Outside bets for the Women’s Singles at the Australian Open

After a turbulent 2020 for tennis, where the coronavirus pandemic wreaked havoc upon the sport’s calendar, including the cancellation of Wimbledon, fans of tennis everywhere are hoping that 2021 can represent a more uniform year for the sport. Having said that, the first Grand Slam event of the year – the Australian Open – has already been pushed back slightly to accommodate for complications posed by the pandemic, but the most important thing is that we’ll have some top-class tennis to watch very soon.

The women’s singles event is looking extremely difficult to predict, with the favourite Naomi Osaka still a relatively long 7/1 to win the tournament in the 2021 Australian Open odds. This could have something to do with the fact that the most recent Grand Slam – the 2020 French Open – was won by then World No. 75 Iga Świątek, who many casual viewers had never even heard of. 

The often-unpredictable nature of women’s tennis is what makes it so intriguing, in contrast to the men’s game where Grand Slam titles rarely depart from the usual suspects. With the Australian Open promising more twists and turns, we’ve had a look at a few potential outside bets for the women’s singles title at Melbourne. Read on to find out more!

Petra Kvitová

It may be a surprise to some to see Petra Kvitová priced at 16/1 to win the 2021 Australian Open, especially given the fact that she reached the quarter-finals last year and the final in 2019. But the Czech player can be somewhat inconsistent, and hasn’t won a Grand Slam since her second Wimbledon title in 2014. 

That’s not for the want of trying, however, and Kivitová has reached the latter stages of many majors throughout her career. It could well prove that there is one more Grand Slam winning run of form left in her, and if she can build some momentum in Melbourne then we all know she has the experience to get over the line.

Victoria Azarenka

Sitting further back at odds of 20/1 is Victoria Azarenka, another two-time Grand Slam champion. The Belarusian has not won one of the big four tournaments since 2013, but both of her Grand Slam victories have come at the Australian Open, which could bode well for her chances this year. Azarenka has struggled with injuries over the years and missed tournaments – in fact, she has only made one appearance at the Australian Open since 2016 – but she proved her enduring quality last year by reaching the final of the US Open, just losing out to Osaka in the final.

Given her form at Flushing Meadows, it’s a slight surprise to see her at such long odds to win the Australian Open, but being an underdog could well play into the experienced Azarenka’s hands. 

Johanna Konta

It’s no lie to say that Johanna Konta endured a torrid 2020 in terms of her Grand Slam results. Losing in the first round of both the Australian Open and French Open was bettered only a second-round showing at the US Open. Konta had been much improved the year before, and so her decline in 2020 was hugely disappointing.

However, the British No. 1 still undoubtedly has the quality to do damage at a Grand Slam event, and at generous odds of 40/1 going into the Australian Open, she could be worth a little flutter.