The WTA Washington tournament continues its first round on Tuesday. There were some surprises on the opening day of main-draw action on Monday. Madison Keys got knocked out of the tournament by Liudmila Samsonova. Clara Tauson was a strong betting-market favorite over Elisabetta Cocciaretto but lost. What surprises will WTA Washington offer next? This is a 500-point tournament, so any player who is not in the top 30 has a lot to play for. Getting a big points boost will help many players gain direct entry to bigger, more important tournaments later in the 2026 tennis season. There is a lot on the line. LWOS has our best bets for three matches. Post your best bets and thoughts in the comments.
WTA Washington
Potapova – V. Williams: 19:30 EST
H2H: 0-0
Anastasia Potapova will meet Venus Williams for the first time in her career in Washington. The tennis legend has definitely invited discussions about whether she’s capable of competing at a professional level, as she has just nine wins since 2020. She has 38 losses during that same stretch. She’s 0-8 this year, and Potapova, even as bad as she’s been this year at times, is still 25-16 in 2026. Potapova is 5-7 on a hardcourt this year, and she’s still a monster favorite. What does that tell you about Venus, even in a tournament like Washington?
Best Bet to Make
The average odds for this match are 1.14-5.64 in favor of Potapova. Even though she’s 5-5 in her last ten matches, with a three-game losing streak entering Washington, she’s still doing better than V. Williams, who is 0-10 in her last ten matches. Oddly enough, you have to go back to this exact tournament in 2024 to find her last win, which came over Magda Frech. Even then, she was still half the underdog she is right now.
That being said, betting on Potapova -6 games is a value bet for sure.
Value bet/ the best odds: Potapova -6 games at 2.0 @10Bet
Frech – Li: 16:30 EST
H2H: 0-5
Magdalena Frech will play Ann Li for the second time in 2026, and her sixth time overall. She’s never beaten Li at any point, but three of their matches have gone to a third set. Li beat her in Doha earlier this year in the tournament’s second round. While the match was entertaining, Li won in straight sets. They’ve really only had one match that was competitive all the way through, and that was their 2022 WTA Midland round of 16 match. The first and third sets went to a tiebreak. Frech is 10-10 on a hardcourt this year; Li is just 6-9.
Best Bet to Make
When you’ve lost to someone every time you’ve played them, you’re going to find yourself the underdog in future matches, and that won’t change in Washington. Li knows that Frech is someone she can beat, and that’s going to give her a lot of confidence even though she’s not playing her best at the moment. Frech is 3-7 in her last ten, but Li isn’t much better at 4-6 in hers. Frech has seen one hardcourt final this year already, and can win this match. It’s just not very likely.
That being said, betting on Li winning 2:0 is a value bet for sure.
Value bet/ the best odds: Li winning 2:0 at 2.3 @WilliamHill
Kasatkina – Kalinskaya: 15:00 EST
H2H: 4-1
Our featured match in Washington is Darya Kasatkina vs Anna Kalinskaya. Kasatkina is 4-1 against Kalinskaya, and three of those were hardcourt wins. All of the wins were at the WTA level. The lone match in which Kalinskaya won was their 2022 WTA Guadalajara 2 round-of-16 match, which she won in three sets. Kasatkina is 5-5 in her last ten matches, and Kalinskaya is 6-4 in hers. Honestly, the biggest difference between the two this year is Kasatkina’s tournament victory at La Bisbal. That match was back in May. Kalinskaya has been the better hardcourt player in 2026.
Best Bet to Make
As crazy as it is, the books have Kalinskaya as the favorite in Washington. Kasatkina has the winning streak and the tournament title, but Kalinskaya was a finalist here in 2025, a quarterfinalist in 2022, and a semifinalist in 2019. Their overall records are pretty similar. Kalinskaya is 20-14, and Kasatkina is 19-14. The books still have Kalinskaya as the favorite by more than a full point on some books. Whatever happens, I think this match is likely to go to a third set. You can more than double your return on some books, so why not take a chance?
That being said, betting on over 2.5 sets is a value bet for sure.
Value bet/ the best odds: over 2.5 sets @2.4 @bet-at-home
Main Photo Credit: Mike Frey-USA TODAY Sports
