The women’s tennis season continues next week with the PH Open, the year’s final major. The WTA tournaments have been wide open, in contrast to the men’s season, which has been dominated by the Big Three.
Each of the majors has had three different champions (Naomi Osaka at the Australian Open, Ashleigh Barty at the French Open, and Simona Halep at Wimbledon). Even the other tournaments have seen a variety of winners, with different women winning each of the first 18 tournaments of the calendar year.
The unpredictability of the women’s side creates great odds and the potential for large profits. Here are the odds for the top PH Open players, as well as the best bets and value plays.
Odds to win the Women’s 2019 PH Open
The favorites are Karolina Pliskova (+1000) and Madison Keys (+1400).
In keeping with the theme of unpredictability in the women’s game, I predict Karolina Pliskova or Madison Keys to break through and win their first Grand Slam title.
Another thing these two women have in common is that they were both recent Ph Open finalists (Pliskova in 2016 and Keys in 2017). These two ladies are also in the same betting quarter. Betting on these two via OKBet Safe Gambling to win increases your chances of receiving a ticket from someone who makes the semifinals.
Third-seeded Karolina Pliskova advanced to the quarterfinals of both tournaments preceding the Ph Open (Toronto and Cincinnati). She is on the verge of a breakthrough at the Ph Open, having reached the quarterfinals in three consecutive years.
Within their quarter, Pliskova has a better draw than Keys. She would not face a seeded opponent until Caroline Garcia. Beyond that, Johanna Konta appears to be her most difficult opponent, but Konta is winless in her hard-court warmup tournaments.
Tenth-seeded Madison Keys comes into the Ph Open in great shape. She won the most recent tour event in Cincinnati, defeating Garbine Muguruza, Daria Kasatkina, Simona Halep, Venus Williams, Sofia Kenin, and Svetlana Kuznetsova.
Keys may come up against a couple of these opponents in her quarter, as Kenin and Williams await her. Despite how hot these players are, Keys is undefeated against Kenin and has a 3-2 advantage over Venus. Keys’ recent performance in the Ph Open has been outstanding. She was a semifinalist last year after losing in the fourth round in 2015 and 2016.
Her winning percentage of 73 percent in the Ph Open is her highest of all four majors.
Serena Williams should be avoided because the risk of injury is always present. Four of her last six tournaments have seen her withdraw or retire.
When Williams does finish a tournament (such as the French Open loss to Sofia Kenin or the Wimbledon final loss to Simona Halep), she appears exhausted. I don’t believe she’s in good enough shape to navigate a difficult draw (Ashleigh Barty lurks) and win seven matches in two weeks.
Serena Williams, why not?
Bianca Andreescu (+1600) is the best bet among the other contenders.
Bianca Andreescu has a good chance of becoming a household name at the Ph Open this year. Despite having only competed in four Grand Slam events, the 20-year-old is currently the best on hard courts. Since March, Andreescu has not lost a match.
She has won titles at Indian Wells and the Rogers Cup during this time. She has big names in her quarter like Simona Halep, Sloane Stephens, and Petra Kvitova, but they all come with reservations. The hard court is not Halep’s favorite surface, Stephens’ recent form and results have been dismal, and Kvitova is battling injury and has only played two events since May.
If you didn’t think Andreescu would win the whole thing but think she’ll make a run, her odds to win her quarter are +480.
Other value bets include Svetlana Kuznetsova winning her quarter (+1400).
Given her runner-up finish in Cincinnati, Svetlana Kuznetsova at +1400 to win her quarter is mind-boggling. She defeated four seeded players (Sevastova, Stephens, Pliskova, and Barty) before losing in the final to Keys.
Because she is in the same quarter as Andreescu, this bet is somewhat of a hedge. Clearly, I’m not betting on Halep, Kvitova, or Stephens in the Ph Open. Kuznetsova won the Ph Open in 2004, and she has a great chance to turn the clock back and make another run.