The third Grand Slam tournament of the year starts at Wimbledon on Monday and Adrian Humphries reckons it looks like a pretty open tournament.
Ante-post favourite Aryna Sabalenka has never gone all the way in the London grass-court major, while Coco Gauff has yet to even go close on the nippy terrain.
Elena Rybakina and Iga Swiatek have both won the All England Club women's singles title in recent years, but since 2000 only three players - Serena Williams, Venus Williams and Petra Kvitova - have won Wimbledon on two or more occasions.
Wimbledon Women's Tips and Predictions
Outright Prediction: Amanda Anisimova each-way (14/1)
Dark Horse Tip: Karolina Muchova each-way (22/1)
Expert Tip: Serena Williams to win third quarter of draw (16/1)
Wimbledon Women's Format
Each match in the women's singles competition is played over a best-of-three-sets format, with the main draw starting with 128 players and 32 of those being seeded.
The grass surface characteristics often feature quicker, more explosive rallies and the champion will have to win through seven rounds to be crowned.
First-Round Matches to Watch
Here are three of the most eye-catching games in the opening round:
Emma Navarro v Paula Badosa
By coincidence, many of the better-looking first-round matches are in the bottom half of the draw and the first of these is Emma Navarro against Paula Badosa.
Grass would not be Badosa’s preferred terrain, but the Spaniard has shown signs of better form in recent weeks and American Navarro may find it tough going against a determined opponent.
Maria Sakkari v Clara Tauson
Maria Sakkari has been written off on many occasions, but the Greek battler often finds ways to remind critics that she’s far from finished in top-level tennis.
Tauson has been having a lean time of it of late, but it’s still highly likely that the Dane’s best years lie ahead and her Wimbledon opener could offer her a chance to boost confidence levels.
Taylor Townsend v Iga Swiatek
Defending champion Iga Swiatek opens with a clash against doubles specialist Taylor Townsend, but if the Pole is expecting a cakewalk in her opener she may have to think again.
Working wonders on her fitness has helped Townsend realise some huge ambitions in the pairs game, but the American is no mug in singles either and it’s just possible that the outsider could keep it closer in this curtain-raiser than many oddsmakers are anticipating.
Wimbledon Women's Favourites
Aryna Sabalenka is holding on to her status as Grand Slam singles market leader for the time being, currently priced at 7/2, and her closest pursuer in this year’s Wimbledon outright betting is Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina at 11/2.
Iga Swiatek, who finally got her hands on the grass-court crown 12 months ago, is third in the list at 8/1 and then comes young Mirra Andreeva, who recently ditched her major maiden tag in fine style in the French Open, at 9/1.
Jessica Pegula leads a strong Americna contingent at 11/1, ahead of Coco Gauff, who has yet to make it past the last 16 at the All England Club, at 12/1, 2025 runner-up Amanda Anisimova at 14/1, and Eastbourne champion Madison Keys at 14/1.
Data-Led Wimbledon Women's Predictions & Analytics
There has been Czech Republic representation in the women's singles final in three of the last five years, with players from that nation having won twice in that time
Nine of the last 12 women's singles finals to be contested have been two-set matches
In the 26 years the women's singles final has been staged since 1999, at least one American has made the final in all bar eight of those years
There has been a first-time Wimbledon women's singles winner in each of the last eight years
Last year's final was only the third major final in the Open Era to be won 6-0 6-0, after Wimbledon in 1911 and the French Open in 1988
Wimbledon Women's Outright Prediction
Amanda Anisimova endured one of the toughest experiences on a tennis court last summer when losing 6-0 6-0 to Iga Swiatek in the Wimbledon final.
Two months later, however, the talented American had got herself back together in time for her home Slam, the US Open, and only the top-ranked Sabalenka was good enough to deny her in the final.
Anisimova has been fairly quiet in 2026, but the markets are affording her plenty of respect and it may pay punters to do so too.
While her sometimes fragile temperament got the better of her in her maiden Slam singles title match, Anisimova has already shown desire to bounce back.
And with her powerful game well suited to the demands of tennis on London’s fast-paced lawns, she arguably has the best credentials required for success at Wimbledon.
Dark Horses to Watch
Hardly a dark horse, but comfortably in double-figure odds it could be worth supporting Karolina Muchova to go deep in yet another Grand Slam singles tournament.
The versatile seasoned Czech is no stranger to shining in all four major tournaments. She is a two-time Wimbledon quarter-finalist but has exited the singles event in the opening round in the last four years.
Muchova, 29, is in the top 10 in the betting for a reason, though, and the draw could open right up for her, especially if Sabalenka suffers an early exit.
Expert Tip
It's asking too much for Serena Williams to go all the way having come out of retirement just this month, but it may be worth backing the 44-year-old to win the third quarter of the draw and reach the semi-finals.
Sometimes such bets are easy to overlook, but Williams' quarter is not the strongest and she may have only last year's winner Iga Swiatek and one of the Ukrainian pair of Elina Svitolina and Marta Kostyuk to beat to make the last four.
Williams should be capable of giving plenty of her opponents in her section a head start and still prevail.
Who Wins the Wimbledon Women's Singles?
Amanda Anisimova could offer the best credentials of any of the top players when it comes to winning Wimbledon this year.
Sabalenka is the one to beat - the oddsmakers’ prices tell you that - but despite failing to win a single game in last year's painful watch of a final against Swiatek, Anisimova’s package of ability and determination is at least as good as any of her opponents this year.
Read more tennis betting tips and predictions on site.
This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
