Obviously at the mercy of the draw as an unseeded player, Serena Williams avoided any kind of blockbuster matchup in the opening round when the Wimbledon bracket was revealed on Friday morning. The 44-year-old American, who is out of retirement and will play singles for the first time since the 2022 U.S. Open, awaits world No. 53 Maya Joint on Tuesday. Williams could meet Alexandra Eala in the second round and Iga Swiatek in the third.
Reigning French Open champion Mirra Andreeva is in the same quarter as top seed Aryna Sabalenka. It is a rough draw all around for Sabalenka, who could face Emma Raducanu in the last 32 and Naomi Osaka in round four.
In addition to Sabalenka vs. Andreeva, other potential quarterfinal matchups are Swiatek vs. Elina Svitolina, Elena Rybakina vs. Amanda Anisimova, and Jessica Pegula vs. Coco Gauff.
Here are some of my best Wimbledon bets on the women’s side:
Mirra Andreeva to win Wimbledon (+950)
The French Open title was up for grabs pretty much right from the start and Andreeva was the one who capitalized on the opportunity. Don’t be surprised if she parlays that momentum into more success at the All-England Club. The 19-year-old Russian advanced to the Wimbledon fourth round as a 16-year-old in 2023 and reached the quarterfinals last summer. Finding herself in Sabalenka’s section of the bracket is not ideal, but at this point there is no guarantee that the Belarusian will even reach the last eight.
Jessica Pegula to win Wimbledon (+1500)
Alexander Zverev was the best player to have never won a major on the men’s side before lifting the Roland Garros trophy earlier this month. Pegula is arguably the best player to have never won a major on the women’s side. Why can’t she do in London what Zverev did in Paris? The 31-year-old American is a Grand Slam finalist (2024) and has reached at least the quarterfinals at eight other slams. Pegula beat Sabalenka — 6-0 in the third set, in fact — en route to the Berlin semifinals last week, so confidence is high.
Elina Svitolina to win Wimbledon (+3500)
As the eighth seed, Svitolina has a good draw for Wimbledon. She would not face Swiatek until the quarterfinals, Rybakina until the semis, and either Sabalenka, Andreeva, Pegula, or Gauff until the title match. The 31-year-old Ukrainian has reached the quarterfinals or better at seven Grand Slams dating back to Roland Garros in 2023. That includes two semifinal results — one of which came at Wimbledon in 2023.
Well done Jess!
Well done Karolina!!😀
Yeah happy days
Naomi !! Wow!! Saba demolished!!
I like Osaka, nice to see her playing well on grass, and loving tennis again
It’s great for tennis to have Naomi playing so well again!
Unusual to see Saba having no answers and being outplayed by another player
She looked one dimensional.
True, who ya got in the Bencic Gauff match Amy
Bencic if she has self belief.
Gauff should have lost to Solana Sierra who choked.
Another match I’m looking forward to seeing
Definitely a brand new champion on the WTA
Well done Karolina! Sorry to see Naomi go. Didn’t play as well as against Saba but was out played today.
Sad Jess lost. I just saw the first set when she was clearly the better player. Gauff is mentally stronger though. She’s the fave for the title now which is kind of wild given her record on grass.
This is where I posted!!
Hope Muchova wins it, although I do like Coco