Women’s Australian Open Money Moves

The Australian Open is days away and that has led bettors to come out firing for the new tennis season.

The women’s draw is always a wide-open affair. It pays to expect the unexpected, but there have been some confident wagers placed on a few players. Conversely, the tennis betting odds of other players have drifted significantly.

It should make for an intriguing contest at Melbourne Park in the blistering heat.

Women’s Australian Open Best Bets

Barty Firms Into Favoritism

It was only a matter of time before Australia’s own Ash Barty firmed into favoritism.

The two-time Grand Slam champion is suited by the conditions in Australia and she has the home crowd behind her.

Barty has yet to win the Australian Open after getting knocked out by Karolina Muchova in a big upset last year. She has since added the Wimbledon title to her record, so she could be back to her best.

Tennis odds had Naomi Osaka as a favorite, but Barty is now into solo-favoritism at +450. There has been a steady flow of money for the local hope.

No One Wants Kenin in the Australian Open Odds

For anyone who has followed Sofia Kenin throughout her career knows how much her odds fluctuate.

We’re not sure on the exact reason why her odds move so dramatically, but it’s happened again for the 2022 Australian Open. She opened at +1000 with the sportsbook, which is a fair price for the American, but her odds have blown out to +4000.

The 2020 Australian Open champion is a former winner of the tournament, so she loves the conditions. She feels as though everyone has forgotten about her and we agree.

“I think my preparation has been good. Right now, I’m just going to enjoy every moment. I haven’t played in a while, so there’s no pressure on myself,” Kenin told WTATennis. “But I want to do well and I want to win. So it’s not like I’m going to go on court and not care. You know me.”

She has spent the last six months off the court, but most of her opposition haven’t been playing much.

Bettors Make Move on Sabalenka

There has been serious money for Aryna Sabalenka, who has shortened into +1000.

Betting online markets have shifted dramatically because of the support for Sabalenka, who is a classy player, but she looked awful in her season debut.

The Belarussian hit 18 double faults in her Round of 16 loss to Kaja Juvan, which could have knocked her confidence.

She had a successful 2021, including making the semi-final at Wimbledon and US Open. She made at least the third round in all four Grand Slam tournaments, so her consistency was excellent.

We expected bookmakers to open her around +1000, so her current line isn’t surprising. However, she opened at +1400, so the move is worth noting.

She might have been using the Adelaide International for fitness, so we wouldn’t look too much into that defeat.

Raducanu Under the Australian Open Odds

We love what British teenager Emma Raducanu achieved in the US Open, but her tennis since has been less than inspiring.

Many experts have predicted the 19-year-old to fall drastically down the WTA rankings, and we have to agree.

She lost poorly to a Chinese qualifier at Linz last November, which followed a defeat at the Transylvania Open and a first round loss at the BNP Paribas Open.

She won the U.S. Open without dropping a set, but she has been a shadow of that player since. We’re not sure what’s going on, but something needs to change in a hurry.

The +1000 odds are far too short for our liking.