The 2021 WTA Australian Open Betting Preview, Odds and Predictions

On February 8th, the women’s side of the 2021 Australian Open gets underway as the sport’s biggest stars battle it out to win the first Grand Slam of the year.

Defending champ Sofia Kenin returns to try and win a second straight AO. Other stars like Serena Williams, Simona Halep, Naomi Osaka and Ashleigh Barty all look to dethrone Kenin and claim another Grand Slam title for themselves.

With so many of the sport’s top female superstars converging onto Melbourne, Australia, it’s truly going to be an exciting Grand Slam to watch and to wager on.

Tennis betting sites have released their Australian Open odds and prop bets. Let’s take a closer look at these odds like a line judge looking to see if a ball was in or out. Hopefully, we’ll ace our predictions and hoist the trophy by time this Grand Slam is all said and done.

Australian Open Betting Odds

The following odds are courtesy of BetOnline:

• Naomi Osaka (+550)
• Ashleigh Barty (+600)
• Serena Williams (+1000)
• Aryna Sabalenka (+1200)
• Garbine Muguruza (+1200)
• Simona Halep (+1200)
• Bianca Andreescu (+1800)
• Sofia Kenin (+1800)
• Iga Swiatek (+2000)
• Victoria Azarenka (+2000)
• Jennifer Brady (+2500)
• Karolina Pliskova (+2500)
• Petra Kvitova (+2800)
• Elina Svitolina (+3300)
• Elise Mertens (+3300)
• Elena Rybakina (+4000)
• Maria Sakkari (+4000)
• Ekaterina Alexandrova (+5000)
• Heather Watson (+5000)
• Johanna Konta (+5000)
• Anett Kontaveit (+6600)
• Angelique Kerber (+6600)
• Cori Gauff (+6600)

Quarter 1 Odds and Winner

Ashleigh Barty (+600) – Quarter Odds (+200)

Barty is the #1 ranked women’s tennis player in the world and she’s looking to capture her first Grand Slam in her native country.

Barty made it to the Semi Final in the 2020 AO and the Quarter Final in 2019. She’s 13-7 all-time at the Australian Open, which equates to a 65% winning percentage.

Barty has one Grand Slam title on her resume and that came at the 2019 French Open. She didn’t play the rest of 2020 following the shutdown of tennis due to Covid.

The top seed has looked good in warmup tournaments and could be a real threat to win this year’s Australian Open.

Karolina Pliskova (+2500) – Quarter Odds (+600)

The 6th ranked Pliskova has yet to win a Grand Slam, but is still considered a top player and a tough out on hard court surfaces. Both at the AO and the US Open, she has a 71% winning percentage.

Last year, Pliskova was bounced in the 3rd Round. That exit snapped a three year streak of making it to at least the Quarter Final Round. She lost in the Semi Finals in 2019.

She has a good chance of making it back to the Quarter Finals this year and maybe further.

Elise Mertens (+3300) – Quarter Odds (+800)

The 25 year old Belgian comes into the AO as the 20th ranked player. She’s never won a Grand Slam as a singles competitor, but did win a doubles title at the US Open in 2019.

Mertens finished 2020’s Grand Slam season on a positive note with a QF appearance at the US Open. She’s hoping to build off that in the Australian Open this year.

Mertens is 7-3 at the Australian Open with a Semi Final appearance in 2018. She was bounced in the 4th round last year.

Who Wins Quarter 1?

In the bottom half of the Quarter, it will come down to Pliskova, Mertens and Belinda Bencic. Bencic is 1-0 against Pliskova and has never played against Mertens.

Pliskova is 2-0 against Mertens and would play her in the 4th Round if Mertens can get past Bencic.

Either way, I like Pliskova to come out of the bottom of Q1 and to take on Barty for a shot at the Semi Finals. Barty is 4-2 against Pliskova and 3-1 against her on hard courts.

Take Barty to cruise into the Semi Finals. There is nobody in her way until the Quarter Finals against Pliskova.

Quarter 2 Odds and Winner

Sofia Kenin (+600) – Quarter Odds (+1800)

Kenin is the defending champ and the #4 ranked player in the world. She’s also the highest-ranked American and looks to repeat as the AO champ.

Kenin’s best year as a pro came in 2020 when she won the AO and made it to the Finals of the French Open. Those were her best two performances in a Grand Slam as she had never made it past the 4th round prior to those results.

Kenin is 8-2 at the Australian Open and has evolved into a solid hard court player. She could cruise to the 4th Round before seeing her first real challenge in fellow American Jennifer Brady. With odds of +600 set by online tennis betting sites, she’s the favorite in this group.

Victoria Azarenka (+2000) – Quarter Odds (+500)

The 13th ranked Azarenka is a former two time Australian Open winner having won it in 2013 and 2014. She also has two Semi Final and five Quarter Final appearances.

Unfortunately, Azarenka has missed three of the last four Australian Opens. Yet, she finished off 2020 on a strong note having made it to the Finals of the US Open.

Azarenka is 39-10 all-time at the Australian Open and is a solid hard court player. The veteran could make some noise in Q2 before it’s all said and done.

Jennifer Brady (+2500) – Quarter Odds (+600)

The 25 year old American is currently ranked 24th in the world and aims to build off of her Semi Final success at the US Open to close out 2020.

She hasn’t had a great deal of success at the Australian Open having been bounced in the 1st Round of two of the last three Australian Opens. She’s 3-3 all-time Down Under.

Yet, Brady is still a good tennis player that can be a challenge to anyone including her fellow American Sofia Kenin.

Who Wins Quarter 2?

The 5th ranked Elina Svitolina is also in this Quarter as she’s the top seed in the bottom half of the Q2. She will be Kenin’s biggest test as Svitolina is 5-1 against Sofia all time.

With that said, I still believe in Kenin. She has an easier path to the Quarter Finals. Svitolina would have to get by Coco Gauff, Sloane Stephens, and possibly Victoria Azarenka to even have a shot at Kenin.

Take Kenin to sweep through Quarter 2 and into the Semi Finals against Ashleigh Barty.

Quarter 3 Odds and Winner

Naomi Osaka (+550) – Quarter Odds (+210)

The third ranked Osaka is the only woman to have won multiple Grand Slams in the last two years. There have been six different women to win a Grand Slam, which proves just how much parity is in women’s tennis.

Osaka won the 2019 Australian Open, but was bounced in the 3rd Round last year. She has a 15-4 record in this Grand Slam and is an excellent hard court player as she’s also a two time winner at the US Open including last year.

Despite the early struggles to 2020, Osaka finished up strong with a win at the US Open and is very excited for the challenge that she will face in her Quarter and Half.

Osaka’s biggest challenge won’t come until the 4th round where she could face Garbine Muguruza. They have never played each other before but being the odds-on favorite for this event, Osaka should breeze her way to the semis.

Garbine Muguruza (+1200) – Quarter Odds (+325)

The 15th ranked Spaniard is a two time Grand Slam winner having won the 2016 French Open and the 2017 Wimbledon. She also has two other Grand Slam Finals appearances which includes last year’s Australian Open where she lost to Kenin.

Muguruza has a 23-8 record in this Grand Slam and is a solid all-around player. However, she only has one Grand Slam Final appearance since winning the 2017 Wimbledon.

If she plays as well as she did last year, Muguruza could be a serious threat to Naomi Osaka in this Quarter. There’s nobody standing in her way before then.

Bianca Andreescu (+1800) – Quarter Odds (+550)

The 20 year old Canadian comes into the tournament as the 9th ranked player in the world. She’s a former US Open winner having won that tournament in 2019. However, she hasn’t made it past the 2nd Round in any other Grand Slam appearance.

Andreescu is a wild card in this Quarter as she took off all of 2020 due to covid. So, it’s unclear as to what form she’s in and if her game has evolved since the end of 2019.

Who Wins Quarter 3?

Two time Grand Slam winner Petra Kvitova is also in the bottom half of this Quarter. She made the Finals of the AO in 2019 and was in the QF last year. She was also in the SF of the French Open last year.

Kvitova is a tough opponent for anyone in this Quarter and I expect her to win the bottom portion of Q3. The winner of Osaka and Muguruza in the 4th Round should end up beating Kvitova and advancing to the Semi Finals.

I like Osaka to come out of this Quarter. It will be a tough challenge, but she’s one of the best players in the world.

Quarter 4 Odds and Winner

Serena Williams (+1000) – Quarter Odds (+300)

Serena Williams will begin her 2021 quest to win a record tying 24th Grand Slam title by trying to capture this year’s Australian Open.

Williams will not have an easy road to winning the AO for an 8th time. Her last win came in 2017. She was bounced in the 3rd round last year. Williams made it to the QF in 2019 and had three straight Final appearances from 2015-2017.

Williams’ first big challenge will be Aryna Sabalenka in the 4th Round. If she can win then she would most likely face Simona Halep in the Quarter Finals, Naomi Osaka in the Semi Finals and possibly Ashleigh Barty in the Finals. That’s the Top 3 ranked women in the sport and a very difficult path for Serena.

Aryna Sabalenka (+1200) – Quarter Odds (+350)

The 7th ranked Sabalenka is just 22 years old and looking to make a big step forward in her Grand Slam career. As of now, she’s never made it past the 4rd Round of a Grand Slam. That result came in the 2018 US Open.

Sabalenka certainly has the potential to evolve as a player, but her road to the Quarter Finals will have to go through Serena Williams and I don’t see that happening.

Simona Halep (+1200) – Quarter Odds (+350)

The #2 ranked women’s player Simona Halep sets out to try and capture her first ever Australian Open tournament title. She’s won the French Open and Wimbledon, but has yet to win the AO or the US Open.

Halep made it to the Semi Final of last year’s AO and the Finals in 2019. In 2019, she was bounced in the 4th Round by Serena Williams who she will have to face in the Quarter Finals if they both make it.

Halep has an easy path to the Quarter Final and is a solid option for winning Q4.

Who Wins Quarter 4?

Quarter 4 will come down to the QF matchup between Halep and Williams. In head to head action, Williams has a 9-2 record against Halep including going 7-2 on hard court surfaces.

I am going with Williams to win this matchup. If it were on clay or grass then I would give it to Halep. But, I believe that Serena still has an edge on the hard courts over Halep.

Who Wins the 2021 Australian Open?

My Semi Final matchups are:

Top Half: Ashleigh Barty vs Sofia Kenin

The Top Half will see Barty vs Kenin in a rematch from last year’s Australian Open. In all-time head to head action, Barty is 4-2 against Kenin.

Barty lost 7-6 and 7-5 to Kenin last year, but I believe she will get a measure of revenge this year as she takes out Kenin.

Bottom Half: Naomi Osaka vs Serena Williams

This will be the 5th meeting between these two women and they each have won two times apiace. Of course, Osaka beat Williams to win the 2018 US Open, which launched Naomi to the top of the sport.

Williams has already defeated Osaka this year in a warmup tournament proving that Serena is on form. I can see her beating Osaka in this Semi Final matchup as well.

The Australian Open Final

By time Williams makes it to the Finals, she would have had the toughest path to get there. I don’t believe she will have enough left in the tank to defeat Barty who is on a mission to win her first Australian Open.

Williams is 2-0 against Barty, but those matches came in 2014 and 2018. Barty is a much better player since then and has a relatively easy path to the Finals so get out your tennis betting apps and book her to win at +600.

Australian Open Winning Half

• Bottom Half (-155)
• Top Half (+125)

The Bottom Half is the favorite for this prop bet because it features Simona Halep, Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams. Yet, that Half of the Draw is very tough with numerous former Grand Slam winners.

I just don’t see Osaka, Williams, or Halep being able to have enough left in the gas tank to win the tournament especially since Barty and Kenin have an easier path in the Top Half.

Australian Open Winning Quarter

• 3rd Quarter (+200)
• 4th Quarter (+240)
• 1st Quarter (+275)
• 2nd Quarter (+375)

Quarter 3 is the favorite because of Naomi Osaka. But, she has a tough Quarter and is not guaranteed to even beat Garbine Muguruza.

Serena Williams and Simona Halep will battle in the 4th Quarter to take on Osaka or Muguruza in the Semi Finals. I just don’t see the Bottom Half surviving the grueling Draw.

Since I’m taking Barty to win the AO, I am going to hedge my bet and take the 4th Quarter option for this prop bet. This gives me Williams and Halep along with my Top Half bet above and Barty winning the Australian Open.

You can certainly play it differently!