WTA Miami Open 2023 Odds and Draw Preview: World No. 1 Iga Swiatek’s Title On the Line
Can Swiatek Burn Through the Miami Open?
The WTA Tour descends on the Sunshine State this week for the prestigious WTA Miami Open 2023 tournament, the second straight WTA 1000 event of the spring hard court series in North America.
For a second tournament in a row, World No. 1 Iga Swiatek will enter a WTA 1000 event as the defending champion and firm betting favorite on the WTA odds board. But, yet again, she will face a very tough draw and stiff competition in her bid to pull off a successful title-defense campaign.
The biggest threats to the Pole’s bid right now are World No.2 Aryna Sabalenka and World No. 10 Elena Rybakina, who are also the second and third favorites for the title as per the latest Miami Open odds. So far, the pair decided the finals of two of the biggest events on the tennis schedule this season – the Australian Open and Indian Wells – splitting the titles between them.
Elsewhere, American hopefuls Jessica Pegula, Coco Gauff, Amanda Anisimova and Madison Keys will hope to fly “the Star-Spangled Banner.” While top players such as Ons Jabeur, Carolina Garcia and Maria Sakkari will hope to steal the limelight for themselves.
As ever, we preview the WTA Miami Open Odds, analyse the draw and serve up some way too early tennis predictions.
| Players | Odds |
|---|---|
| Iga Swiatek | +210 |
| Aryna Sabalenka | +650 |
| Elena Rybakina | +850 |
| Barbora Krejcikova | +1000 |
| Jessica Pegula | +1000 |
| Coco Gauff | +1800 |
| Belinda Bencic | +2200 |
| Carolina Garcia | +2800 |
| Ons Jabeur | +2800 |
| Maria Sakkari | +2800 |
| Veronika Kudermetova | +2800 |
| Victoria Azarenka | +4000 |
| Madison Keys | +4000 |
| Qinwen Zheng | +4000 |
| Beatriz Haddad-Maia | +5000 |
| Maria Kostyuk | +5000 |
| Emma Raducanu | +5000 |
| Liudmila Samsonova | +5000 |
| Donna Vekic | +5000 |
| Marketa Vondrousova | +5000 |
| Danielle Collins | +6600 |
| Jelena Ostapenko | +6600 |
| Karolina Pliskova | +6600 |
| Bianca Andreescu | +8000 |
| Amanda Anisimova | +8000 |
| Paula Badosa | +8000 |
| Marie Bouzkova | +8000 |
| Marie Bouzkova | +8000 |
| Daria Kasatkina | +8000 |
| Elsie Mertens | +8000 |
| Leylah Fernandez | +10000 |
| Linda Fruhvirtova | +10000 |
| Petra Kvitova | +10000 |
| Magda Linette | +10000 |
| Anastasia Potapova | +10000 |
First Quarter – Swiatek, Rybakina On Course for Quarter Final Showdown
No. 1 seed Swiatek headlines the first quarter of the draw which is flanked by No. 8 seed Daria Kasatkina. But her biggest threat in this section is No. 10 seed Elena Rybakina, who is a potential quarterfinal opponent. Swiatek lost to Rybakina in the penultimate round of her Indian Wells title-defense campaign, 6-3, 6-2.
Swiatek opens her bid against the winner of Katerina Siniakova and Claire Lu in the R64. She could face No. 25 seed Martina Trevisan in the R32. Then, in the R16, she could face No. 13 seed Beatriz Haddad-Maia or No. 24 seed Jelena Ostapenko.
Rybakina, the newly-minted Indian Wells champion will take on the winner of Anna Kalinskaya and wild card Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva. The Kazakh could face No. 21 seed Paula Badosa in the R32 and then No. 8 seed Kasatkina or No. 29 seed Petra Martic.
Quarterfinal Prediction: Swiatek vs Rybakina
Second Quarter: Pegula, Gauff on Course for All-American Quarter Final
The second quarter of the draw features top American tennis players Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff, set on a collision course in the quarterfinals. Both are among the top 10 best-bets on the WTA Miami Open 2023.
Pegula’s path is riddled with stumbling blocks. The No. 3 seed could face rising Czech teenage star Linda Fruhvirtova in the R64. Fellow American and No. 30 seed Danielle Collins looms as a potential R32 opponent while former two-time Australian Open champion and No. 14 seed Victoria Azarenka, No. 20 seed Magda Linette and dark horse threat Camila Giorgi are potential R16 opponents, among others.
Gauff’s campaign will begin against the winner of Yulia Putinseva and Rebecca Marino in the R64. The American teen could come up against No. 27 seed Anastasia Potapova in the R32. No.12 Liudmila Samsonova is the highest seeded threat that could challenge Gauff in the R16. Alternatively, No. 23 seed Qinwen Zheng is the other seeded threat in this section that could give Gauff a run for her money in the fourth round.
Third Quarter: Jabeur, Sakkari Headline a Wide Open Section
Of all the sections, this could be the toughest to handicap in the WTA Miami Open 2023 betting markets. World No. 4 Ons Jabeur and World No. 7 Maria Sakkari flank opposite ends of a wide open third quarter that includes big-hitters and legitimate contenders such as World No. 9 Belinda Bencic and World No. 16 Petra Kvitova.
Also in this section, Emma Raducanu and Bianca Andreescu are slated to meet in the first round – a matchup of former US Open champions. Seventh seed Sakkari will face the winner of this blockbuster first round matchup. Should the Greek overcome this big test early, she could come up against No. 28 seed Anhelina Kalinina in the R32. In the fourth round, the ninth seeded Bencic looms as the highest seeded threat. No. 18 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova, former US Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez and American hopeful Taylor Townsend are some of the other players that could emerge here.
Jabeur is still looking for form after missing over a month with a knee injury. The Tunisian trailblazer will face Maryna Zanevska or a qualifier in the second round. In the R32, she could face No. 26 seed Shuai Zhang. The R16 could set her up against No. 15 seed Kvitova, Americans Amanda Anisimova or Madison Brengle and dangerous floater Linda Noskova.
Quarterfinal Prediction: Jabeur vs Bencic
Fourth Quarter: Sabalenka, Garcia Lead Charge in Fourth Quarter
Reigning Australian Open champion and No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka leads the charge in the bottom half of the draw – a section that includes World No. 5 Carolina Garcia, former World No. 1 Karolina Pliskova and American Madison Keys, to name a few.
The statuesque Belarusian is a stellar 17-2 on the season with two titles and is coming off a runner-up finish to Rybakina in Indian Wells. Her bid for the title in Miami will begin against an American – either Shelby Rodgers or former US Open champion Sloane Stephens. In the R32, No. 32 seed Marie Bouzková is a potential challenger. Then, in the R16, she could face No. 16 seed Barbora Krejcikova or No. 19 seed Madison Keys.
Garcia will play the winner of Sorana Cirstea vs Fernanda Contreras Gomez in the R64. In the third round, No. 32 Lin Zhu looms as the first seeded threat in her path to the quarterfinals. No. 11 seed Veronika Kudermetova and No. 17 seed Pliskova are the highest seeded threats in the R16. Alternatively, Marketa Vondrousova, who reached the fourth round in Indian Wells, lurks as a dangerous floater.
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