Similar to the ATP Tour, the WTA Tour is also hosting back-to-back Masters 1000 events ahead of the US Open, with action heading to the Cincinnati Masters this week. Last week saw plenty of upsets in Montreal, with none of ‘The Big Three’ making the final, and American Jessica Pegula lifting the trophy instead.
In Cincinnati, there will be plenty of women wanting to make the most of one last chance to win big matches on hard courts ahead of the US Open. None will be wanting to do this more than Iga Swiatek, who fell two matches short at the Canadian Open 2023. Can she get revenge over Jessica Pegula this week, or will the American continue her strong form. What about Elena Rybakina, who looked promising despite a challenging schedule with rain delays in Montreal?
We look at all the best bets to make on the Western & Southern Open this week, using the latest odds from bookmaker William Hill.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: August 12th, 11:30 A.M. (GMT)
Looking at the outright betting odds, it’s the usual story on the WTA Tour. Iga Swiatek is out in front with odds of 3.25, while Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina are chasing, paying 6.00 and 7.00 respectively. Canadian Open winner Jessica Pegula comes in fourth favourite with odds of 9.00, before the returning Ons Jabeur rounds out the top five at a long 15.00.
In terms of the best bets to make this week, we expect to see a focused Iga Swiatek arrive in Cincinnati. The world No 1 did not have a bad week in Montreal by any stretch of the imagination, making the semi-finals and losing in a third set to eventual winner Jessica Pegula. In fact, across her past three events, she’s made a Grand Slam quarter-final, won a title, and made a Masters semi-final.
Heading into the US Open, Swiatek will be eager to get her game firing on all cylinders. The Pole has a comfortable draw, avoiding both Aryna Sabalenka and Jessica Pegula until the final. She’ll have to play Elena Rybakina in a semi-final potentially, but the Kazakh has a tough quarter with Coco Gauff and Liudmila Samsonova lurking, so may well arrived beaten up, if at all.
Should Swiatek make the final, there’s a good chance she’ll face off against Jessica Pegula again. If there’s one thing the 22-year-old is good at, it’s learning from her defeats and bouncing back strong. Beating Switek in back-to-back weeks is no mean feat, and we say Pegula will bare the brunt of a determined world No 1 in the final.
