WTA Zhengzhou Odds: US Open Champion Gauff The Player to Beat In a Star-Studded Field

Madison Keys and Jennifer Brady Join Gauff in WTA Zhengzhou Open field

The WTA tour returns to Zhenghzhou for the first time since 2019 and there is plenty of star power set to take part with recently crowned US Open champion Coco Gauff among the favorites according to the WTA Zhengzhou odds.

The tournament will feature seven of the top-10 ranked players and that includes Elena Rybakina and Marketa Vondrousova, the last two Wimbledon champions.

Not even the withdrawal of Belinda Bencic can take away from the anticipation for the WTA 500 event.

The focus for the players will be on preparing for the WTA Finals in Cancun and in some cases, securing spots in that field.

The next Grand Slam tournament is the Australian Open in January. Among the players entered in Zhengzhou, Rybakina (+600) has the best odds to win in Melbourne followed by Gauff at +1000, Jabeur at +2000 and Garcia and Sakkari, who both have +2200 odds.

The main draw begins on Tuesday and with a 32-player field, there will be no first-round byes.

Gauff Leads American Contingent

Gauff received a wild card into the tournament and will head into Zhengzhou playing some top-notch tennis. That will factor into the WTA Zhengzhou odds.

She just eliminated Veronika Kudermetova in the Round of 16 at the China Open and followed that up with a straight-set win over Sakkari in the quarterfinals.

“I feel more confident,” Gauff told the media after her win over Kudermetova. “I think having that win makes you more confident in these moments. Especially the way the US Open went for me, a lot of three-set matches, a lot of tough moments.

“I think it’s way more pressure in the Grand Slam than a 1000. I think I’m able to handle these emotions more because of that experience.”

That is her first tournament since winning at the U.S. Open. She is set to be the top seed in the tournament.

Fellow American Madison Keys is also entered in the event while Jennifer Brady used her protected ranking to land in the singles draw as well. Keys is always something to look for when it comes time for tennis picks on hard-court events.

In the 2019 tournament, Sofia Kenin and Alison Riske were the only Americans in the singles draw. Riske lost in the second round with Kenin winning her first two matches before falling to the No. 1 seed and eventual champion Karolina Pliskova.

Pliskova was just one of two seeded players to advance past the quarterfinals in the first time since the Zhengzhou Open was elevated to WTA 500 status.

In the three years as an ITF event and two years as a WTA 125 tournament, four of the five singles champions and nine of the 10 finalists came from China. There are no Americans and seven players from China entered into the qualifying draw.

A Look At the Other Contenders

This is a pretty deep field to title contenders for a 32-draw field.

Rybakina, Maria Sakkari, Ons Jabeur, Vondrousova, Karolina Muchova, Caroline Garcia and Barbora Krejcikova are in line to be seeded in the singles draw.

Rybakina, a 2023 Australian Open finalist, three-time Grand Slam singles finalist Jabeur, Vondrousova, French Open finalist Muchova and 2021 French Open winner Krejcikova give the tournament a host of players with recent success at Grand Slams and it should make for some intriguing matches in the early rounds. Keep that in mind when looking at the WTA Zhengzhou odds.

Sakkari and Garcia join Gauff as players who punched their tickets into the China Open quarterfinals. Jabeur fell in the second round in Beijing.

There hasn’t been much change in the WTA rankings with the notable exception of Keys flipping spots with Krejcikovas as Keys is ranked 11th and Krejcikova comes in at No. 12. There could be some movement in

Who’s Missing?

No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, No. 2 Iga Swiatek and No. 4 Jessica Pegula are among the top names not entered in the WTA Zhengzhou Open.

The results won’t impact the top two spots in the rankings.

Former Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova is another player not currently in the singles draw. When looking at the tennis results, Kvitova just had an early exit from the China Open.

What’s Next?

The WTA Zhengzhou Open is the last WTA 500 event before the WTA Finals.

While this tournament is going on, there will be a 125 event in Rouen, France. The following week there will be tournaments in Tunisia, Romania and Nanchang, China and then comes a 125 tournament in Mexico as the 2023 season is starting to wind down.

A quick peek at the tennis schedule shows that the only remaining U.S.-based event in 2023 is the Dow Tennis Classic in Midland, Michigan from Oct. 30-Nov. 5.

For tennis betting news, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.

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