VTB Kremlin Cup Odds & Preview: Sabalenka’s First Tournament Since the US Open

• The VTB Kremlin Cup will take place from October 18th to 24th in Moscow
• No. 1 seed Aryna Sabalenka is the favorite to win the tournament outright with +450 odds
• Continue below for odds to win the tournament outright, and a preview of what we might be able to expect

The Kremlin Cup, also known as the Moscow Open gets underway Monday. With the time difference, matches begin at 4:00 am ET. This tournament will be an important one for many top players, as they’ll be looking to add some points ahead of the WTA Finals.

A lot of the top WTA players are competing in Moscow this week. Aryna Sabalenka earns the first seed, with Garbine Muguruza getting the second.

Take a look at the top 20 players to win the tournament outright, and a breakdown of who to watch out for this week.

VTB Kremlin Cup Odds

Odds as of October 17th at BetMGM.

The Favorite

23-year old Sabalenka comes into this tournament having not played a match since the semifinals of the US Open, but has earned herself a No. 1 seed, and favorite to win.

Sabalenka tested positive for COVID-19, so she’s been out of play for a few weeks.

Prior to the positive test, Sabalenka was having a career-defining season, earning a World No. 2 ranking. Since she’s already qualified for the WTA Finals, she’ll be looking to just brush off any rust that she may have, and rebuild confidence heading into the last few tournaments of the year.

She’ll receive a bye in the first round, and open her tournament up against either Wimbledon quarterfinalist Ajla Tomljanovic, or Ludmilla Samsonova, who won in Berlin in June.

Beyond her first match, should she win, the competition gets tough very quickly. Sabalenka is in the same half as Maria Sakkari, Ons Jabeur, and Simona Halep.

Who the Watch

Second seed Garbine Muguruza will be one to watch, along with Anett Kontaveit and Ons Jabeur.

Muguruza is the highest seed in the bottom half, that also consists of Anett Kontaveit. Muguruza has found success this year, and will be looking for her third title of 2021 here in Moscow. She’s coming off a less than ideal showing in Indian Wells, where she was upset in the round of 64, so she’ll be looking to bounce back in Russia.

Kontaveit could cause trouble in the bottom half. The Estonian is coming off a quarterfinal showing in Indian Wells, but also captured the title at the Ostava Open less than a month ago. She’ll open her tournament up against Katerina Siniakova, and should she win, could be one that makes the bottom half very interesting.

Jabeur is coming off an historic week in California, as she’ll be ranked inside the Top 10 when the rankings come out on Monday. She’ll be heading into Moscow after strong back-to-back showings, and a few weeks of really impressive tennis. The top half is tough, but Jabeur is one that could ruin some runs.

Best Bet

Sabalenka would be the easy bet to win it all, but it will honestly depend how she comes out in her first match of the tournament. Given that no ones seen her play in a few weeks, it tough to gauge how rusty or how many reps it will take for her to get back into the swing of things. That being said, prior to testing positive, she was one of the best players on tour, and was playing the best tennis of her career. Safe to say she should be able to bounce back.

The bottom half is where there could be a longer shot to win it all. I mentioned Kontaveit as one to watch, and it’s possible that she goes on a bit of a Cinderella run, and goes deep here in Moscow.

If Kontaveit is too risky, then Muguruza would be the safer bet in that bottom half. But don’t be surprised if Kontaveit makes it tough for a few of the higher seeds. She’s had an up and down season, but has shown that she can be a real problem for some of the top players

Best Bets: Sabalenka (+450) OR Kontaveit (+800)