The WTA Eastbourne first-round play unfolds on Monday. It’s the week before Wimbledon begins, so this tournament is a final chance for WTA professionals to get some match play on grass and sharpen their games heading into the All-England Club. Players who made deep runs at tournaments over the previous two weeks of lawn tennis don’t need to pile up more matches. This week is for players who don’t think they have had enough match preparation for the third major tournament of the year and the only grass major on the calendar. The points and the prize money matter, but getting matches is what matters most. Players who win early in the week will be able to play later in the week and achieve their main goal in Eastbourne. LWOS has our best bets for three matches. Post your best bets and thoughts in the comments.
WTA Eastbourne
Joint – Golubic: Time 5:00 EST
H2H: 2-1
Maya Joint vs Viktorija Golubic is our featured match at Eastbourne. Maya Joint has not done much of anything this grass season, playing only one match and losing it. She is not coming in with good form. She does not have a ton of grass match play or confidence, either, and that’s why Golubic is a clear favorite on the betting markets. Golubic is coming off a great Nottingham tournament in which she went from the qualifying rounds all the way to the semifinals before she lost to Emma Navarro. Golubic came from a break down in the third set to beat both Zeynep Sonmez and Ann Li to get to the semifinals. She fought really hard and showed a lot of toughness. Now she will try to build on her grass record this week.
Best Bet to Make
The obvious point that Golubic has done a lot of winning on grass makes her the appropriate favorite. Of course, she should be favored. That’s logical. However, even though Golubic has six grass wins in 2026 and Maya Joint has none, that doesn’t necessarily mean Golubic should be the betting choice here. You could fold Golubic moneyline into a parlay, but in terms of a single wager, there’s a different angle to consider. Joint might not win, but after Golubic, 33, comes off a tournament in which she played six matches, she might be tired in Eastbourne. Joint is physically fresh due to not having played much. Joint probably won’t win, but she has a decent chance of pushing this to a third set. Go with over 2.5 sets, because it’s a better way to bet on Joint winning a set. Joint +1.5 sets is only 1.60. An over 2.5 set bet gives you a much better return.
That being said, betting on over 2.5 sets is a value bet for sure.
Value bet/ the best odds: over 2.5 sets @2.50 @Betsson
Tjen – McNally: Time 5:00 EST
H2H: 0-1
Janice Tjen faces Caty McNally. Tjen has struggled in recent weeks, losing five of her last six matches. She is 1-3 in four matches on grass and is trying to gain traction on this surface. McNally has been better of late, going 3-2 in her last five matches, all on grass. There is a clear difference between these two players in terms of recent grass performance, but in terms of overall WTA ranking, they aren’t separated by much, only by 11 spots, with Tjen at 43 and McNally at 54. McNally is the clear-cut favorite on the betting markets, and yet she’s ranked 11 spots below her opponent. It’s another case of the in-form player being the lower-ranked player. Do you choose the rankings or current form?
Best Bet to Make
The choice here in Eastbourne seems clear. McNally’s overall form and grass form are both decidedly better than the struggling Tjen’s. McNally moneyline, however, doesn’t offer enough of a price, so you will have to go to a game spread or a set spread. We’re going to fade Tjen here. It’s less of a pro-McNally bet and more of an anti-Tjen bet. Tjen has been so consistently bad in recent weeks that there’s no way we are going to make a pro-Tjen bet of any kind in any direction. The play is the set spread, with McNally winning in straight sets. It’s a tremendous price for an outcome which seems highly possible.
That being said, betting on McNally winning 2:0 is a value bet for sure.
Value bet/ the best odds: McNally winning 2:0 @2.19 @1xBet
Bejlek – Siegemund: Time 5:00 EST
H2H: 0-1
Sara Bejlek faces Laura Siegemund. Bejlek is 1-6 in her last seven matches and enters the week before Wimbledon with zero momentum. She is struggling to put anything together. If there is any small source of comfort for Bejlek, it is that she has been losing to high-profile opponents such as Iga Swiatek, Karolina Pliskova, and Emma Navarro, among others. Laura Siegemund is 4-3 in her last seven matches, with her three losses also coming against known names in the tennis world: Amanda Anisimova, Naomi Osaka, and Karolina Pliskova. The quality of competition for these players is the main similarity they share over the past few weeks of tour play.
Best Bet to Make
The competition has been similarly strong for both players over the past several weeks, so the difference in win-loss records is a natural point of differentiation. Siegemund has clearly been better than Bejlek for more than a month. With that kind of clear difference between the players, Siegemund moneyline is an obvious choice. The price is generous. You could go bold and bet on Siegemund winning in straight sets, which would bring you an even higher price, but Siegemund moneyline is safer and still offers a decent return, so that is our official recommended play.
That being said, betting on Siegemund winning is a value bet for sure.
Value bet/ the best odds: Siegemund winning @1.69 @1xBet
Main Photo Credit: Mike Frey-USA TODAY Sports
