Unseeded Barbora Krejcikova charged to her first Grand Slam title at the French Open on Saturday, and similar opportunity appears to be awaiting the women’s draw when Wimbledon begins in two weeks.
Upsets, injuries and off-court issues laid waste to the top seeds at Roland Garros.
Top-ranked Ash Barty retired from her second-round match with a hip injury. No. 2 Naomi Osaka played one match in Paris but withdrew from the event due to personal reasons.
No. 3 Simona Halep didn’t even travel to Roland Garros as she recovers from a torn calf suffered in a warm-up event last month. Eighth-ranked Serena Williams will make another run at a record-tying 24th Grand Slam title, but the 39-year-old last won Wimbledon five years ago and claimed her most recent Slam title at the 2017 Australian Open.
Barty remains the pre-Wimbledon favorite at +550 by DraftKings, but she’s hardly the consensus favorite.
Like the players recovering from injuries, Osaka’s status remains uncertain after withdrawing from the French Open to avoid being a distraction as she faced punishment for refusing media obligations. The 23-year-old Japanese star is a four-time Slam champion but has never advanced past the third round at Wimbledon.
Osaka is still the +500 favorite at BetMGM and the +600 favorite at PointsBet, with Barty (+600, +650) right behind her.
Williams has claimed seven of her 23 Grand Slam singles titles at Wimbledon. She is the third betting favorite at BetMGM (+700) and PointsBet (+800), while DraftKings is offering 2020 French Open champion Iga Swiatek at +800 ahead of Williams (+900).
Krejcikova is riding a 12-match winning streak coming off her triumph at Roland Garros. The 25-year-old from the Czech Republic will be in the main draw at Wimbledon for the first time in her career.
Known as a doubles specialist before her win at Roland Garros, Krejcikova is a +3000 longshot at DraftKings while the other two books are not yet offering odds on her winning Wimbledon.
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova reached her first Grand Slam singles final at Roland Garros in her 52nd career attempt. She is being offered at +5000 by BetMGM and DraftKings to win Wimbledon.
Halep is the reigning women’s Wimbledon champion, having defeated Williams in the 2019 final. Last year’s event was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Halep accepted a wild card into the inaugural Bad Homburg tournament the week before Wimbledon, and she will be the top seed. Halep is being offered at +800 by BetMGM, +850 by PointsBet and +1600 by DraftKings to successfully defend her Wimbledon title.
–Field Level Media
