While in men’s tennis the era of total hegemony of the Federer-Nadal-Djokovic trio has ended, in women’s tennis, on the contrary, the number of potential winners of major tournaments is decreasing, and sensations are becoming less likely. However, this does not change the fact that the Grand Slam competition is interesting to follow, because two of the three obvious contenders are still very young, and none of the three seems completely invincible.
Roland Garros 2024 is scheduled for the dates from May 20 to June 9 – it will be an unforgettable spectacle for all tennis fans. If you want to support your favorite, follow the link to download the mobile app, and we will try to analyze the chances of triumph of those tennis players whose claims the bookmakers consider significant.
Iga Swiatek – 2.1
A couple of years ago, it seemed that the Polish player would become a new standard in women’s tennis – she smashed literally everyone. During Roland Garros, Ige will turn 23 years old, and now she no longer seems as impeccable as before, although she continues to hold the lead in the WTA rankings. However, bookmakers consider Swiatek to be the main contender for the title in France, with a huge lead over her competitors.
This emphasized favoritism of the Polish tennis player is due to the fact that out of the four Grand Slam titles in her career, she won three in France (plus one US Open), including in the two previous editions. True, at the Australian Open this year she did not show anything intelligible – she was eliminated in the third round by Noskova, although she knows how to get to the semi-finals.
In general, Iga looks like a specialist on the ground. If she doesn’t have any health problems, her non-win will be a sensation.
Arina Sabalenka – 5.0
The 25-year-old (she will be 26 by the start of Roland Garros) “neutral” Belarusian is clearly at the peak of her career: she has won the last two Australian Opens, and these are all her trophies of this level. At other Grand Slam tournaments of the 2023 season, Arina also performed confidently, reaching at least the semifinals. Such outstanding performances recently allowed her to even top the WTA rankings for a couple of months last fall, but now she is second.
The clay Roland Garros is not very hospitable for Arina yet – here she did not go beyond the semi-finals, and even then only once, in the previous draw. She probably wouldn’t have been the second most likely contender to win if it weren’t for the stunning form she got into last season. Nevertheless, her triumph can be considered a sensation.
Corey Gauff – 9.0
In women’s tennis, as we see, the favorites to win Roland Garros are lined up in exact accordance with the WTA singles rankings – the third racket of the world, the 20-year-old American, is also number three here. For the status of a full-fledged rising star, she lacks more Grand Slam trophies, but at her age she can still improve and improve – the example of Arina, six years older, is before my eyes. In the meantime, Gauff has only one large exhibit in her trophy room, won at the US Open 2023.
In 2022, Coco, who did not yet have a Grand Slam title, was one step away from winning the first one – and it was at Roland Garros. The road to the trophy was blocked by Iga Swiatek, whom the American entered in the final match. Now Gauff maintains good current form, and this is confirmed by the fact that at the last Australian Open she reached the semi-finals, and was eliminated only by the future winner, Sabalenka.
It seems that Coco is often missing one last step to reach the next level. Bookmakers are confident that Iga and Arina will not allow the American to win the title again, but, in our opinion, the odds of 9.0 on Corey’s triumph is an underestimation of her. However, her win will still be sensational.
Elena Rybakina – 13.0
Another question is whether it is serious to consider an athlete whose victory is given such a low odds as a favorite – however, the 24-year-old Kazakh woman of Russian origin is only fourth on the list of contenders, and occupies the same place in the WTA rankings. Actually, this is not a random guest from amateur sports – whatever one may say, among her achievements is the victory at Wimbledon 2022.
Why don’t bookmakers believe in it? Because things don’t work out for Elena at Roland Garros: she only reached the quarterfinals here once, and that was back in 2021. At the previous major, in Australia, she was completely eliminated in the second round, losing to not the most dangerous opponent in the person of Anna Blinkova.
Hence the skepticism of the offices: if Rybakina takes the title, it will have the effect of a bomb exploding.
Our forecast
With Iga healthy and in good shape taking part in Roland Garros, there are simply no other options this year. The victory of any other tennis player is already a sensation, it’s just that its scale may be different.
