The past six weeks of tennis have all been building up to one event—Roland Garros. The French Open, as it is more colloquially known, is the most significant clay court event of the WTA Tour season and will get underway this Sunday.
Poland’s Iga Swiatek will be hitting the Parisian dirt eager to claim her third title in four years, extending her dominance at the top of the sport. However, she’ll have stiff competition from her two greatest rivals in 2023—Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka. Rybakina comes in hot after winning Rome, while Sabalenka will be quietly confident as the year’s only Grand Slam winner so far.
Who will come out on top? Or will a dark horse surprise everyone? We break down the answers to these questions ahead of the WTA French Open 2023 with odds from bookmaker William Hill.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: May 23rd, 10:00 A.M. (GMT)
Despite Iga Swiatek retiring injured this time last week in her Rome match against Elena Rybakina, the World No. 1 is a clear favourite to win Roland Garros 2023. With odds of 1.73, she’s twice as strong as the next favourite in the betting odds—Aryna Sabalenka, who is paying 4.00. Behind these two is Rybakina on 7.00 before Barbora Krejcikova and Ons Jabeur round out the top five favourites at the bookies on 13.00 and 15.00 respectively.
While the likes of Jelena Ostapenko, Coco Gauff or Ons Jabeur could find some form and threaten, the realistic betting options heading into the French Open are the top three women in the world.
Iga Swiatek has stated that her thigh injury is not serious, and she was simply taking precautions ahead of Roland Garros when she withdrew from her match last week. Given that she’s won two of the past three French Opens and is 28-6 for the year with two titles, it’s hard to overlook the Pole as a strong bet.
However, there are better returns to be found backing either Rybakina or Sabalenka. We’re tipping Sabalenka to be the best woman to bet on in the 2023 French Open, simply because of her sheer form in 2023.
The Russian leads the singles race this year with an even more impressive 29-5 record. She’s claimed three titles, including a Grand Slam, and has wins over both Swiatek and Rybakina recently—and both in big finals. Her clay pedigree is proven, given her Madrid title a few weeks ago, and Sabalenka looks prime to pick up her second Grand Slam in Paris.
