Auckland Open Winner Serena Williams Now 4-1 Odds to Win Australian Open Women’s Singles
- The 2020 Australian Open will take place January 20 to February 2, 2020
- Bianca Andreescu announced that she will not be participating in the tournament
- Serena Williams is favored to win the tournament with 4-1 odds
The Australian Open is just a week away, with qualifying matches happening right now. The biggest announcement came when Bianca Andreescu broke via social that she would not be competing in the first Grand Slam of the year due to her rehabbing.
Since that, Serena Williams went onto win her first title since becoming a mom, beating Jessica Pegula 6-3, 6-4, to lift the trophy at the ASB Classic. Heading into the first major of the year, her Australian Open odds are now +400 and she’s the clear favorite at the tournament.
2020 WTA Australian Open Odds
| Player | Odds |
|---|---|
| Serena Williams | +400 |
| Naomi Osaka | +700 |
| Ashleigh Barty | +800 |
| Simona Halep | +800 |
| Karolina Pliskova | +1000 |
| Petra Kvitova | +1600 |
| Aryna Sabalenka | +1800 |
| Madison Keys | +1800 |
| Elina Svitolina | +2000 |
| Belinda Bencic | +2200 |
Odds taken Jan. 13.
The Road to 24
Serena Williams just won her first title since becoming a mother almost three years ago. She has also now won titles across four decades, winning her first in 1999. Her impressive start to the 2020 season and winning the ASB Classic has shortened her odds slightly going into the Australian Open. She is currently the favorite to win the tournament and has an average odds of +416. At the end of the 2019 season, her odds were an average of +525.
Serena Williams won her first title in over three years in New Zealand on Sunday.
Then she donated the prize money to Australian bushfire relief 🐐 pic.twitter.com/AhVNJp6IZz
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 13, 2020
Over the past 14 months, Williams has had the opportunity to win 24 and tie history, and each time wasn’t able to succeed. Her strong start to 2020, and position going into the first Grand Slam put her in a position to tie and make history this year.
Anyone Else?
Is anyone else worth the bet at this time? Not really. As the tournament goes on, that may possibly change. But at this point, the only other person that would have possibly been worth the bet is Bianca Andreescu. But since she has pulled out of the tournament, no one else is showing a reason to bet on them instead of Serena Williams.
Current world no.1 Ashleigh Barty got her season off to a poor start, being eliminated in her first match at the Brisbane International. No. 4 Simona Halep has yet to play this year and no. 5 Elina Svitolina was also knocked out in her first match in Brisbane to Danielle Collins.
The second and third-ranked players did square off in the Brisbane Final though as Karolina Pliskova (2) defeated Naomi Osaka (3) in three sets to win her first title of 2020.
Williams has won the Australian Open seven times, the last time being in 2017, while she was pregnant with her now daughter.
Serena Williams has proven herself time after time. Since coming back from having her daughter, she has had many ups and downs, dealing with injury and heartbreak. But no one is playing at the same level she is right now. Even though she’s coming into the tournament as the eighth seed, as long as she stays healthy throughout the tournament, it seems like it might be hers to lose.
Best Bet: Serena Williams (+400)
A graduate of Sport Media at Ryerson University, Hayley is the ultimate student of sports. Whether she is playing it, watching it, debating it, or writing it, it's safe to assume sport consumes the majority of her life. She has worked both internationally and with the NBA.
