Wimbledon 2021 Women's Betting Preview, Latest Odds and Top Tips
Quick Tips:
- Belinda Bencic each-way outright – 40/1 with 888sport
- Ons Jabeur each-way outright – 40/1 with William Hill
After Barbora Krejcikova’s sensational French Open win, it’s fair to say women’s tennis betting is more unpredictable than ever. Incredibly, not one quarter-finalist from the Australian Open made the last eight at Roland Garros and arguably the world’s top player – Naomi Osaka – is on a break.
This turbulence is reflected in the Wimbledon betting odds. While Novak Djokovic is odds-on for the men’s tournament, Serena Williams and Ashleigh Barty are vying for favouritism at around the 7/1 mark here.
This could be Serena Williams’ last chance to tie Margaret Court’s Grand Slam record of 24. I’ve never considered this a fair comparison given most of Court’s majors were achieved before the Open era and, to me, Serena and Steffi Graf are clear of the rest when it comes to all-time greatness.
As for her chances this time at Wimbledon, I’m not sure she’ll get a better opportunity to claim that elusive Slam. Defending champion Simona Halep is out with a calf injury and there are very few players you could say look genuinely comfortable on grass these days. Her serve is a huge weapon, but advancing years and lack of matchplay count heavily against her.
Top seed and world number one Barty unsurprisingly heads the Wimbledon odds lists despite pulling out of Roland Garros through injury. Regular readers will know I backed her heavily well in advance of the last Wimbledon tournament (2019) and that her price collapsed after her surprise win in the French. Putting aside my personal despair at that, it’s hard to make a compelling case for her given that she hasn’t played a grass warm-up event.
Aryna Sabalenka is the number two seed and third-favourite at 12/1 with William Hill, but her failure to reach the quarter-finals of any Slam is a major concern. She has never made it past round two at SW19 and, while her section of the draw is dotted with qualifiers, Elena Rybakina or Maria Sakkari in round four could be her stumbling block.
Krejcikova won the doubles title at Wimbledon in 2018 but this will be her first singles main draw appearance. Apart from the Czech now having to deal with her status as a Slam champion rather than an underdog, her lack of easy points on serve make me inclined to look elsewhere.
One thing Krejcikova had going for her at Roland Garros was form with success the previous week in Strasbourg marking her out as a potential dark horse. I think with the way the tennis calendar has been interrupted by the pandemic, recent form is perhaps a stronger guide than it has been previously, not least because we lack a clearly defined elite group. I wouldn’t say anyone can beat anyone, but it’s not far off that.
Looking at Wimbledon odds market leaders, Iga Swiatek has shown little on grass since winning the girls’ title in 2018 and, in fairness, she has had little opportunity due to the pandemic. Garbine Muguruza still looks short of her best, Petra Kvitova and Bianca Andreescu are out of form, and Coco Gauff hasn’t inspired on grass so far this term.
Smart Money On Bencic
Jo Konta looked a solid each-way bet at a price of 40/1 and was one of my tips before she was ruled out of the tournament as a close contact of a Covid-19 case.
My outright pick from the top half is Belinda Bencic, who reached the final in Berlin before losing to surprise package Liudmila Samsonova. An early exit in Eastbourne last week was not ideal but some extra rest before Wimbledon may be no bad thing.
Her draw could have been kinder with Serena, Gauff and 2018 champ Angelique Kerber all in her eighth, but she is well capable of beating them and 40/1 outright with 888sport looks fair.
Bottom Half Picks
Moving to the bottom half and I cannot resist a bet on Ons Jabeur who this month became the first Arab woman to win a WTA Tour event at Edgbaston.
There was no fluke about it with the Tunisian mixing up searing groundstrokes with delicate drop shots.
The quality of her overheads makes me think she should come into the net more often but grass certainly suits her.
Jabeur is up to 24 in the world and reached the quarter-finals of last year’s Australian Open, going out to eventual winner Sofia Kenin.
That first tour title should give her plenty of confidence and her early Eastbourne exit to the mercurial Jelena Ostapenko is little cause for concern.
I was hoping for slightly bigger than the 40/1 available with William Hill especially as she was 500/1 with one bookmaker just a fortnight ago, but I do want to keep her onside.
As far as Wimbledon betting specials go, I would be very keen on my three outright selections winning their respective quarters. Bencic should be a good price given the presence of two former Wimbledon champions and surely a future one in Gauff in her part of the draw.
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