Odds to Finish 2019 as WTA’s #1 Player: Halep, Williams, and Osaka Listed as Favorites

• Odds on the 2019 WTA Year-End rankings are out
• Simona Halep and Serena Williams are favored to be #1
• Is there value in longshots?

In a similar vein to the ATP year-end rankings odds, sports betting sites are now offering odds on who will finish 2019 on top of the WTA rankings. The current world #1 and the most accomplished tennis player of all time are obvious favorites, and there are a few other names that could present value.

Odds to Finish 2019 as WTA #1

As the current world #1, Simona Halep makes a lot of sense as the favorite. She’s the best clay-court player on the women’s tour, and having that advantage at one of the four slams does wonderful things for your rankings.

2018 WTA Comeback Player of the Year Serena Williams also makes a lot of sense at +450. In her return from pregnancy/some health issues, Serena was able to make two slam finals and hoover up a good sum of ranking points. She lost the US Open final to Naomi Osaka, who’s listed at +500. Osaka has a dominant game, and burned through the field at the US Open and Indian Wells, and could very well do something similar in 2018.

Naomi Osaka burned through the field at the US Open and Indian Wells, and could very well do something similar in 2018.

An important thing to remember is how flat the skill curve on the women’s tour has gotten. It’s not as bad as golf tournaments, yet, but very often you’ll see the top seeded players, all the top seeded players, get booted from the first few rounds of a slam by lower-ranked players who managed to get hot that week. This is also partially down to the WTA’s refusal to let women’s matches go to five sets. Whatever the cause, note that it makes betting favorites a less and less prudent strategy, as long as the trend continues.

Odds to Finish 2019 in WTA Top 8

As we said in the ATP article, the payout here is too little and the timeline is too long for betting one of these favorites to be any fun or any value. The only thing to do is pick a fun name off the longshot list and hope they have a great year. Sloane Stephens is at +120 and could be fun to watch.

Jelena Ostapenko (listed at +400) is 21 years old and putting together the kind of resume that foretells a long career at the top level of tennis. She also plays hilariously aggressive tennis, which should make rooting for her all the more fun.