The 2022 Australian Open tournament is now just days away.
25-year-old Ashleigh Barty, Currently No. 1 in the WTA Singles rankings, enters the tournament as the top seed.
The rest of the top 10 (in order) consists of Aryna Sabalenka, Garbiñe Muguruza, Barbora Krejcikova, Maria Sakkari Anett Kontaveit, Iga Swiatek, Paula Badosa, Ons Jabeur and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
Barty and defending champion Naomi Osaka are the top two betting favorites to win the women’s singles tournament. New bettors can redeem a Betmgm bonus code that offers up to $1,000 in risk-free bets.
The winner of the 2022 Australian Women’s singles tournament will take home $4.4 million (AUD) in prize money, with the runner-up earning $2.2 million. The $4.4 million prize money for the champion is a major bump from last year’s total of $2.75 million (the runner-up pocketed 1.5 million).
Semi-finalists will pocket $1.1 million, and quarter-finalists will receive $600,000. The total Australian Open prize money pool is $75 million.
No Jennifer Brady Serena Or Venus Williams In The Tournament
For the first time since 1997, the Australian Open will not feature either of the legendary Williams sisters, Serena or Venus.
Serena continues to deal with a hamstring injury that led to her decision to sit out the 2022 tournament. Two weeks ago, Venus announced her decision to withdraw from the tournament as well.
Serena has won the Australian Open seven times (2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2015 and 2017). Only Margaret Court (11 Australian Open titles) has won the tournament more times.
Venus has never won the Australian Open, losing to Serena in the 2003 and 2017 finals.
Brady, the 2021 runner-up, announced last month that she won’t be able to compete due to an ongoing left foot injury. Brady is still looking for her first Grand Slam singles championship, also getting close in the 2020 US Open (she lost to Osaka in the semis).
Ashleigh Barty, Naomi Osaka Enter As Favorites
Barty will try to become the first Australian to win the women’s singles since Chris O’Neil last accomplished the feat in 1978.
Barty reached the 2020 semifinals but fell to eventual champion Sofia Kenin.
On Monday, Barty announced her decision to withdraw from the 2022 Sydney International; she finished as the runner-up in 2018 (losing to Angelique Kerber) and 2019 (lost to Kvitová.
“It’s been an extraordinary week,” Barty said, via the Associated Press. “We’ve been able to play lots of matches in singles and doubles,” Barty said Monday. “We’ve had plenty of court time, which is great.”
If she emerges victorious, Barty would only need a US Open victory to win the Grand Slam; she won the French Open in 2019 and the Wimbledon in 2021.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Top tennis players including Novak Djokovic, Ashleigh Barty, Rafa Nadal and Simona Halep were seen training on <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AusOpen?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AusOpen</a> courts <a href="https://t.co/bKvhTC3E9X">pic.twitter.com/bKvhTC3E9X</a></p>— Reuters (@Reuters) <a href="https://twitter.com/Reuters/status/1481606957433712641?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 13, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
“I feel good leading up to an Australian Open.”
Naomi Osaka — is aiming for her third Australian Open title. Osaka defeated Jennifer Brady in the 2021 finals, two years after defeating Kvitová in the 2019 finals.
Osaka will look to become the 11th player to win the women’s Australian Open singles tournament at least three times.
Court (11), Williams (seven), Nancye Wynne Bolton (six), Daphne Akhurst Cozens (five), Evonne Goolagong Cawley (four), Steffi Graf (Four) Monica Seles (four), Joan Hartigan Bathurst (three), Martina Hingis (three) and Martina Navratilova all won it at least three times.
Osaka isn’t the only 2022 participant aiming for a third Australian Open title. 32-year-old Victória Azárenka, who won the tournament in 2012 and 2013, is also looking for a third.
No. 4 ranked Iga Świątek, two years removed from a French Open championship, is also one of the main favorites to win the Australian Open. The 20-year-old reached the fourth round of the Australian Open, US Open and Wimbledon last year.
The 26-year-old Kontaveit is also eyeing her first Grand Slam singles title. To date, the closest she has gotten to one was the 2020 Australian Open. She fell to eventual fourth-place finisher Simona Halep in the quarterfinals.
Going For Two
While Osaka aims for her third Australian Open title, there are several competitors looking to join her in the club of multi-time winners.
The aforementioned Kerber won the event in 2016 by defeating Serena Williams. As previously noted, Kenin won the tournament in 2020, having defeated Muguruza.
