back to defend their Monterrey championships after taking the titles in 2025 as 2.21 (+121) underdogs. The four seeds whipped (3)Guo-Panova 6-2, 6-0 in the final. That marked the third straight season this stop in Mexico has seen an underdog win in the championship match. The straight sets finish ended a run of three consecutive super tie break finals in Monterrey.
*The underdog win in the final marked the 5th out of 14 completed matches last year at the Abierto GNP Seguros. There were two monster hits in the quarterfinals at 3.89 (+289) and 5.21 (+421) with those involving the top two seeded pairs losing. That total was up from just three dog wins in 2024, but off from the recent high of seven u-dog scores in 2023. There’s not tried and true formula to scouting these out, but do keep an eye on the one and two seeds. Only twice in the last eight years has either seed made the final with the last coming in 2024 when Olmos-Panova lost in the final. Also note that the top seed hasn’t won the titles in Monterrey since 2017.
*Super tie breaks were scarce last year with just three of the 14 matches going the distance. Two of those came in round one. 2024 had four STBs with 2023 having six super tie break finishes. There’s also no real trend to follow in hunting these down as they’ve been scattered across the rounds of late.
*Last year’s all-seeded final marked the first one since 2015, so it will pay to look at the unseeded field as we will do in just a moment. There have been multiple unseeded pairs in the semifinals each year since 2015. This year could provide more unseeded moments despite the presence of some solid seeds in defending champs Bucsa/Melichar-Martinez, Jiang-Zhang, Perez-Schuurs and first time team Danilina-Kato.
*Outside of the obvious focus on building momentum for the U.S. Open, this week in Monterrey also serves as an opportunity for some pairs to help their cause in chasing down a spot in the WTA Finals. That sticks out first and foremost with the defending champs as Bucsa/Melichar-Martinez are currently trailing the #8 spot occupied by Mihalikova-Nicholls by only 178 points. Mihalikova-Nicholls are also present in Monterrey. Perez-Schuurs also could do with a steady showing to keep themselves entrenched at #6. There’s a big gap between them and Hsieh-Ostapenko are in 7th of about 450 points. Perez-Schuurs have a big match against Aoyama-Liang in round one with Aoyama-Liang needing the win if they hope to close down on the top eight. They enter Mexico only 170 points back fof the 8th spot.
I touched on the big run of consecutive finals that involved at least one unseeded pair in Monterrey and it being the week leading into a Grand Slam, expect the unexpected. So, let’s focus on that unseeded field and duos who could do damage in this week’s draw.
Krawczyk-Olmos
Old School combo alert! These two veterans will pair for the first time since Montreal last Summer, but this will be their fourth trip to Monterrey. Krawczyk-Olmos made the final way back in 2018 and returned for quarterfinal runs in 2020 and 2021. They struggled to produce much last year in limited action (5-6), but the experience of playing this tournament and the success they’ve found in Olmos’ home country shouldn’t be ignored. In addition to their success in Monterrey, they made a final in Guadalajara in 2021, won in Acapulco in 2020 and also made that final in 2019.
Mihalikova-Nicholls
They get an edge being one of the regular pairings that isn’t seeded, yet is in a spot currently to make the WTA Finals. If you’ve read my stuff a bit, you know that I often state how hard this pair is to predict. They can middle their way through a long stretch and then bingo! They’re in a final or making a deep run. Their Summer results highlight this as they won Queen’s Club in June and then lost their opener twice on grass in their next three tournaments. They made a deep run in Montreal to the semifinals on hard courts and then had a rough draw in Cincinnati, resulting in an opening defeat to Hsieh-Ostapenko. It looks boom or bust for them again in Mexico with Kozyreva-Lumsden up first, a pair that won the titles in Memphis earlier this Summer.
Kozyreva-Lumsden
Hi! Remember us? They produced a title run in their first tournament together in Memphis earlier during this North American swing. Two of their three wins did require a super tie break, so they got on the right side of those small margins in that tournament. Will that luck continue? Mihalikova-Nicholls are a tough starter, so they could easily get saddled with a loss and be gone early. Still, the survivor of this banger in round one should do some damage in Monterrey, so they bear watching.
Kempen-Panova
There’s some danger in thinking they can repeat last week in Cincinnati that included upsets of Danilina-Krunic and Hsieh-Ostapenko. Most of the concern for me is how badly they were beat in the final by Bouzkova-Noskova: 6-1, 6-2. That could be hard to shake or maybe easy to flush? Either way, two finals in their last three tournaments together has got to put them on the list of outsiders who could be contenders.
Piter-Tjen
They get a repeat of their opening round loss to Jiang-Zhang in Cincy and that is probably going to be dangerous for the seeds after they barely outlasted this pair 10-7 in a super tie break that also involved a tie break in another set. That said, this pair also looked awful in their starter to the Summer, a 6-4, 6-0 loss to Hunter-Krawczyk in Toronto. This is also a pair that won the titles in Hobart on this surface to start 2026 and won hard court titles in Guangzhou last Fall. They can be dangerous if they survive the opening round.
ONE AND DONE WATCH
Last year was the first run in Monterrey since 2014 where at least one seed didn’t lose their opener. Traditionally, this stop has a been an early wasteland for seeds. It makes sense with focus and goals ahead of New York different for everyone. Let’s take a look at the seeds who could run into trouble early.
(2)Jiang-Zhang
Do we get a BANGER remix for this pair against Piter-Tjen this week? Last week, this new pairing outlasted Piter-Tjen in round one in Cincinnati 7-5, 6-7(2), 10-7. That scoreline suggests the unseeded pair have a shot at revenge this week. Neither was great in that match, but Jiang-Zhang did go on to get to the quarterfinals, so they may just be the better team here. Still, playing the same pair two weeks straight is usually a challenge when the first result was tight.
(3)Perez-Schuurs
Easily the harshest draw of the seeds as they face Aoyama-Liang in round one, a pair that beat the seeds in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. That said, Aoyama-Liang have not looked like the same pair on this hard court swing with losses in two of three matches. Perez-Schuurs did stumble in their opener last week in Cincinnati, just their third opening match loss in a tournament this season. This looks like a pivotal match in this quarter, so I am expecting Aoyama-Liang to show better than they have on hard courts thus far, but will it be enough?
(4)Danilina-Kato
This is a first time team-up, so it’s hard to know what to expect. What we do know is that Danilina-Krunic, one of 2026’s better pairs, struggled mightily in this swing to a 1-3 record. Without Krunic as her partner this week, Danilina will be hoping to make some noise. She’s gone 6-5 without Krunic as her partner this year with most of the best results on clay. Kato’s been popping up with new partners every week during this swing. Since winning Athens with Chan though, she’s levelled off at 4-4 through four other tournaments. They get wild cards Tang-Zarazu in round one, another pair debuting. Zarazu is a native of Mexico, but that hasn’t meant automatic success here, so this will be all about which pair flashes chemistry quicker. In those cases, you really never know how it’s going to go until they hit the court.
DRAW PREVIEW
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TOP HALFBucsa/Melichar-Martinez lead the top half as the top seeds. In their quarter, they’l play Eikeru-Gleason first-up. That pair has split four matches during this hard court swing, but looked out of sync in their last match a 6-1, 6-2 drubbing by Jiang-Zhang in Cincinatti. Bucsa-MM had a tough starter in Cincy for their first match back together since the French Open. They lost to doubles stalwarts Gabriella Dabrowski and Barbora Krejcikova in a super tie break in their opener. I’d expect to see improvement from last year’s Monterrey champs this week as they try to push back into the top eight. I think they’ll get by Eikeri-Gleason, but that is a pair that can be tough at their best. The survivors get either Kichenok-Sutjiadi, a first time pairing, or Krawczyk-Olmos who I touched on earlier. They’ve got the experience and as I pointed out, Olmos has done well in doubles with her American partner, especially at Mexican-based tournaments. They’re the ones I’d look at if Bucsa-MM don’t make it through to the semifinals.
The second quarter may well come down to who wins between Kozyreva-Lumsden and Mihalikova-Nicholls in round one. That’s because you’ve got a seed in (4)Danilina-Kato who have never paired and wildcard entries Tang-Zarazu who can say the same. Given the experience of those first two pairs, the one that advances may have the best shot to push into the final four. Can you guess if this is an up or down week for Mihalikova-Nicholls? They did well with a semifinal run here in 2025, but two of their three matches went the distance. They are the favorites here and that does make sense with Kozyreva-Lumsden shorter on experience together with just the one tournament, but winning titles on your first try as partners can do wonders for your confidence. That might be the best banger of the first round. I mean maybe Danilina-Kato gel right away and run away with this quarter, but it looks fairly wide open to me. Tang-Zarazu would definitely rank as the biggest surprises if they advanced far.
TOP HALF FORECAST
Winning here a year ago, Bucsa/Melichar-Martinez absolutely obliterated the field with four straight sets wins and half of the eight sets won seeing their opponents win two games or less. The motivation should be there for them with a top eight spot within their grasp still and a need to grab at least a few wins for confidence ahead of New York. One thing working against them is being the top seeded pair with the #1 seeds in Monterrey only making the final once since 2018 and not winning the titles since 2017. I will be surprised if Danilina-Kato get as far as the semifinals, but these prep tournaments can be wild. If it’s going to be an unseeded pair stealing a spot in the final, Krawczyk-Olmos aren’t a bad option with that pair having played here several times. Kozyreva-Lumsden or Mihalikova-Nicholls will also have something to say you’d think in this half. It just depends which one of them gets past round one.
SEMIFINAL PIX: Krawczyk-Olmos vs Kozyreva-Lumsden
BOTTOM HALF
An intriguing quarter awaits to start this half with the (3)Perez-Schuurs versus Aoyama-Liang match as a highlight in round one. I mentioned that Aoyama-Liang won on grass against the seeds at Wimbledon, but they haven’t quite found the same groove yet on hard courts. That can change quickly with a win though as they’d give themselves a shot to move up the rankings this week. For Perez-Schuurs, it’s been a consistent first year together at 24-16, solidly inside the top eight in the rankings. The one thing missing with that consistency is a title. They’ve only made one final. They’ve hovering just above .500 (11-9) on the surface, so this is probably going to be a good fight. The other first rounder will be all about bounce back-ability from Kempen-Panova after their loss in the Cincy final. They get a pair in Chwalinska-Kraus who did go 6-1 in two clay tournaments last year, so they won’t be pushovers. Still, the level shown by Kempen-Panova last week outside of the final will give them hope of another deep run. This quarter really could go to any of these pairs with Chwalinska-Kraus as the obvious outsiders.
The last quarter sees that repeat meeting between (2)Jiang-Zhang and Piter-Tjen to open. Last week in Cincy, Jiang-Zhang won that clash and wound up making it to the quarterfinals in their first tournament together. I still think it’s very difficult to beat the same pair two straight weeks when there’s not a big talent gap between these two. I might be more shocked to see Jiang-Zhang win to be honest. I like the looks of the other match in this quarter with Muhammad-Stollar continuing their partnership that began early in the Summer (May) following the dissolution of Routliffe-Muhammad. They’re just 8-8 with most of those wins on grass, but they’ve been competitive until matched up against more elite teams. They’re favored against first timers Joint-Xu, but don’t sleep on that pair. Joint in particular has been an under-the-radar doubles player this year as she routinely plays singles and doubles most weeks. She’s got a doubles title on this surface and made the Memphis final during this swing. If she jives with Xu, don’t discount that generational gap of a pairing (20/38) in making a good showing. Much like the other quarter in this half, name me one of these pairs you don’t think could get hot and make the final?
BOTTOM HALF FORECAST
This looks like an absolute free-for-all with a lot of pairs seeming fairly similar in what they have produced and what they can do. Much like the top half, I would be surprised to see more than one seed advance to a semifinal. I’d give Perez-Schuurs the slight edge simply because I don’t like that rematch for JIang-Zhang in round one. Perez-Schuurs have the rematch too, but there’s been some space between that first meeting and this one, so it’s not quite the challenge I think of facing a pair back-to-back tournaments. I really think if Aoyama-Liang are going to make a legitimate push for a top eight spot, it’s got to start this week. With Bucsa-MM right behind them in that hunt and Mihalikova-Nicholls just ahead of them, an early loss could put them further back. My dark horse in this half is Joint-Xu. They’re legit X-factors for me because they could easily fold in round one or prove to be a deadly combination and roll through to a final.
SEMIFINAL PIX: (3)Perez-Schuurs vs Joint-Xu
There is a lot to play for this week, but you can also wonder how much some pairs may push themselves with the last Grand Slam event of 2026 on the horizon. Still, this is a 500-level tournament that has implications for the WTA Finals race, so I think we’re in for some good motivation in Monterrey. Motivation and titles don’t always meet at the end of the week though, so I do still expect a fair share of surprises that this tournament has produced consistently. There are a handful or more of unseeded pairs that no doubt can win this tournament. Pin pointing which one has the best shot is tough to do, but I do think that Krawczyk-Olmos team is intriguing. And the bottom half really just about every unseeded pair carries some interest, but for me I am landing on Joint-Xu as my lead for a surprise pick if there is one to be had in that half. Of the seeds, Bucsa/Melichar-Martinez have the advantage of past success here, but also the albatross of being the top seeds which has been absolute poison here for a while. I think Perez-Schuurs are the ones to watch for seeds, but they could easily go out early too with that Aoyama-Liang rematch. It’s just going to be that boom or bust type of week for quite a few it feels like and that should make this tournament a lot of fun to watch.
Krawczyk-Olmos
Joint-Xu
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DOUBLES TOURNAMENT PREVIEWS & PICKS 