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St Petersburg Ladies Trophy Odds & Preview: Anett Kontaveit a Strong Favorite

Stephanie Myles

by Stephanie Myles in Tennis

Updated Feb 18, 2022 · 6:53 PM PST

Maria Sakkari hitting a forehand
Maria Sakkari of Greece makes a forehand return to Jessica Pegula of the U.S. during their fourth round match at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard)
  • St Petersburg defending champion Daria Kasatkina is out because of a last-minute case of COVID
  • Anett Kontaveit is a +300 favorite, while Maria Sakkari is second at +600 odds
  • See the St Petersburg Ladies Trophy odds and best bets

The list of past St Petersburg Ladies Trophy singles champions gives us absolutely zero clue as to who might be the favorite coming into the 2022 edition.

Roberta Vinci (the 2016 champion) and 2019 and 2020-winner Kiki Bertens are retired.

Defending champion Daria Kasatkina was a last-minute scratch after testing positive for COVID-19.

St Petersburg Ladies Trophy Singles Odds

Seed Player Odds
[2] Anett Kontaveit (EST) +300
[1] Maria Sakkari (GRE) +600
[3] Elena Rybakina (KAZ) +650
[5] Belinda Bencic (SUI) +700
[6] Petra Kvitova (CZE) +1200
[7] Jelena Ostapenko (LAT) +1200
[4] Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) +1200
[8] Elise Mertens (BEL) +1400
– Marketa Vondrousova (CZE) +1600
– Veronika Kudermetova (RUS) +2000
– Ekaterina Alexandrova (RUS) +2200
– Camila Giorgi (ITA) +2200
– Irina-Camelia Begu (ROU) +4000
– Aliaksandra Sasnovich (BLR) +4000
– Vera Zvonareva (RUS) +4000
– Alizé Cornet (FRA) +5000
– Alison Van Uytvanck (BEL) +4000
– Sorana Cirstea (ROU) +8000

Odds as of Feb. 6 at Barstool Sportsbook.

The opening St Petersburg Ladies Trophy odds show second-seed Anett Kontaveit as a +300 favorite, considerably shorter than the rest of the field, including top-seed and second-favorite Maria Sakkari at +600.

The 2017 champion (and 2018 finalist) Kristina Mladenovic’s ranking is so far down she had to play the qualifying. while 2018 titleholder Petra Kvitova has made it past the quarterfinals of an event just once since winning in Qatar nearly a year ago.

https://twitter.com/DKasatkina/status/1489929469678792706

Kontaveit Looking to Bounce Back

Estonia’s Anett Kontaveit made her late-season run to the WTA Tour Finals on indoor hard courts. So that’s probably why she’s the favorite coming into the St Petersburg Ladies Open. The WTA 500 event is played on that surface. Kontaveit went 10-0 in Moscow and Cluj-Napoca, Romania last October to grab the last spot in Guadalajara, where she lost to Garbiñe Muguruza in the final.

The 26-year-old wasn’t used to finishing the season so late. So she had a short turnaround. After a good run in the tuneup event, the Estonian was shocked in the second round of the Australian Open by unseeded Dane Clara Tauson. In straight sets, too.

YouTube video

She could make a run. But she also might very well lose in any of the early rounds of a tough section.

Sakkari Not on Favorite Surface

Maria Sakkari certainly had aspirations in Melbourne. Losing in the fourth round to Jessica Pegula of the U.S. was a shocker.

So even though her indoor record isn’t sterling, she’ll be highly motivated for a good result in St. Petersburg.

A war of attrition with either No. 8 seed Elise Mertens or the always scrappy Alizé Cornet will be her toughest early challenge. If she gets through that, her consistency is likely to get her past Petra Kvitova or Elena Rybakina in the semis.

Previous St Petersburg Ladies Open Winners and Finalists

Year Champion Finalist
2021 [8] Daria Kasatkina (RUS) [WC] Margarita Gasparyan (RUS)
2020 [2] Kiki Bertens (NED) [8] Elena Rybakina (KAZ)
2019 [2] Kiki Bertens (NED) [8] Donna Vekic (CRO)
2018 [WC] Petra Kvitova (CZE) [4] Kristina Mladenovic (FRA)
2017 Kristina Mladenovic (FRA) Yulia Putintseva (KAZ)
2016 [2] Roberta Vinci (ITA) [1] Belinda Bencic (SUI)

First-Round Matches to Watch

[8] Elise Mertens (-225) vs Alizé Cornet (+175)

The last time the No. 8 seed defeated Cornet was over four years ago at the 2018 Australian Open. So this is a very, very tough first round for the Belgian.

YouTube video

Actually, Cornet is a tough first-round opponent for anyone. And after finally making a Grand Slam quarterfinal for the first time in her career less than two weeks ago, she’ll be riding a wave.

The winner of this one should rightly expect to get to at least the quarterfinals, so it’s game on. Pick the upset.

[5] Belinda Bencic (-167) vs Veronika Kudermetova (+133)

Kudermetova, solidly settled into the top 30, has been somewhat quiet since winning her first career WTA Tour title in Charleston last April.

But she did make the final of the Melbourne tuneup before the Australian Open. But then she put up a sub-par effort against Maria Sakkari in the third round of the main event.

Bencic also has been quiet since making last year’s US Open quarterfinals. She ended the 2021 season with four straight losses. And she was suffering with an injury when she lost in the second round of the Australian Open to Amanda Anisimova. That’s not a lot of time to heal up, and Kudermetova is playing in her homeland. Take the upset there as well.

Best Bet: Maria Sakkari (+600)

Good Longshot: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (+1200)

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