As with all women’s Grand Slams, the WTA US Open promises to be an extremely competitive event, with no clear favourite. In advance of the draw, we look at the list of contenders with a view to establishing the prospects of numerous players.

French Open winner Rafael Nadal is the only other men's player to have won a major in 2019, while Djokovic has featured in seven of the past nine U.S. Serena Williams leads the odds in. WTA Predictions for 2019 James / December 27, 2018 This is the annual post on Moo’s Tennis Blog where I attempt to predict next year’s season end rankings. 2018 was actually not too bad as I correctly predicted six of the world’s top ten. WTA, ATP tennis betting tips, tennis picks and predictions TennisExplorer.com usually publishes several picks a day. Our picks are available at least 2 hours before the match starts. The handicapping, sports odds information contained on this website is for entertainment purposes only. Please confirm the wagering regulations in your jurisdiction as they vary from state to state, province to province and country to country.

While men’s Grand Slams typically go the way of the elite three, matters on the WTA Tour are rather more evenly split. Only two players - Simona Halep and Naomi Osaka - have won multiple Grand Slams (two apiece) from 2017 onwards, and therefore there have been nine different Grand Slam winners in 11 tournaments during that time period.

In addition, there have been four different winners here at Flushing Meadows since Serena Williams won three consecutive US Opens between 2012 and 2014, and the former world number one hasn’t won here since then, and hasn’t lifted a Slam trophy since the Australian Open in January 2017.

Serena Williams: An undeserved favourite?

With this in mind, it’s perhaps surprising to see her catapulted to the top of the outright market, currently available at 5.42*, particularly given that she’s retired or withdrawn in four of her last six tournaments - she’s only completed the French Open (lost in third round to Sofia Kenin) and Wimbledon (lost in the final to Simona Halep).

However, as the table below illustrates (WTA US Open contenders priced below 50.00* in the outright market at the time of writing, sorted by combined hold/break percentage), Williams still has the best hard court data on tour this year:-

Despite this, there must be considerable doubts over Williams’ fitness - she retired last time out in the final of Toronto, against Bianca Andreescu, and readers may be a little surprised to see the Canadian 19 year old, Andreescu, second in this list.

Bianca Andreescu: Can the 19-year-old win her first Grand Slam?

However, Andreescu is a stunning 29-4 on the WTA Tour on hard court this year, and those numbers illustrate that she not only deserves to have a winrate in this region, but also her status as the fourth favourite for the event, at 9.49*.

Incredibly, Andreescu has only played four career Grand Slam matches - she missed Wimbledon with injury - so it would be worth noting that she is, of course, extremely unproven on the biggest stage.

Sandwiched between Williams and Andreescu in the outright market are Simona Halep and Ashleigh Barty, with both having won a Grand Slam this season already, although many may have predicted that the events which they won would have been reversed.

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Barty was triumphant in Paris, on clay at the French Open - Halep’s best surface, while Halep took the title at Wimbledon on grass - arguably Barty’s best.

Perhaps there is no better illustration of the variance, and even nature, of the WTA Tour at this current point in time.

Statistics would indicate that Barty has a better chance than Halep here - the Romanian’s hard court numbers this year aren’t particularly impressive - while there are also numerous other contenders with similar numbers to Barty as well.

• Read: Tennis set betting odds and statistics: Part one

Wta Beijing 2019 Predictions

Petra Kvitova, however, has been struggling with injury - she’s only played two events since retiring in Rome in May - while Karolina Pliskova, somehow, given the even nature of the women’s tour, is still awaiting her first Grand Slam title. She reached the final here in 2016 - her only Grand Slam final - but lost a tight three-setter to Angelique Kerber.

Wta Finals Predictions 2019

Marketa Vondrousova is another player who the statistics like, but the Czech hasn’t played since losing to Madison Brengle in the first round of Wimbledon and has had a hand injury. She reached the final of the French Open this year, losing to Barty, and if fit, will be a major threat.

Outsiders to consider at WTA US Open 2019

Many of the remaining contenders have shown a relatively similar level on hard courts in 2019, with perhaps some of the younger players - Madison Keys, Sofia Kenin and Naomi Osaka, for example - being the most of interest given their potential for improvement.

There may be a decent argument made for Cincinnati winner Keys to be unflattered by her numbers, given her injury issues over the last year or so, while Osaka has struggled a little more this year after a stunning 2018.

How much that has to do with losing coach Sascha Bajin is intangible, but it’s also worth noting that the Japanese former world number one retired in her last match, to Kenin in Cincinnati.

• Read: Tennis set betting odds and statistics: Part two

As for Kenin, the American 20 year old is on a huge upward curve, evidenced by tight semi-final defeats in both the Premier Mandatory events in August, in Toronto and Cincinnati.

Narrow losses against Andreescu and Keys are certainly nothing to be concerned about, and in a tournament where numerous players look capable of beating each other, Kenin is certainly one of many who will be confident of reaching the latter stages at the US Open this year.

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The WTA Finals will be held in Shenzhen for the second time, with the best eight players in the 2021 season set to feature. The tournament is live from 31 October-1 November 2021.

WTA Finals 2021 Predictions

The WTA Finals was cancelled in 2020 due to the global health crisis – the first year since the tournament’s inception in 1972 that it has not been held.

The season-ending championship returns to Shenzhen in 2021 from 31 October-7 November, with the top eight players on the Race to Shenzhen qualifying to form the elite field.

The WTA Finals is hugely significant on the tour, offering as much as 1,500 points, more than any other WTA tournament, and second only to the Grand Slams. The eight players are divided into two groups of four, with the top two advancing to the semi-finals.

Martina Navratilova with eight titles is the most successful player in the tournament’s history, while Serena Williams and Steffi Graff are joint second with five titles.

Qualification for the WTA Finals will depend on results throughout the 2021 season, but we can look ahead to some players who have a great chance of not just qualifying for the season-ending championships, but winning them too.

Can Ashleigh Barty defend her title?

No player has successfully defended the WTA Finals since Serena Williams claimed a hat-trick of titles between 2012 and 2014. In fact, the Finals has been so open in recent seasons that there have been first time champions in each of the last five seasons.

Barty capped a brilliant breakthrough season which saw her win the French Open, Miami and Birmingham and rise to world no. 1 for the first time by claiming the WTA Finals Shenzhen title in 2019. The Australian won three-set duels with Belinda Bencic and Karolina Pliskova and defeated Petra Kvitova and, in the final, Elina Svitolina in straight sets to become the first champion from her country since Evonne Goolagong Cawley in 1976.

Barty made a very bright start to 2020 when she won her first title on home soil in Adelaide and reached the semifinals of the Australian Open, but her semifinal run in Doha marked her last activity for the season. Although she retained the world no. 1 ranking, Barty will have many points to defend in 2021 and be under much pressure. Will she be revitalised by her break from the game, or will the rust prove too much to overcome swiftly?

Can Simona Halep finally win her maiden WTA Finals title?

Simona Halep contested the championship match in her debut appearance at the WTA Finals in 2014 (lost to Serena Williams), but she is yet to go past the round robin phase in four attempts since then (2015-2017; 2019). She missed the 2018 edition due to a back injury. One would have thought that the slow hard courts of Singapore and Shenzhen would benefit her counterpunching style, but the Romanian hasn’t been able to make an impact in the tournament since that runner-up finish in 2014.

Perhaps a reason for that is fatigue at the end of the season – the supremely consistent Romanian has played at least 60 tour-level matches in six of the last seven seasons (not counting the truncated 2020) and has finished inside the top five in each of the last six years. Despite her struggles at the season-ending Finals, she was year-end No. 1 in 2017 and 2018.

Halep went 23-3 in 2020, winning Rome, Prague and Dubai and reaching the semifinals of the Australian Open; there’s no reason to expect anything less from her in 2021 than to qualify for the WTA Finals for the seventh time. If she can stay fit and remain fresh, she has obviously got the ability to go really deep and possibly claim her maiden title at the tournament.

Serena Williams?

There are no guarantees that Serena Williams will qualify for the WTA Finals, let alone participate at the tournament, but if there’s any chance that Serena will play in any WTA draw, then she’s got to be somewhere amongst the title favourites.

The legendary American has not featured at the season finale since claiming her fifth title at the event in 2014. Even should she qualify in 2021, she would be unlikely to play.

Svitolina to continue fine Finals form?

Elina Svitolina reached back-to-back WTA Finals finals in 2018-19, winning in 2018 and losing to Barty in 2019 – can the Ukrainian make it a hat-trick of finals in 2021? Svitolina clearly enjoys the conditions in Shenzhen and if she manages to get through again, she will again be amongst the title favourites.

Following her title run in 2018, she went a very long time before adding another trophy to her WTA collection, but she ended that lengthy drought in February, when she won the Monterrey title. A semifinalist at Wimbledon and the US Open in 2019, Svitolina’s biggest achievements in 2020 were winning International titles in Monterrey and Strasbourg, but she was not the only victim of a truncated season, and she should be expected to qualify for the WTA Finals for a fourth time in 2021.

Another first time champion?

As mentioned earlier, the last five years have produced five first time champions, and there are a host of candidates looking to keep that trend going in 2021.

Top of the list is Sofia Kenin. The American stepped in as an alternate at the WTA Finals in 2019, but had the 2020 tournament taken place, there’s no doubt that she would have been among the field after winning her maiden Grand Slam at the Australian Open. Lest anyone should have thought that was a fluke, she won a title in Lyon and went on to reach the final of the French Open.

The counterpunching Kenin should have the same sort of success in Shenzhen’s conditions that has been enjoyed by Svitolina, and she’s a tenacious, adaptable, feisty competitor.

Garbine Muguruza could be a contender to make a comeback to the WTA Finals in 2021, after a resurgent beginning to the 2020 season saw her reach the final of the Australian Open. Muguruza is looking to qualify for the season-ending Finals for the fourth time and the first time since 2017.

Wta Predictions 2019

Karolina Pliskova has made the semi-finals in each of the last three years- is this the season when she finally goes all the way. Petra Kvitova is a former champion, and Kiki Bertens has played the WTA Finals before. A fit Naomi Osaka, now a three-time Grand Slam champion, badly wants to make her impact on this tournament.

As has been the case for some seasons now, it’s an extremely open WTA field, and anyone who eventually gets in will feel she is in with a shot of winning the title.

Name: Shiseido WTA Finals Shenzhen

Wta Predictions For Us Open 2019

Location: Shenzhen, China

Venue: Shenzhen Bay Sports Centre

Category: WTA Finals

Surface: Indoor Hard Courts

Draw size: 8 Singles/ 8 Doubles

Most titles:
Martina Navratilova (8)

Reigning champions:
Singles – Ashleigh Barty
Doubles – Kristina Mladenovic/Timea Babos