Can Iga Swiatek back up her Roland Garros title and maintain her stranglehold on the world number one position? Can Aryna Sabalenka bounce back and win her second grand slam for the year? Can Elena Rybakina defend her 2022 Wimbledon title? The odds suggest these three names are the Big 3 in women’s tennis at the moment – will that hold up over the next fortnight?
Let’s look at some of the futures markets and see if any value presents itself.
2023 Ladies Wimbledon Futures Preview & Betting Tips
Outright Market
There are three names commanding the most attention at the top of the market: Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina. Let’s start with Swiatek. The world number 1 got some valuable time on court in German over the last week, before making the decision to pull out of the tournament prior to her semi final. Swiatek cited food poisoning, but having gained some match time on the grass, and with all her focus on Wimbledon, it seems a logical move for the Roland Garros champ. While her game isn’t entirely suited to the surface, her draw does appear to be quite favourable relative to other top seeds. Sabalenka should also be there come the second week, however her potential fourth round match-up against either Alexandrova or Muchova makes things a little less enticing for her in the outright market. Rybakina is somewhat of an unknown quantity, given her struggles with illness since Roland Garros and her playing limited tennis, so I’d rather wait and see on her in the market.
Of the rest of the market, there are a number of players that at their best are genuine threats for the title, however lack the consistency at times to be able to back up that level match after match reduces the appeal of many. Names on this list include Petra Kvitova, Madison Keys, Ekaterina Alexandrova, Jelena Ostapenko, and even QinwenZheng and Liudmila Samsonova to a slightly lesser extent. They are all players who would be capable of knocking off the top players on their day in this draw, however the question is can they make it through the tournament to a position where they can face the top players? Players who are a little more consistent in their level include CocoGauff, Donna Vekic and Karolina Muchova. Of those three, Vekic appears to have the best draw.
Based on my thoughts above, a play on Donna Vekic to reach the quarter final and final looks to be a solid avenue. I will also place a small wager on Gauff to win the first quarter. The first match with Kenin is trickier than many will believe, but if she brings a level near her best, she should be finding herself at worst in a quarter final with Swiatek.
Given the potential inconsistency of the likes of Rybakina and Kvitova in the third quarter, I wonder if Ons Jabeur is in a position to be able to build her form across the course of the first few rounds. Her style and ability to neutralize on the grass should hold up well against the power players, and her price to win the quarter is worth a small play.
With many inconsistent players in the field, I will look to add to these selections across the course of the first week.
Suggested Bets
0.4 units Coco Gauff Quarter 1 winner - $4.50 at Topsport
0.3 units Donna Vekic Quarter 3 Winner - $5 at Unibet
0.3 units Jabeur Quarter 3 Winner - $5.50 at Topsport
0.15 win/0.15 units place (each-way) Donna Vekic to win Wimbledon - $36 at Unibet
