Williams +500 Favorite, Andreescu at +650 As 2020 Australian Open Odds Are Posted

The 2020 women’s Australian Open should be a dandy. The big thing to remember about women’s tennis is that last year, 14 different women made the semifinals of a major tournament and we saw four different major champions: Naomi Osaka in the Australian Open, Ashleigh Barty at Roland Garros, Simona Halep at Wimbledon, and Bianca Andreescu at the U.S. Open. Who knows what will happen in 2020? It is a very fluid situation with a very deep field having many players capable of making a run. Let’s get a first look at what one might expect in Melbourne now that the Australian Open odds are up.

THE FAVORITE: SERENA WILLIAMS
AUSTRALIAN OPEN ODDS: +500

The idea that Serena Williams should be the favorite despite not winning any of the major tournaments in either 2018 or 2019 might seem unreasonable, but it actually makes sense. Serena has made the finals of each of the last two majors, at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, and has reached the final at four of the last six majors, since she made the Wimbledon and U.S. Open finals in 2018 as well. Those stats reshape the argument surrounding Serena. Then realize that no one else is as consistent as she is at the majors. Barty won Roland Garros but then failed to make the quarterfinals at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. Halep won Wimbledon and then lost in the second round of the U.S. Open. Serena, at the 2019 Australian Open – coming off her Wimbledon and U.S. Open runner-up showings – looked very good in the tournament and lost in the quarterfinals only because she rolled her ankle late in a match against Karolina Pliskova. Without that injury, Serena might have won the tournament. If she can stay healthy for a full season, she is still the player who can be trusted the most. That is why she is the favorite for now.

OTHER PROMINENT PLAYERS

BIANCA ANDREESCU: +650
ASHLEIGH BARTY: +800
NAOMI OSAKA: +800
SIMONA HALEP: +900

The biggest question for women’s tennis in 2020 might be this: Can Bianca Andreescu play a full season? She played only portions of the 2019 season. She skipped clay (except for one match; she then withdrew from the tournament before her next match), and she also had to miss the whole grass season, due to the need to recuperate from injury. She won the U.S. Open, but then got injured at the season-ending WTA Finals. Andreescu hasn’t played a full year of tennis on the WTA Tour ever and she hasn’t played full tournaments on clay or grass. She also hasn’t won any significant tournament in continents other than North America. All her big titles in 2019 were in North America: Indian Wells, California, then Toronto and New York. How will she do in Australia? Yes, she is an elite hardcourt player, but no one truly knows.

Ashleigh Barty is the World No. 1 after winning the WTA Finals. She is a top-tier player but she will face a ton of pressure at home in Australia for this tournament and that might weigh heavily on her. Naomi Osaka was injured at the U.S. Open and lost in the fourth round. If healthy, the defending Australian Open champion will be extremely dangerous. Simona Halep lost at the 2019 Australian Open to Serena Williams in the fourth round but if she gets a better draw this time, she could make a deeper run. She did reach the 2018 final at this tournament, losing to Caroline Wozniacki.

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