The Wimbledon Championships are about to start. With the draw revealed on Friday, we know now have the betting odds to win the grand slam. Who has the most direct path to the title? Here are the four best candidates:
Petra Kvitova
Odds To Win Wimbledon: +325
This is the player to beat. She is not a heavy favorite, but she deserves more of the benefit of the doubt than anyone else on grass. Kvitova has won two Wimbledon titles and, unlike Serena Williams, has played well in recent weeks, winning the Birmingham warm-up event before Wimbledon. Kvitova has won five WTA Tour titles this year on three different surfaces. She has been highly productive and has shown that she can harness her powerful strokes, keeping them in the court instead of spraying balls into the doubles alleys or beyond the baseline. Kvitova is hitting the ball better and harder than her peers. It will take a quality performance to knock her out.
Madison Keys
Odds To Win Wimbledon: +1650
The French Open semifinalist and U.S. Open runner-up is playing the best tennis of her career, and at Wimbledon, her big serve should be rewarded. It should enable her to win a lot of quick and easy points and move through the draw. Serena Williams could be her opponent in the fourth round, but Serena’s physical fitness is uncertain after she had to withdraw from the French Open before a possible match against Maria Sharapova. Keys does not labor under similar health concerns. If she can get past that Serena hurdle, she should have a great chance of making the semifinals and perhaps going a few steps beyond.
Sloane Stephens
Odds To Win Wimbledon: +1550
The player who has made two of the past three major finals and has quickly established herself as one of the foremost threats in the WTA is hard to ignore at Wimbledon. Stephens is so good at moving laterally and covering the whole court to force opponents into making errors, but Stephens is not just a defensive player. She can play attacking, offensive tennis with very flat and hard groundstrokes to the corners of the court. Her serve is not elite, but it is above average. She often outflanks her opponents and can win matches with cleverness and creativity. She landed in a soft quarter of the draw and will be heavily favored to make the semifinals. If she plays Serena, she might be in trouble, but if she plays Keys, she has beaten her at the U.S. Open and the French Open. Expecting Stephens to make the final is a very reasonable outlook for this tournament.
Garbine Muguruza
Odds To Win Wimbledon: +825
The French Open semifinalist and defending Wimbledon champion knows how to play her best at these two major tournaments in Europe in late spring and early Summer. Muguruza has made two Wimbledon finals, winning one, and two French Open semifinals, losing this year to Simona Halep but winning in 2016 en route to taking home the title. Muguruza looked great for most of her tournament in Paris but disappointed in the semifinal loss to Halep. If she gets back to the Wimbledon semifinals, Halep could be her opponent again, and Muguruza would be in great position to gain revenge and go all the way.
*Odds are courtesy of BetDSI Sportsbook.
