It’s often lonely at the top and perhaps no one is more familiar with that than WTA No. 1 Iga Świątek. She’ll be the lone betting favorite for every event she participates in until someone supplants her in that ranking. However, bettors shouldn’t take that as a sign of her complete dominance.
Legal North American online sportsbooks have her a consensus favorite to win the 2024 WTA Qatar TotalEnergies Open in Doha. Two other contenders with short odds could prove to be significant obstacles for Świątek.
Swiatek’s path to a Doha win
After failing to reach the Round of 16 in the 2024 Australian Open, Świątek will look to shore up her World No. 1 standing with a win in this week’s WTA Doha. Sportsbooks have her as their favorite with odds ranging around +250.
If she makes such bets pay off, she will become the first woman to win the singles tournament in this event three years in a row. This will be the 25th edition of WTA Doha. Świątek will play her first match against the winner of Sorana Cîrstea vs. Sloane Stephens. The top eight seeds in the singles draw receive byes in the Round of 64.
That first match could be where unknowns start figuring into Świątek’s path to another title. There is only one possible opponent through the quarterfinals that Świątek has faced more than three times so far in her career.
That potential opponent is Jeļena Ostapenko, whom Świątek has yet to defeat in four tries. Moving forward from there, Elena Rybakina is 3-1 against Świątek while Maria Sakkari holds a narrow 3-2 edge in matches against Świątek.
For all her other potential semifinals or finals matchups, Świątek has favorable history. That includes the strongest North American contender according to sportsbooks, Coco Gauff.
Gauff’s opportunity to build her prestige
While Gauff has yet to claim glory in Doha in singles play, she has been part of the winning doubles team with Jessica Pegula for the past two years. The 2023 US Open winner has odds of around +400 to add a singles title this week.
In 2023 and 2022, Gauff reached the quarterfinals in singles play. As the second seed in the singles draw in 2024, she has a favorable if uncertain path to a third consecutive quarterfinals appearance.
Kateřina Siniaková is the only potential opponent through the quarters that Gauff has faced more than three times. Gauff is 5-1 against Siniaková so far. A potential obstacle for Gauff in the final is Sakkari. Sakkari is 4-3 against Gauff and eliminated Gauff in this event in 2022.
Another option for bettors before the odds start getting muddled into a crowd of contenders is Rybakina.
Assessing Rybakina’s darkhorse status
The current World No. 5 doesn’t have an especially strong history in this event. The furthest she has advanced is the Round of 16 in 2020. However, she did start out 2024 by winning the Brisbane International and then reaching the quarterfinals of the Adelaide International, two WTA500 events.
Rybakina followed that with a Round of 64 exit in the Australian Open, though. She also faces some potential obstacles in progressing further than she ever has in this event. Liudmilla Samsonova, whom Rybakina could play in the quarterfinals, is 4-0 against Rybakina.
Paula Badosa, another potential quarterfinals opponent, has gone 4-3 against Rybakina so far as well. If Rybakina can navigate those waters, she might prove why she is on this short list. She has the aforementioned winning record against Świątek and similar records against other foes.
Regardless of who bettors back on the futures markets, North American online sportsbooks will have daily match odds as the tournament progresses. At this point, a three-peat for Świątek is what the books are banking on.
