Wimbledon Women’s Singles Odds & Preview: Serena Williams & Ashleigh Barty Co-Favorites

• Serena Williams and Ashleigh Barty are co-favorites in the Wimbledon women’s singles field
• Defending (2019) champion Simona Halep withdrew just prior to the draw because of an ongoing calf issue

• Nursing left hip and right arm injuries, Barty is questionable physically. We look at who else might win

Simona Halep, the de facto defending champion after Wimbledon was cancelled in 2020,  won’t be able to carry out the tradition of opening play on famed Centre Court on the first Tuesday.

Halep has been nursing a calf issue that also kept her out of the French Open. She gave it until minutes before the Wimbledon women’s singles draw was made Friday in the hope that she could answer the bell. But it was not to be.

Wimbledon Women’s Singles Odds

Odds as of  June 25 at DraftKings

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There are four former champions in the draw: Serena Williams, Petra Kvitova, Angelique Kerber and Garbiñe Muguruza.

All of them have question marks beside their names, of different types. But they are the only ones in the draw who have any experience of note at the All-England Club. This will be Williams’ 20th trip.

We will miss you this year, @Simona_Halep – come back stronger in 2022 💪#Wimbledon

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) June 25, 2021

Serena Looking for No. 24 – Will She Finally Get it?

Serena Williams often says, after she loses, that her opponent “played the match of her life” against her. In the 2018 Wimbledon final, that was arguably true of Kerber although much of the outcome was in Williams’ hands. But the next year, it was definitely true of Halep; she had a glorious day when she couldn’t put a foot wrong.

Grass is considered the 39-year-old’s best shot at finally getting Grand Slam title No. 24 (she’s won it seven times, but not since 2016).

Just a couple of siblings having a rally 😉#Wimbledon | @serenawilliams | @Venuseswilliams pic.twitter.com/HtRZtWQaAc

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) June 25, 2021

She’s in the less dangerous half of the draw, with many of the higher seeds coming in with injury question marks. Will it be enough?

Wimbledon Women’s Singles Contenders – Best Previous Results

Is Sabalenka Ready to Win a Slam (Chapter XXIII)?

As the No. 2 seed with Halep’s withdrawal and Naomi Osaka’s absence, the 23-year-old from Belarus is, at best, a serious long shot.

But she has just one main-draw victory in her Wimbledon career, and it came all the way back in 2017.

Sabalenka won two matches at Eastbourne last weekend and made the quarterfinals – only to lose a messy three-setter to injured qualifier Camila Giorgi.

With the tricky Monica Niculescu in the first round, who will slice and dice her into insanity on the grass – it’s no sure thing she’ll even make it through Monday.

Previous Wimbledon Champions and Finalists

Any Dark Horses Come to Mind?

Even though Coco Gauff has only played Wimbledon once – her debut as a 15-year-old started the hype machine in real time – we’d give her a shot.

Except, she could meet Serena Williams in the fourth round.

Two years on from her sensational #Wimbledon debut, @CocoGauff's steady rise suggests she's ready for another memorable fortnight 💫

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) June 24, 2021

If she gets through that, or someone beats Williams before she gets there – Kerber might channel her 2018 champion’s karma in the third round – we like Gauff to get as far as the final given the issues with the top half of her half of the draw.

What About Grand Slam champions Andreescu and Swiatek?

The Canadian and the player from Poland already have major titles on their resumés. But their Wimbledon history is … negligible

As the 2018 junior girls’ champion, Swiatek received a main-draw wild card in 2019. She lost in the first round to No. 81 Viktorija Golubic.

Then ranked No. 188, Andreescu qualified in her first attempt as a 17-year-old, back in 2017. But she lost in straight sets in the first round to Kristina Kucova.

And this is her first trip back since then.

Best Bet: Serena Williams (+650)
Longer shot: Petra Kvitova (+1200)

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