2021 WTA Miami Winner Odds: Osaka Favored Over World No1 Barty

Even though Serena Williams has just withdrawn from the 2021 Miami Open we should still see plenty of top women tennis stars in the next two weeks. The current world No1 Ashleigh Barty and the 2021 Australian Open winner Naomi Osaka will take part in the tournament along with 17 other top 20 players. Osaka is the top favorite of the 2021 WTA Miami winner odds but she won’t have an easy job in the super strong field. 

The Miami Open is one of the most prestigious events of both the WTA and ATP Tour. This year it’s held between the 22nd of March and the 4th of April on the grounds of the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens. After the cancellation of last year’s event, 2019 winners Roger Federer and Ashleigh Barty are the defending champions. The current  leader of the WTA ranking will try to keep her chasers, Osaka and Halep well behind. US star Serena Williams has the most victories at the open after winning her 8th title in 2015. Sadly she won’t play this occasion in order to recover fully from a recent operation. But there will still be plenty of great players who can take the trophy and the $300,110 winner’s prize.

Osaka is the top favorite in the 2021 WTA Miami winner odds

Naomi Osaka played brilliantly in Melbourne and won her fourth Grand Slam title after defeating Jennifer Brady in the 2021 Australian Open final. The Japanese player is currently in 2nd place in the world ranking, 1351 points behind Barty. But a victory would mean 1000 points here and getting really close to the Australian. Especially if she is knocked out at an early stage. Osaka played her first Premier Mandatory in Miami four years ago and she was the top seed in 2019. But she was knocked out by Taiwanese Su-wei in the third round. Now Osaka has the opportunity to improve on her results here and the odds of +400 to win the event.

Online sportsbooks in the US predict Ashleigh Barty to be one of Osaka’s main rivals. Even though she hasn’t been in top form recently after missing out most part of last season. She returned back in the Yarra Valley Classic, one of the lead-in tournaments before the Australian Open. She managed to win it after defeating Garbine Muguruza in the final. In spite of being the top seed of the Australian Open, Barty only reached the quarter-finals though. After losing against Karolina Muchova. But surely she wants to get back to winning now  and keep the No1 spot. The top seed of the tournament has the odds of +850 to defend her title according to the 2021 WTA Miami winner odds.

Other top 10 players and former Miami Open winners are also in the favorites

Spanish Garbine Muguruza is No13 in the world ranking but seems to be in top form after winning the Dubai Championships last February. As we mentioned, she also reached the final of the Yarra Valley Classic and the Qatar Open. While she got to the fourth round in the 2021 Australian Open. Where Osaka could only defeat her in three sets. Muguruza made her WTA debut in Miami 10 years ago. But she hasn’t been able to pass the last 16 so far. If she can keep her form, she can definitely reach her best result this time with the odds of +800 to win the open.

Online gambling sites in the US also mention American Jennifer Brady in the top favorites with the odds of +1400. She reached the final of the 2021 Australian Open which was her first Grand Slam final. Even though she lost there in two straight sets, it can give her an extra boost to perform well on home soil. Her compatriot, Coco Gauff can face world No3 Simona Halep in the third round if both of them will get there. Halep won three WTA titles last season and reached the quarter-finals of the Australian Open this year. Where she lost against Serena Williams. The former world No1 also has the odds of +1400 on BetOnline. While three-time Miami Open winner Victoria Azarenka usually performs well in the US. She has the odds of +2000 to continue her great record now.

You can discover more about BetOnline here.