tennis | Tuesday, December 20, 2022 11:38 AM (Revised at: Tuesday, December 20, 2022 11:39 AM)

2023 Women’s Australian Open Futures Analysis and Best Bets

Jon Reid

2023 Women’s Australian Open Best Bets: Tuesday, December 20th

After taking a look at the men’s outright prices and where value may be found for the opening grand slam event of the 2023 season, in this article, we’ll look to the women’s side of things and try to find some decent prices to look to play for that same event.

With the women’s field tending to be more wide open – especially on quicker hard courts, where world No. 1 Iga Swiatek doesn’t seem invincible – we should see odds on a few women that are worth taking a shot at.

Let’s delve into what those might be!

In this article:

2023 Women’s Australian Open Preview
2023 Women’s Australian Open Bets

2023 Women’s Australian Open Preview

January 16th to January 29th

Prior to going over some of the players I think stand a decent chance down under next month, I first want to look at some of the favourites for the tournament and why their chances of winning may be slightly overstated – thus, allowing us to find value on some others.

First, as mentioned in the introduction, Swiatek is one heck of a player and amassing a sensational CV for someone that is just 21 years old, but she’s not infallible on quicker surfaces. We saw that last year when Danielle Collins hit her off the court in the semifinals in Melbourne, as well as in London, where she dropped a set as a 1.01 favourite in the second round, before bowing out in the third to Alize Cornet.

It’s possible to beat the phenom in these conditions, and I’m banking on someone to do so.

As for some of the others, Ons Jabeur is still a tad too inconsistent with her game, despite how well-rounded it is (and her ability to lose from advantageous positions in the biggest events is off-putting), Coco Gauff’s forehand is a massive liability in quicker conditions (the American teen hasn’t been past the fourth round at the Australian Open or Wimbledon), Caroline Garcia’s aggressive return style and lack of adjustments can be taken advantage of by bigger servers and hitters, and Aryna Sabalenka’s game is far too hit-or-miss for me to back to win seven matches on the trot.

2023 Women’s Australian Open Best Bets

That brings me to some of the players worth taking a shot on. With the women’s game so wide open, I’ll be looking to back some of the players with longer odds who profile well for the conditions.

For starters, Barbora Krejcikova seems to be an intriguing price at over 20/1. She took down a pair of indoor tournaments late in 2022, beating bigger servers and hitters like Iga Swiatek, Elena Rybakina and Beatriz Haddad Maia, as well as quick-court aficionado Belinda Bencic. Her first serve is far more imposing than it was a few years ago, and she went to a final in a lead-in tournament last year, as well as the quarterfinals at the Australian Open.

Another intriguing price is Rybakina, whose 20/1 price point seems worth taking a small position on. She has the serve and forehand combination to hit through anyone on any given day. She won Wimbledon on courts that reward that game style in 2022, and she would’ve been at the year-end championships had those points counted. Further, her power game doesn’t produce as many double faults or wild errors as some others that possess her height and power-centric game.

Finally, my longshot selection is Danish youngster Clara Tauson. At just 19 years old, she’s not only inside the top-100 at the moment but had reached the top 35 in the women’s game prior to injuries derailing her 2022 campaign. While her game is much more raw, the firepower on serve and from the baseline is there, and a good run of form for seven matches cannot be ruled out. After struggling with said injuries for much of 2022, she finally looked healthy again later in the year, and managed to win an ITF event in quick indoor conditions, before losing in both Angers and Limoges to Anhelina Kalinina – first in the quarters, and then in the final. With her big game and recent success on hard courts, I’m happy to put a little wager on her longer odds.

Selections:

Barbora Krejcikova to win the Australian Open at 23.00 with Bet365 for 1/10 stakes.

Elena Rybakina to win the Australian Open at 21.00 with Bet365 for 1/10 stakes.
Clara Tauson to win the Australian Open at 67.00 with Bet365 for 1/10 stakes.

Odds as at 11:00 pm on December 19th, 2022. Odds may now differ.