The greatest thing to ever happen to Serena Williams is her pregnancy. That’s also the best thing to occur for all those involved in the women’s bracket of the 2017 French Open, as Williams’ absence means a greater chance of winning the tournament. Below, we present to you some choice favorites, sleeper, and long shot in the upcoming Roland Garros wars.
Although Muguruza (+450) has been shaky of late, she’s still expected to attract money from bettors. She’s the reigning and defending French Open champion after taking down Serena Williams in last year’s finals match.
Muguruza, who is currently ranked fourth by the WTA, is coming off a first-round exit at the ATP & WTA Mutua Madrid Open and a second-round ouster at the WTA Tour Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. There’s no need to push the panic button for Muguruza, but if you’re looking for another fave to lay money on, there’s Simona Halep, who is also priced +450 to win it all.
While Halep has yet to win a Roland Garros title, she’s been in the finals before. That was in 2014, when she took a loss to Maria Sharapova in the titular showdown. Since then, Halep has suffered a second round exit and reached the fourth round in 2015 and 2016, respectively.
Sleeper: Lucie Safarova
Safarova isn’t a household name. To casual fans, she shares the same amount of name recognition as that stranger they chitchatted with one random July night some years ago. That despite Safarova showing some chops at Roland Garros in recent years. Safarova doesn’t need fame to perform well.
The 30-year-old Czech reached the third round last year and prior to that, finished runner up to Serena Williams in 2015. With Williams out of the picture in the upcoming French Open, Safarova could just make another run at the title. She’s sitting on odds of +2,800 to do just that.
Long shot: Irina Begu
At odds of +6,000, Begu’s chances of winning the French Open appear to be as long as that of ESPN changing a better photo of her in the Romanian’s profile page at the site.
Kidding aside, Begu has shown gradual improvements in her recent participations at the French Open. After exiting the third round of the 2015 edition of the event, Begu one-upped that with a fourth-round appearance in 2016. Also worth noting is the momentum Begu will be bringing into the tournament. Begu is fresh off a win at the ATP & WTA Mutua Madrid Open in which she defeated Elena Vesnina in the finals, 6-4, 6-4.
Writer’s Prediction
Muguruza (+450) locks up her second French Open singles title.
