Fantasy Tennis Insider: Big names come out to play

We’re edging closer to the ‘big’ tournaments (they start in Game Week 25), and the big names are coming out to play. But with five tournaments scattered across North America – and a tranche of popular players in action – who should you be picking ahead of GW24?

WTA Stanford & Washington

A couple of years ago, Maria Sharapova ($10.8m) and Victoria Azarenka ($9.75m) might well have balked at the prospect of playing at the WTA International in Stanford. Times have changed. The two former No.1s are both in action at what should be an interesting gauge in form.

Are they good value? Probably not. While the pair are more than capable of marching into the finals, their form since returning has suggested they are still overpriced.

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That is particularly true when compared to proven point scorer Kristina Mladenovic ($9.62m) or Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza ($9.66m) – although check the draws before committing to the latter.

If you’re tight on cash, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova ($6.66m) looks like reasonable value; Coco Vandeweghe ($6.15m) enjoys the attention of playing on home soil; and Monica Puig ($3.61m) has got to start coming good soon, hasn’t she?!

ATP Kitzbuhel, Los Cabos & Washington

Two proven point scorers make their return to ATP action this week, Dominic Thiem ($11.01m) and Alexander Zverev ($12.19m) aiming to fine tune their games ahead of the ATP 1000s in GW25.

If you’re looking to splurge on a player, it’s hard to argue against Thiem. Zverev, however, arguably represents something more of a risk, although is always a good player to have in your squad.

Not sure who to pick? Check out player availability here

Wimbledon semifinalist Sam Querrey ($8.02m) also makes his return to action. Whether his exploits at SW19 help or hinder him remains to be seen, but he should notch up some decent numbers on his home hard courts.

Other interesting names to note are John Isner ($7.19m), with his jam-packed schedule through to the US Open; Jack Sock ($6.46m) who looks like a bargain at that price; and Juan Martin del Potro ($6.88m), who will be looking to put together a solid run in the coming weeks.

Top Tip: You can save trades with careful planning in the coming weeks – check out the player schedules here.
Buy: Jack Sock ($6.46m) – always a threat on the hard courts, Sock’s stock should rise in the coming weeks.
Sell: Pablo Cuevas ($6.68m) – if you’ve still got him, it looks like it’s time to sell. The Uruguayan can barely buy a win at the moment.