Linz WTA Event Is Wide Open After Wimbledon Champion’s Withdrawal

The Focus Turns to the French Open as Linz Tourney Gets Underway

After an early exit from the Australian Open, reigning Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova was expected to return to the court as the favorite, according to the WTA Linz Betting odds. However, it was announced that she had to withdraw from the event.

Vondrousova would have been the only top-10 player in the field. Former world No. 1 Angelique Kerber did receive a wild card into the field. The former champion in Linz could attract some action from those ready to get back to tennis betting after the Australian Open.

The 32-player draw will have no first-round bye as the tournament has been bumped up from a WTA 250 to a WTA 500 event.

Donna Vekic, who is priced at +8000 to win the French Open, has the best tennis odds among the players in the Linz field to win the next Grand Slam event.

Keep on reading for more information for the first tournament following the Australian Open.

A Big Loss for the Linz Field

Vondrousova was ranked 42nd when she made a stunning run to the Wimbledon title with wins over top-10 players Jessica Pegula and Ons Jabeur.

She soared into the top 10 after Wimbledon, but other than a trip to the US quarterfinals, she has struggled to regain that form.

Vondrousova is 1-6 against players ranked in the top 20 since Wimbledon. She went 0-3 at the WTA Finals, split her two tennis matches at the United Cup, and fell in the first round at the Australian Open to qualifier Dayana Yastremska.

Now, the WTA Linz Betting Odds had Vondrousova as the player to beat in the event being held in Austria before her withdrawal.

With her withdrawal, Canadian Katie Boulter moves into the main draw rather than needing to take part in the qualifying draw.

When it comes to the WTA schedule, the main draw is set to begin on Monday.

A Look At The Top Contenders

Ekaterina Alexandrova, Donna Vekic, Anhelina Kalinina, Potapova, and Elise Martens are all on the Linz entry list as that gives the tournament four top 30 tennis players in what should be a pretty wide-open field.

Alexandrova upset Elena Rybakina on her way to the semifinals at Adelaide and had some solid showings at the 2023 Grand Slam events.

Vekic is a two-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist, Kalinina upset Petra Kvitova in the 2023 Australian Open as one of her five wins in 2023 against top-20 players. Keep that in mind when looking at the WTA Linz Betting Odds.

Mertens has won three Grand Slam doubles titles with three trips to the quarterfinals at the Grand Slams in singles.

It has been a slow return to the WTA for Kerber so perhaps a return to Linz will be what Kerber needs to get her confidence back.

Eyeing A Repeat

Nobody has won back-to-back titles in Linz since Lindsay Davenport defeated Venus Williams in the 2000 final and then topped Jelena Dokic in the 2001 championship match.

Davenport is joined byManuela Maleeva, Sabine Applemans, Jana Novotna, and Anna Ivanovic as two-time champions in the event.

Now Potapova tries to join that select company.

Potapova made some noise with a win over Veronika Kudermetova at the Brisbane tournament. She also had a win over Ons Jabeur, then ranked seventh, in San Diego. With all due respect to what she did in Linz, it was hard to top the back-to-back wins over Coco Gauff and Caroline Garcia at the Stuttgart tournament.

Potapova was seeded 23rd at the Australian Open before losing to Kaja Juvan 6-1, 6-4 in the first round.

A History Lesson

Mary Pierce, Lindsay Davenport, Justine Henin, Amelie Mauresmo, and Maria Sharapova are among the former champions since the tournament began back in 1987. More recently, Aryna Sabalenka won the title at Linz in 2020. That came a year after Coco Gauff took home the championship at the age of 15.

Six of the last eight Linz finals have been decided in straight sets.

Defending champion Anastasia Potapova joins Camila Giorgi and Kerber as former champs in the main draw.

The tournament wasn’t played in 2022. When it came back in 2023, three of the top four seeds were out by the end of the second round.

Potapova won five straight three-set matches including one against Vondrousova before topping Petra Martic in the finals.

Along with the WTA 250 event in Thailand, the tournament in Linz will be the final ones to start in January.

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

Can’t get enough? Here’s more!

• Defending champion Sabalenka Favored Vs Zheng in Australian Open Final
• Djokovic, Alcaraz Rolling Along At The 2024 Australian Open
• Defending Champion Sabalenka Rolling Early At the Australian Open
• The Alcaraz Australian Open Return Was a Blast!
• Defending Champ Djokovic Favored to Win Another Australian Open