While a lot of the attention for sports fans across the globe might be on the NFL postseason, don’t forget that the first Grand Slam is on the way for the tennis world. With the Australian Open here, people can’t wait to see who will end up winning on both sides. In this piece, we have our Australian Open picks for the women’s tournament. Who will end up being the champion?
•Women’s 2023 Australian Open
• Sunday, January 15th to Saturday, January 28th
• Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia
To no one’s surprise, Iga Swiatek is the favorite to win the Australian Open on the women’s side. Swiatek is without question one of the top players in the world, and she knows that there’s going to be a lot of attention on her from start to finish in the tournament. The 21-year-old Polish star enters this tourney as the world’s No. 1 ranked women’s player.
While Swiatek may not have the experience as some of the older competitors in the Open, don’t think for a second that she’s not mature enough to wipe away all the outside noise and focus on the task at hand: winning the Grand Slam. Swiatek is a special talent and people know how great she can be whenever there’s a racket in her hand. She’s focused on making plenty of noise in Melbourne.
| Australian Open odds |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swiatek to win | +220 | +220 | +220 |
| Sabalenka to win | +700 | +700 | +700 |
| Pegula to win | +1000 | +1000 | +1000 |
| Garcia to win | +1200 | +1200 | +1200 |
For Swiatek, her title chase will get started on Sunday in the first round going up against Jule Niemeier. Niemeier will hope to record a monster upset in this one, but the expectation is that Swiatek will have no issues moving on to the second round. Many people are checking the best tennis betting odds and firing in early bets on the young, promising talent.
According to the best-rated sportsbooks, which includes the reliable Bovada review, Swiatek enters the Australian Open with her +220 Las Vegas betting odds to win it all. As we said, there are a ton of folks who aren’t wasting time placing their money on the Polish sensation. Believe it or not, though, we think a surprising result is on the way later this month.
Leading up to things, Jessica Pegula is our pick to win the Australian Open. Pegula is ranked the No. 3 player in the world, and she’s hungrier than ever to show that she’s among the best out there. Just like Swiatek, Pegula has an unreal amount of talent. The average fan may not well know her, but she’s surely looking to showcase her style in a big way once the tournament gets underway.
One thing that’s really going to help Pegula from a confidence standpoint is that she’s no stranger to taking down Swiatek. Just recently, Pegula upset Swiatek at the United Cup Semifinals. It was a result that no one was expecting, but Pegula was able to get the job done in an impressive fashion. She knows that she had a bit of an advantage, but she also made a big-time statement.
“The conditions are different than anywhere else I’ve played her,” Pegula said after the win. “Maybe I had a little bit of an advantage. They just flew in yesterday. The fastest conditions I have played her. Every other place I’ve played her has been pretty slow. I think that favored me a lot, and I was able to use that to my advantage.”
Per the oddsmakers, Pegula has been given +1000 odds to win it all. The American star has a lot of people in her corner, and there’s sure going to be a lot of folks in person down in Australia ready to cheer her on. It won’t be easy, but we think Pegula 100 percent has a strong chance of taking down the rest of the field and capturing the glory. We’re going with her as our champion.
While Pegula and Swiatek are two of the front-runners here, there are other women’s stars to watch at the Australian Open. On the list, you, no question, will want to pay attention to Aryna Sabalenka, Carolina Garcia, Cori Gauff, Ons Jabeur, and so many others. What makes the Australian Open so interesting every single year is that there are so many top contenders involved who dream of winning it all.
With such a loaded field too, people can’t wait to see who will lift the silverware. On the men’s side, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are earning a ton of attention, but Pegula, Swiatek, Sabalenka, Garcia, and the other standouts will want to showcase a ton of skill as well. You never know what might happen, and there could be an upset or two on the way once the tournament begins. Millions of people will be watching starting this weekend.
