WTA National Bank Open Odds & Preview – Andreescu Looks to Defend Title

• The WTA National Bank Open begins on Monday, August 9th
• Bianca Andreescu will look to defend her title
• Continue below for a preview and the Top 20 odds to win the tournament

The WTA National Bank Open, also known as the Canadian Open will get underway on Monday. The 2020 tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so 2019 champion Bianca Andreescu will be defending her title.

Aryna Sabalenka enters the tournament as the favorite and the No. 1 seed. Her along with the other top seven seeds will receive a bye in the first round.

Take a look below at the Top 20 odds to win the tournament outright, and a preview of who we should be watching.

WTA National Bank Open Singles Odds

Odds as of August 8th at DraftKings

The Favorite

Sabalenka is heading into the Canadian Open as the favorite to win the tournament with +550 odds. The 23-year old is coming off a less than ideal run at the Olympics, losing in the second round.

She’ll open her tournament up against either Dayana Yastremska or Sloane Stephens after her bye in the first round. She does hold a 1-0 head-to-head record against Stephens, but in three meetings has yet to defeat the 21-year old Ukrainian.

Main draw @OBNmontreal, where Aryna Sabalenka and Bianca Andreescu are the top seeds.

Notable 1Rs:

Stephens-Yastremska
Kudermetova-Putintseva
Rybakina-Samsonova
Gauff-Sevastova
Mertens-Giorgi
Zhang-Konta
Kontaveit-Pegula
Martic-Kasatkina

Main draw play begins Monday. pic.twitter.com/hfLzHXMLy8

— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) August 7, 2021

Sabalenka does have a hardcourt title from earlier this year in Abu Dhabi, but unfortunately she hasn’t been able to keep the level of play up. She will be looking to turn it around in Montreal, but she doesn’t have the easiest route to the finals. Her quarter also consists of Maria Sakkari and Victoria Azarenka, who could cause issues later on.

Defending Champion

The 21-year old Canadian looks to defend her Canadian Open title as she enters the tournament in Montreal. As the second seed, Andreescu will receive a first round bye. She could then go on to face fellow Canadian Leylah Fernandez in the second round.

A lot of eyes will be on the young Canadian as she’ll be competing on home turf. But this will also be the first time she’ll be competing since losing her opening round match at Wimbledon.

Who’s ready for the @OBNmontreal ?!? pic.twitter.com/aXSjToTWWT

— Bianca (@Bandreescu_) August 6, 2021

Andreescu has obviously found a lot of success at this tournament in the past, but there are many other players in her quarter and in her half that have many more matches under their belt this season, which could cause issues for the Canadian in the later rounds.

Dark Horses & Ones to Watch

Someone who usually wouldn’t be in the dark horse category, but will be for this tournament is Simona Halep. She’s not so much a dark horse, as much as just someone to keep an eye out for during the tournament. She’s coming off a long break due to injury, which forced her to miss the French Open, Wimbledon, and the Olympics. But she’s a two time champion at this tournament. Halep is bound to be a bit rusty, but she could cause some issues for other players further down the line.

There are so many big names that are coming out for the start of the US hard court season, this tournament is definitely wide open.

Fifth seed Garbine Muguruza will be an interesting watch. The Spaniard started her year going 21-5, but hit a roadblock at the end of the Miami Open. She’ll be looking to regain her form in some capacity and make a deep run here. With +800 odds and having something to prove, she might be a good bet.

Elina Svitolina might be more tired than most, as she’s coming off an Olympic bronze medal, but as a former champion here as well and seeded third, she’s not one to write off.

This tournament is sure to be an exciting one that you’ll want to watch. It’ll be interesting to see how quickly Halep and Andreescu are able to bounce back into form, or if it will be earlier exits than expected. Sabalenka is a good bet off the start, but a longer shot would be one of the two coming back from injury.

Best Bets: Sabalenka (+550); Longer shot; Andreescu (+1100)