2024 Australian Open odds: Novak Djokovic, Iga Swiatek again enter as favorites
The Australian Open, tennis’ first Grand Slam of the year, is about to start and the two betting favorites are the clear No. 1 players in the sport. While both Novak Djokovic and Iga Świątek are unsurprising favorites, Świątek has never won the tournament.
Świątek has +230 odds to win the tournament on BetMGM, but has only made it to the quarterfinals once Down Under. The Polish star has four Grand Slam wins, three on the clay in France and one win at the U.S. Open. Her semifinal showing in Melbourne in 2022 is the best she has done in this tournament. Świątek is coming off a win in the WTA Finals, which was also on hard court, but took place in November. She hasn’t participated in any Australian Open warmup tournaments this month.
Tournament favorites don’t usually have tough first-round matchups, but Świątek is taking on 2020 Australian Open champ Sofia Kenin in the opener. Kenin has one match win at the Aussie Open in the three years since but is still a talented first-round opponent for Świątek. Kenin is +1000 (10-to-1) to pull off that upset.
Świątek being the favorite means we are officially at the point where she will likely be favored for any tournament she enters. Her lack of a proven track record in Melbourne combined with world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka being the defending champion would be the ideal scenario for Sabalenka to be favored, but it did not play out that way.
Sabalenka is coming off the best year of her career after making the semifinals at all four slams. She is second in the odds at +450. Elena Rybakina (+500) and Coco Gauff (+550) are also in the top tier of favorites. The odds drop off after Gauff with Jessica Pegula (+2000, 2o-to-1) next in the odds. The top five in the odds are also the top five seeds in the tournament, which is a rarity. Gauff did win the last slam of 2023, which was also on hard court, and won in Auckland earlier this month. Rybakina beat Sabalenka in the final in another warmup tournament in Brisbane, Australia.
Two-time champion Naomi Osaka is back in the field after being away from the sport last year. She played in Brisbane and made the second round. Despite her time away and facing No. 16 seed Carolina Garcia in the first round this year, Osaka is still near the top in the odds at +3300 (33-to-1).
Australian Open women’s singles odds
The men’s side also features four clear favorites before the odds drop off, but it’s even more skewed towards the top two. Djokovic is +105 to win the Australian Open and Carlos Alcaraz is +333. Djokovic is the defending champion and has won this tournament a record 10 times. Alcaraz hasn’t made it past the third round in Melbourne but didn’t participate last year due to injury. They are the clear top two players in the sport right now.
Superstar Rafael Nadal played in an Australian Open warm-up tournament in his attempt to return to tennis after missing a year with a hip injury. But Nadal again suffered an injury and has withdrawn from the Australian Open, although Nadal was optimistic on social media that this injury would be a minor setback and he’d play major tennis again this year.
Why you should be excited about the Australian Open
Jannik Sinner (+650) and Daniil Medvedev (+900) are also viewed as realistic contenders in the odds. Medvedev is a two-time finalist (2021, 2022). Alexander Zverez is next at +2500 (25-to-1). Any other champion would be a major shock, including Americans Blake Shelton (+4000), Taylor Fritz (+8000) and Frances Tiafoe (+10000).
Australian Open men’s singles odds
The Australian Open starts Sunday in Melbourne, which is Saturday night in the U.S. Djokovic, Sinner, Fritz and Tiafoe are among the matches scheduled for that opening day.
