The stage is set. On Saturday, Elena Rybakina and Ons Jabeur will take to Centre Court for the Wimbledon Women’s Final, and it promises to be a mouth-watering affair.
It may not have been the final that many people would have expected before the start of the tournament. Along the way, there have been plenty of shocks, including world No.1 Iga Swiatek, who saw her 37-match winning streak snapped in the third round.
However, there are a few intriguing stats to pore over ahead of this showpiece occasion:
- Rybakina, who is the world number 23, is the lowest-ranked player to reach a Wimbledon final since 1984.
- Jabeur has become the first African woman in the Open era to claim a spot in the Wimbledon final since Sandra Reynolds in 1960.
- Jabeur is looking to clinch her third title on the WTA Tour this season after victories in Madrid and Berlin.
- Rybakina has been taken the distance in just one of her Wimbledon ties this year (against Ajla Tomljanovic in the quarter-finals).
There is likely to be a plethora of talking points from the final, and online sports betting enthusiasts will not want to pass up the opportunity to place a wager. Ahead of the final, we have handpicked a couple of tips to line your betting slip with.
Ons Jabeur to bring her name up in lights
Last year, Jabeur bowed out in the last eight, and the world No.2 has surpassed all expectations. The Tunisian has become a fan favorite, and to a certain extent, she has been a bit of a late bloomer.
The 27-year-old has treated the SW19 crowds to some scintillating performances that have combined finesse and power. She hasn’t had it all her own way, but she has shown resilience in the past couple of rounds against Tatjana Maria and Marie Bouzkova. Of course, nerves will play a part and this is uncharted territory for Jabeur as she will be competing in a maiden Grand Slam final. However, Jabeur is tactically very astute, and she can grind down Rybakina with her impeccable shot-making skills.
Although this will be Jabeur’s first meeting with Rybakina on grass, she has the edge in the head-to-head record (2-1), and she was a set and 3-2 up in the Chicago Fall Tennis Classic last year before Rybakina retired. This could well be Jabeur’s time and she could pen a new chapter in Wimbledon history. Currently, Jabeur is trading as the short-priced favorite at -155 with SugarHouse to clinch the coveted Venus Rosewater dish, and she would certainly be a popular champion.
Going the distance
Just like Jabeur, this is new ground for Rybakina, who is only competing at Wimbledon for the second time, and 12 months ago, she reached the fourth round. The Russian-born Kazakhstani was ruthless in her dismissal of 2019 champion Simona Halep in the semi-final as she roared to a straight-sets 6-3, 6-3 victory, spending just one hour and 16 minutes on court.
Rybakina has plenty of weapons in her armory. She has a powerful serve, clocking up four aces against Halep, and she likes to unload with her huge groundstrokes. While we are leaning more towards a Jabeur victory, she might not prevail in two sets. This match could well go the distance, so if you expect it to last the full three sets, then you can get tempting odds of +135 with BetMGM, which may be worth exploring further.
Tiebreak tension
A cursory glance at the stats from the women’s tournament indicates that there hasn’t been a tie break played since the fourth round. At times, the final could be quite cagey and there may be a set with few breaks. If you like the total number of tiebreaks section, then SugarHouse is dishing up a price of +220 for there to be Over 0.5 tiebreaks in the match.
