We’re on the heels of the 2023 Australian Open final — which woman will prevail, Elena Rybakina or Aryna Sabalenka? If you keep reading this article, we’ll give you our expert betting predictions on it. For those in the United States (or the Western Hemisphere in general), the matchup takes place in the wee hours of Saturday morning so you need to get our advice right away!
Let’s take a hard look at the current moneyline odds for the finale. It’s very close, but Sabalenka is favored to come out on top ever slightly by the top tennis betting sites:
Preview of the 2023 Australian Open Final
When previewing the Rybakina-Sabalenka matchup at the Australian Open, one can’t help but notice the stark similarities and differences between the two stars.
Let’s start with the similarities. Both are power players in every sense of the word. The six-footers, each from Eastern Europe, excel on the first serve and groundstrokes. Both are two of the strongest players in the whole WTA field so it's going to be strength vs. strength come Saturday.
The differences, however, come in the two’s demeanor. The favored Sabalenka is a lot “looser” on the court, clay surfaced in Melbourne of course. Every ounce of emotion — whether positive or negative — is reflected in her face and actions while playing. That’s a contrast to Rybakina, who is unreadable when playing. She embodies the stone-faced personality that’s often associated with Eastern Europe.
Rybakina is seeded 22nd this tourney, but that’s actually misleading. Being born in Russia, she was, fairly on unfairly, punished by WTA after her home country invaded Ukraine. She won last year’s Wimbledon title but received no ranking points for the triumph. With those points included, Rybakina would very easily be a top-10 seed. Then there’s Sabalenka, who is seeded fifth. The Belarus player has a history of topping Rybakina. The two have played three times before, all ended with Sabalenka victorious. However, none of the wins came easy as each went the full three sets.
Neither player has ever won the Australian Open before. Therefore, we’re guaranteed a first-time champion come Saturday.
Betting Picks For 2023 Women’s Australian Open Final
There’s a full gamut of bets available for the 2023 women’s Australian Open final — moneyline, over/under, and a WHOLE lot of props. Our usual betting strategy is to keep it simple and really dial in on the few bets we like, thus avoiding “over-betting.” With that in mind, here are the two picks we’re making before the game gets off:
Moneyline
This is Sabalenka’s first-ever Grand Slam finals appearance. She’s been oh so close in recent years losing in the semi-finals of three different Grand Slams since 2021 before finally breaking through. However, she’s running into an absolute buzzsaw in Rybakina.
How Rybakina got to the finals is nothing short of impressive. She beat not one, not two, but three different Grand Slam winners before this. The first one to fall was world’s No. 1 Iga Swiatek, who was the runaway tourney favorite to win the whole thing. Then Jelena Ostapenko fell followed by the resurgent Victoria Azarenka in the semi-finals.
These two have not played since Wimbledon 2021. In the span since, we like how Ryakina has developed slightly more. Yeah, she’s never beaten Sabalenka before, but that changes here. She has monumental momentum — not only from this tournament but last year’s Grand Slam win too. Take Ryakina’s plus-moneyline here!
Spread
This game is going to be as close as it gets. We mean, it has to be given the two’s similar playing styles. Anything less than a full-cut, high-velocity, down-to-the-wire match would shock us. So while we’ve picked Rybakina to win, it’ll be by 0.5.
Sabalenka, quite simply, won’t be put down easily. She enters this match having won 10 matches in a row and 20 consecutive sets. Admittedly, that’s come against lesser competition compared to Rybakina, but you still can’t ignore that momentum. Get your popcorn ready cause this match promises to be a back-and-forth affair of epic proportions!
How To Bet And Watch 2023 Women’s Australian Open Final
As we eluded to earlier, the time difference between Australia and the United States is massive. So much that you’ll have to rise (or stay up late) at 3:30 am EST to watch Rybakina-Sabalenka do battle in the Australian Open. The game is being shown exclusively on the ESPN TV channel.
If you need a trusted sportsbook to make these bets at, then look no further than the sportsbooks below. These are the “best of the best” the industry has to offer, as indicated in our newest sportsbook reviews. At any one of these sites, you’ll find odds for other remaining Australian Open matches too, not just the women’s title game.
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