ATP 500 Dallas: Tournament Preview and Picks

by Bradley Gibbs | by Tyler Doty

image ATP 500 Dallas: Tournament Preview and Picks
There’s ATP 1000 action this week. In Dallas, some of the best players that the game has to offer will do battle. See below for tournament info and picks.

Tournament history 

Currently categorized as an ATP 500 event, the action in Dallas provides us with high-quality hard-court action, serving as a precursor to the ATP 1000 event in Indian Wells, which takes place at the start of next month. 

This is one of the newer events on the outdoor hard-court swing, featuring as one of the ATP Tour train’s annual stops since 2022. 

Recent champions and finalists of the Dallas Open: 

  • 2022 - Reilly Opelka defeated Jenson Brooksby 
  • 2023 - Wu Yibing defeated John Isner
  • 2024 - Tommy Paul defeated Marcos Giron 
  • 2025 - Denis Shapovalov defeated Casper Ruud

Last year’s winner Denis Shapovalov returns to defend his crown this time around, and the Canadian may just fancy himself to get the better of what of his US counterparts, though if he’s going to do that he’ll need to improve on his recent efforts. 

US players tend to thrive at Ford Center 

shelton

As the history above shows, US players have done very well at this event. Two of the previous four winners have represented the United States, while five of the previous eight finalists were stateside competitors. Not bad at all. 

This year, the US contingent is as strong as it has ever been, so it’s far from difficult to envisage more home-court success. Both Ben Shelton and Taylor Fritz will take to the courts in Dallas, and as both of those players are currently ranked in the top 10, they could (and probably should) do very well. 

Here’s the full list of US players set to feature this week, complete with their current ranking:

  • Taylor Fritz (7)
  • Ben Shelton (9)
  • Learner Tien (23)
  • Tommy Paul (24)
  • Brandon Nakashima (29)
  • Frances Tiafoe (30)
  • Alex Michelsen (41)
  • Jensen Brooksby (45)
  • Sebastian Korda (53)
  • Marcos Giron (59)
  • Reilly Opelka (67)
  • Eliot Spizziri (68)
  • Ethan Quinn (74)
  • Aleksandar Kovacevic (78)
  • Zachary Svajda (110)
  • Michael Zheng (148)

Let’s be real, the US line-up looks good this week, so much so that it will be something of a surprise if the top prize fails to go the way of a Stars-and-Stripes representative. Interestingly, four of the US players involved have either won this event or reached the final previously. 

Tommy has what it takes 

Much of the early pre-tournament betting focuses around Ben Shelton and Taylor Fritz, and it’s easy to see why, sure. Ranked at seven and nine in the world, those two are the highest-ranked players in the draw this week, and it really wouldn’t be a surprise if either one went all the way. 

However, the early betting absolutely reflects the fact that Paul and Shelton are the highest-ranked players in the draw, perhaps even a little too much. The line-up is strong in general this year, possibly as strong as it's ever been for this event, leaving outright odds of +300 (Shelton) and +350 (Fritz) to look a little too stingy as far as I’m concerned. 

At odds of +1200, available at our top sportsbooks, I really like the look of Tommy Paul, who has made a decent start to 2026. The four-time ATP Tour winner has only lost one of his last five matches, and that was against multiple Grand Slam winner Alcaraz. Given that he pushed Alcaraz hard in Australia, forcing a first-set tie break, it’s easy to see Paul thriving against slightly lesser opposition this week. 

In addition to showing some decent early-season form, Paul has done the business in Dallas before, winning this event back in 2024. That experience should hold him in good stead here. 

Given his current form and the fact that he clearly enjoys playing at this week’s venue, odds of +1200 look too generous to ignore. He’s a value pick to go all the way.