Valentin Royer, ranked 76th, represents France at the Oeiras 3 clay tournament. The French player has shown solid form with four wins in his last five matches, including victories over Jannik Rodionov, Marco Cecchinato, and Lorenzo Nardi; his only recent loss came against Dalian Prizmic in straight sets. Royer will face unseeded opponent Maxim Houkes, with no previous head-to-head record between the two players on clay.

Maxim Houkes of the Netherlands enters at world ranking 257, competing against higher-ranked Valentin Royer on clay. The Dutch player won three of his last four matches, defeating Dusan Lajovic and Zdenek Kolar decisively before losing to Riccardo Bertola in two sets. This will be Houkes' first career meeting with Royer, meaning no established patterns exist between the two competitors.