Brace yourselves sports fans – there’s about to be an avalanche of brilliant sporting action over the coming weeks. With the 2024 Summer Olympics kicking off in Paris this weekend, there’s a smorgasbord of events to bet on. We’ve dug into all of the latest odds from bookmaker William Hill and found the 10 best predictions for you to wager on this coming week.
Whether you’re a fan of tennis, rugby sevens, badminton, volleyball or even rugby league, we have something for you. Read on to find out why we say Jelena Ostapenko is a great bet in the women’s tennis, and why there’s excellent money to be had wagering on Poland in the volleyball. Don’t care too much for the Olympics? Never fear, we’ve included some NRL picks for you as well, with a hot prediction heading into round 21 of the NRL this weekend.
Best Tennis Predictions This Week
Is this the most anticipated Olympics tennis event in history? A multitude of storylines collide. We have Novak Djokovic seeking the cherry on top of his already illustrious career, British legend Andy Murry playing in his final tournament, and Rafael Nadal not far behind him. Carlos Alcaraz is in hot form, while Iga Swiatek is riding an enormous winning streak on clay.
Throw in a rock-solid Alexander Zverev looking to defend his gold medal from 2020, and we have a brilliant week of tennis on our hands. Here are the three best bets we see this week on the two Olympics tennis singles events.
Djokovic to Win Olympic Gold @ 3.50
That’s right. We’re backing the 24-time Grand Slam champion to tick off the one big box missing in his career. Djokovic has won more Grand Slams than any other man, finished No. 1 in the world more times, and generally holds every record under the sun in men’s tennis. The one thing he hasn’t done, however, is win an Olympic medal.
We say that changes next weekend and suggest betting on Djokovic to win gold at 3.50. Why? Several reasons.
First, there’s no denying the fact that Djokovic has had one of his worst seasons in recent memory. In fact, this is the first time since 2005 that Djokovic heads into August without a title so far in the year. By the way, Djokovic was a teenager in 2005.
The thing is, there have still been promising signs from the Serbian over recent months. At this stage of his career–Djokovic is 37 years old–he’s naturally slowing down and playing less tournaments. He’s been clear that the most important thing to him is winning big titles, and his primary challenge is motivation, rather than physical challenges.
Throughout the first half of the 2024 season, it was clear that Djokovic’s motivation levels were wavering. Fair enough–he’d won four out of five major titles in 2023, and was still leagues ahead of his rivals despite being well past 35. This led to a range of lacklustre performances by the Serb, with early exits in some tournaments, and limp defeats when usually we’d see the former No. 1 dig deep.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: July 25th, 12:00 AM (GMT)
However, at the French Open, this began to change. Djokovic won back-to-back five-set matches, coming from behind to defeat Lorenzo Musetti and Francisco Cerundolo (one of these matches finished after 3:00 a.m. local time). The fire was back, and it only continued when a knee injury was overcome in incredible time.
Djokovic’s Wimbledon performances were also promising. He showed the kind of mongrel that’s been missing in 2024, racing past Holger Rune and Lorenzo Musetti. Sure, his loss to Alcaraz in the final wasn’t great, but considering his lack of preparation, the tournament was still a success.
That brings us to Paris. Djokovic will be supremely motivated to succeed at the Olympics. It’s literally been the focus of his year, with the 37-year-old being overt in his desire to claim a gold medal. You wouldn’t bet against the willpower of Djokovic prevailing here. With no Jannik Sinner in the draw anymore, and Alcaraz due a stumble, our pick is for the GOAT to go all the way.
Bookmaker William Hill has this bet paying 3.50, with Djokovic sitting behind Alcaraz in the second line of betting. Alexander Zverev, Rafael Nadal and Casper Ruud are in the mix too, paying between 6.00 and 13.00. However, it’s largely a two-horse race between Alcaraz and Djokovic.
Swiatek to Win Olympic Gold @ 1.53
Over in the women’s draw, we agree with bookmaker William Hill that it will be the favourite Iga Swiatek who takes out the gold medal at the Paris Olympics.
Swiatek is running as hot as it gets on clay at the moment. The Pole won the Madrid Masters, then the Rome Masters, and then the French Open. That puts her on a 19-match winning streak on the surface in 2024, with her only loss in recent memory coming in a deciding set against Elena Rybakina, back in the semi-finals of Stuttgart in April.
With the Olympics being played at Roland-Garros, the 23-year-old also has another encouraging streak to look to. Swiatek has won the French Open four of the past five years, including the last three tournaments in a row. That puts her on a 21-match winning streak at the venue, with 32 wins from her last 33 matches, and only two losses in her whole career at Roland-Garros.
All this to say, she’s a strong favourite to win gold in Paris. Particularly since her biggest rival, Aryna Sabalenka, isn’t competing. Throw in the withdrawal of Ons Jabeur and Marketa Vondrousova, and this one swings even further in Swiatek’s favour.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: July 24th, 12:00 AM (GMT)
It’s understandable then that bookmaker William Hill has Swiatek so far ahead in the outright betting odds. The five-time Grand Slam champion pays just 1.53 to prevail, with her next closest competitor–Coco Gauff–behind on 7.00. Elena Rybakina is in the mix too at 10.00, before former world No. 1 Naomi Osaka and up-and-coming teen Mirra Andreeva round out the top five favourites at 15.00.
Jelena Ostapenko to Win a Medal @ 10.00
Wrapping up our tennis predictions for this week, we predict that Jelena Ostapenko will make a deep run in Paris and secure herself a medal. The Lativian is more mercurial than a great white shark at the end of its life, but all signs are pointing towards her putting together a hot run of form this coming week.
Anyone that has seen Ostapenko play will recognise that she has a ‘go big or go home’ style of play. She’s ultra aggressive, going after every ball and never leaving the court with any unanswered questions. This means she’s just as likely to go out first-round, as she is to defeat Swiatek in the quarters.
With that said, Ostapenko has gone a few months without one of her genuinely hot streaks. She began the year as the first woman to win two titles, claiming a pair of trophies within the opening five weeks of the season. Since then, she’s gone off the boil. Her recent run at Wimbledon was encouraging, however, and it feels as though she’s ready to pounce.
As of the time of writing, bookmaker William Hill is paying odds of 26.00 for Ostapenko to win gold. However, we expect that closer to the time of play, once the draw has been released, William Hill will offer some more detailed betting markets. One of these should be ‘to win a medal’, and we forecast Ostapenko’s line will be around 10.00 for this. We say this is a great bet, because even if she plays great then fizzles late, punters will still get a healthy return.
Best Rugby Sevens Predictions This Week
It’s one of the newer events at the Olympics, with rugby sevens being played in Paris for just the third Olympic Games. Nonetheless, it’s going to be a hotly contested tournament on the men’s side, with a good half a dozen teams all having a realistic shot at claiming the gold next week. Here are the two best bets we see over the coming days on Olympics rugby sevens:
New Zealand to Win Olympics Gold @ 4.50
We expect New Zealand to go all the way and stand in the top spot on the podium this year. The Kiwis have been favourites heading into the past two Olympic Games, and have fallen short with Fiji punching above their weight to win back-to-back golds.
This Olympics, however, New Zealand are well-placed. They only finished third in the world series this year, behind Argentina and Ireland. It is worthwhile to mention that the All Blacks sevens team won the final two tournaments of the regular season, rounding themselves into form nicely ahead of the Olympics. There’s a sense that the Kiwis have based their year around success in Paris, and we’re predicting they’ll achieve just that.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: July 24th, 12:00 AM (GMT)
Ahead of the tournament’s start, France are heavy favourites to win. The home team pays 2.75 to claim gold, with New Zealand back in second place at 4.50. Argentina are right next to the Kiwis on 4.50 as well, with defending champions Fiji just behind on 5.00. Ireland round out the top five on 11.00, while Australia and South Africa are also outside chances at 17.00 and 19.00 respectively.
Fiji to Win Pool C @ 3.25
Fiji find themselves in Pool C alongside hot favourites France. We predict that the hosts will stumble, however, with the pressure of performing for their fans too great. The same thing happened for France at the Rugby World Cup last year in the longer format of the game.
Instead, we’re backing Fiji to find some form and rekindle the magic that has seen them win so many Olympic golds. While we think they’ll fall short of the gold this year, we do think they’ll top Pool C.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: July 24th, 12:00 AM (GMT)
Bookmaker William Hill is offering great odds for the Fijians to finish in their group’s top spot. The French pay 1.36, putting Fiji back on 3.25. Behind them, USA are at 17.00, before Uruguay are big underdogs at 101.00.
Best Badminton Predictions This Week
The pinnacle of the badminton year also occurs in Paris over the next week, with the men’s and women’s singles events featuring some particularly fascinating contests. Here are the best bets we see across these two badminton events at the 2024 Olympics:
Viktor Axelsen to Win Men’s Singles @ 4.00
There’s no denying the fact that it’s been a challenging past two years for Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen. The former world No. 1 was once a dominant force in the badminton world, breaking a host of records and winning almost every event he entered.
Gone are those days, however, with Shi Yuqi ousting him from the top spot, and Axelsen’s usual victories becoming far less regular. However, we’re still backing the Dane to prevail in this year’s Olympics.
Simply put, the pressure on Shi Yuqi will be far too high, while Axelsen comes in with remarkably low expectations on him in these games. Yes, he’s the defending gold medalist, but all eyes are no longer on him. We say his winning ways will return on the biggest stage–as they often do for great champions–and Axelsen will win yet another gold medal in Paris.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: July 24th, 12:00 AM (GMT)
Bookmaker William Hill has the odds quite tight between Yuqi and Axelsen heading into the men’s singles event. The Chinese player holds a slight lead at 3.00, with Axelsen behind on 4.00. These two are well ahead in the odds though, with the third line of betting coming in at 10.00 in the form of Li Shifeng, also of China. Another Danish player, Anders Antonsen, is third favourite, before Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsam rounds out the top five betting options.
An Se-young to Win Women’s Singles @ 3.25
In the women’s badminton singles event, we predict that it will be top seed An Se-young who claims gold next week.
Se-young has been in fine form across 2024 so far and will be the name on everyone’s lips in Paris this year. She’s picked up three of five big titles this season, winning the Super 1000 in Malaysia, plus twin Super 750s in France and Singapore.
Her success already in France this year will be a boon to the South Korean’s Olympics chances, and it’s hard to see the current world No. 1 not going all the way to claim her maiden Olympics medal in Paris.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: July 24th, 12:00 AM (GMT)
Se-young’s biggest competition will come from world No. 2 Chen Yufei. The Chinese player is right on her tail in bookmaker William Hill’s odds, with Se-young at 3.25 and Yufei paying 3.50. Spain’s Carolina Marin comes next at 7.00, before Akane Yamaguchi on 8.50. Rounding out the top five betting favourites is 2020 silver medallist Tai Tzu-ying on 9.00.
Best Volleyball Predictions This Week
Men’s and women’s volleyball will take place in the first week of the Olympics too. This has some great betting potential, the best two wagers which we’ve outlined below:
Poland to Win Men’s Event @ 5.00
We predict that this will be Poland’s year–finally! The proud volleyball nation has had to wait 48 years since their last Olympics win, but all signs are pointing to that drought being broken in 2024.
The last two seasons have seen Poland become a dominant force in men’s volleyball. They have moved their way to the top of the world rankings, and are the reigning 2023 Men’s European Championship winners. With Bartosz Kurek striking as well as he ever has, it’s hard to see Poland not making a deep run in Paris.
The fact that Poland recently fell short in the Men’s Volleyball Nations League is actually encouraging. They’ll arrive at the Olympics with a reminder of how bitter defeat tastes, and shouldn’t have any hiccups that a more comfortable team otherwise could have suffered.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: July 24th, 12:00 AM (GMT)
William Hill puts Poland as even favourites alongside home team France. Both pay 5.00 to win gold, with Italy trailing in third spot on 6.50 before Japan come in at 7.00. The United States round out the top five at 8.50. However, Brazil and Slovenia are also strong chances, sitting as sixth and seventh favourites on 9.00 and 10.00 respectively.
United States to Win Women’s Event @ 7.00
While it’s a favourite that we think will prevail in the men’s volleyball, we’re going against the bookies in the women’s event.
The United States women’s team have been a consistent presence on the podium over the past 16 years. Since 2004, they’ve medalled at every Olympic Games, bagging a bronze, two silvers and a gold medal over the last four editions.
In Tokyo, they powered their way to a gold medal with a fiery 3-0 win over Brazil. The fact that they’ve slipped down to fifth in the world rankings is no issue: this is a team that knows how to step it up when needed, and we predict that’s exactly what the USA women’s team will do in Paris.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: July 24th, 12:00 AM (GMT)
The United States sit fourth in the overall betting odds at bookmaker William Hill. Italy lead the market at 4.00 to claim gold. Behind them are Turkey on 5.00, followed by Brazil at 6.00. The USA women then come in at 7.00, ahead of Serbia who pay 8.00. China, Poland and Japan are all considered realistic chances of winning as well, returning between 9.00 and 11.00 before the odds begin to drop off for the remaining nations.
Best Rugby League Prediction This Week
Tired of hearing about the Olympics? Fair enough. The good news is there’s plenty else going on in the sporting world, chief of which is the NRL down under. Here’s the best bet we see this week on the rugby league action in Australia and New Zealand.
New Zealand Warriors to Beat Wests Tigers 13+ @ 1.85
Safe to say it hasn’t been the best season for either the New Zealand Warriors or the Wests Tigers. The Kiwis came into 2024 with high expectations, having made the penultimate round of the finals last year. However, as they often do, the Warriors failed to live up to expectations, and now find their hopes of making the top eight dangling by a thread with only a handful of matches remaining in the season.
For the Tigers, at least they’ve been consistent. They were poor last year, and they’ve been poor this year. The abrupt departure of John Bateman hasn’t helped their chances of success against the Warriors this Friday, with the club shrouded in scandal after letting one of their stars head back to Europe before the season’s end.
With just four wins from 18 matches, playing away from home, and having had a distracted week, it’s mighty hard not to see the Tigers getting another thrashing this Friday. The Warriors will be disappointed in their last two close losses, and will know if they win big here, they live to fight another day in terms of playoff chances in 2024. We’re backing the Warriors to win by a margin of 13+.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: July 24th, 12:00 AM (GMT)
Bookmaker William Hill gives this punt a modest return of 1.85. This is the most popular market of ‘the dozen’, with Warriors 1-12 the next best at 3.00. If the Tigers are to win, bookies predict it will be by 1-12 at 5.00, while a Tigers 13+ victory is long odds at 15.00.
The Best Bets to Make This Week
Here are the 10 best bets to make on tennis, volleyball, badminton, rugby sevens and rugby league this week:
- Djokovic to win gold in Olympics men’s singles tennis @ 4.00
- Swiatek to win gold in Olympics women’s singles tennis @ 1.53
- Ostapenko to win a medal in Olympics women’s singles tennis @ 10.00
- New Zealand to win gold in Olympics rugby sevens @ 4.50
- Fiji to win Pool C in Olympics rugby sevens @ 3.25
- Axelsen to win gold in Olympics badminton men’s singles @ 4.00
- An Se-young to win gold in Olympics badminton women’s singles @ 3.25
- Poland to win gold in Olympics volleyball men’s event @ 5.00
- United States to win gold in Olympics volleyball women’s event @ 7.00
- New Zealand Warriors to beat Wests Tigers 13+ in NRL @ 1.85
You’ve heard our predictions, and seen the odds from bookmaker William Hill, now it’s your turn. Think Djokovic will claim gold? And what about Axelsen to reclaim form just in time? Whichever punt you feel most confident in, head to bookmaker William Hill and get a wager in before these markets expire.
