Swiatek, Gauff, Rybakina Top Contenders in Qatar WTA Stop

Seven of the Top 10 Players in the WTA Rankings Playing in Qatar

There will be plenty of star power when the WTA makes a stop in Qatar. Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, and Elena Rybakina are among the players leading the way in the 2024 Qatar TotalEnergies Open odds.

While the next Grand Slam is the clay-court French Open, the Qatar TotalEnergies Open will be played on hard courts.
Recently crowned Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka, American Jessica Pegula, and Karolina Muchova have withdrawn from the first WTA 1000 event.

Even with the withdrawals, there are seven top-10 players in the field.

The tournament didn’t get off to a great start for the Americans with Alycia Parks was among the first players to fall in the qualifying draw. Americans Danielle Collins, Bernarda Pera, and Ashlyn Krieger are among the players in the qualifying draw.

When looking at the tennis odds, Swiatek is priced at +200 to win at least two Grand Slam singles titles with Gauff and Rybakina both priced at +1200 to capture multiple Grand Slam titles.

When looking at the WTA rankings, the field includes No. 1 Swiatek, No. 3 Gauff, No. 5 Rybakina and four other top-10 players.

The main draw begins on Sunday with the Qatar TotalEnergies Open champion being crowned on Feb. 17. After the stops in Qatar and Dubai, the next WTA 1000 event will be in the United States in March when the top players head to Indian Wells, California for the BNP Paribas Open.

Swiatek Returning to the Court

After going undefeated in singles at the United Cup, expectations were high for Swiatek going into the Australian Open even if her results at the first Grand Slam event on the tennis calendar have been rather mediocre.

It was another early exit from Melbourne with a third-round loss to No. 50 Linda Noskova.

However, she is still viewed as a player to beat when it comes to the 2024 Qatar TotalEnergies Open odds.

Swiatek certainly knows her way around the Qatar courts since she is the two-time defending women’s single champion.

Gauff is the Top U.S. Hope

It is a pretty light list of American hopefuls for the event, especially after the withdrawal of Pegula.

Plenty of eyes will be on Gauff after she followed up a run to the title at Auckland by reaching the Australian Open semifinals.

Gauff returns to Qatar after topping Petra Kvitova in her first match in the 2023 event. However, she fell in the quarterfinals to Veronica Kudermetova in three sets. She is among the front-runners when it comes to the 2024 Qatar TotalEnergies Open odds.

Former Grand Slam champions Sofia Kenin and Sloane Stephens are on the entry list. However, both will be unseeded in the tournament and that could make for challenging draws for both of them.

Kenin just lost in her first match at the event in Abu Dhabi. It has been part of a rough stretch as Kenin has won just one match in her last six tournaments. Drawing Swiatek at the Australian Open and Sabalenka in Beijing didn’t help her cause.

Stephens defeated No. 14 seed Daria Kasatkina at the Australian Open but she fell in three sets to No. 75 Anna Kalinskaya in her next match so she is still looking to regain the former that made her a top-10 player.

Other Big Hitters to Watch

Rybakina is a threat to win any tournament she enters. She should be well rested after being eliminated by Anna Blinkova in the second round of the Australian Open.

Rybakina did reach three finals and won two titles between the Australian Open and the French Open in 2023.

Former World No. 1 Naomi Osaka used her protected ranking to claim a spot in the main draw. She is still looking to shake some of the rust off and will be a high-profile player in this event.

Australian Open finalist Qinwen Zheng, reigning Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova, and three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur are other players to keep an eye in what is a loaded field.

A Look Back

Swiatek won a star-studded final against Pegula in the 2023 Qatar Total Open women’s singles final.

Aided by a walkover in the quarterfinals against Belinda Bencic, she lost a total of five games in the tournament with three of them coming in the second set to Pegula. Pegula won a pair of three-set matches to reach the singles final.

Seven of the top eight seeds reached the quarterfinals as there were few upsets to speak of. Sabalenka was among the players to withdraw before the tournament just as she did this year.

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

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• Defending Champion Sabalenka Rolling Early At the Australian Open
• Rybakina and Pegula Among Players to Watch in WTA Adelaide Event