Action continues in women’s tennis this week, with the WTA Tour heading to Dubai for yet another WTA 1000 event. The Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships will see a plethora of in-form, dangerous women all jostling for the title at the top of the sport in what promises to be a brilliant week of tennis.
Iga Swiatek heads to Dubai as the woman to beat having just lifted the trophy in Doha over the weekend for the third consecutive time. However, she’ll have her hands full this week if she’s after an inaugural Dubai title, with rival Aryna Sabalenka returning to the WTA Tour for the first time since winning the Australian Open in January. Throw in Elena Rybakina and Coco Gauff, plus plenty of dark horse contenders, and this should be a very competitive tournament.
We break down all the latest odds from bookmaker William Hill and outline the best bets to make on the Dubai Open this week.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: February 19th, 3:30 A.M. (GMT)
Outright betting odds show just how tight this event is predicted to be at bookmaker William Hill. Aryna Sabalenka has her nose ahead at 3.00 to win the tournament, but Iga Swiatek is just behind the Belarusian on 3.25. Following these two, Coco Gauff and Elena Rybakina are equally in the mix, paying 5.00 and 6.50 respectively. From here, though, the odds become much longer, with Qinwen Zheng at 19.00 and Jelena Ostapenko returning 26.00.
There are two betting paths to take here. Backing one of the top four favourites, in which case it’s a matter of deciphering who has the best shot at the title this week. Or, wagering on a high return, high risk dark hose. Let’s look through both of these options.
In terms of the top four favourites, we do agree with bookmaker William Hill that Sabalenka is the lead contender here. The world No. 2 has just the one loss to her name this year having lifted the title in Melbourne and making the final of Brisbane. She’s had a good month off following her Grand Slam victory and will be returning refreshed and triumphant.
Sabalenka’s rivals, on the other hand, have just had tough weeks in Doha. Swiatek and Rybakina went all the way to the final and will be struggling to get match ready with a quick turnaround between events. Gauff, while rested after an early exit, has a question mark after her poor loss to Katerina Siniakova in Doha.
For those more interested in a dark horse bet, the best one on the WTA Tour this year is hands down Jelena Ostapenko. The Lativan has two titles already in 2024 and has only lost to a women named Victoria Azarenka since October. When she’s on, she’s on, and for a return of 26.00, it’s a tempting bet to back Ostapenko to yet again go all the way.
