Swiatek clear favourite in Doha after Sabalenka, Gauff upsets
Iga Swiatek is the clear favourite to win the Qatar Open after Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff exited the WTA 1000 tournament on a day of upsets on Tuesday.
Top seed Sabalenka, who has been the best female hard-court player in the world over the past 12 months, was a +275 favourite across tennis betting sites to win the title in Doha.
Gauff sat on the third line of betting to lift the trophy, returning +500 at Bovada.
But with Sabalenka’s 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(5) loss to Ekaterina Alexandrova and Gauff’s 6-2, 7-5 defeat to Marta Kostyuk, Swiatek now sits well ahead in outright betting.
The Pole, who eased past former world No.3 Maria Sakkari 6-3, 6-2 in her opener, is now paying just +150 with top bookmakers to defend her title this week.
Having won the Qatar Open three years in a row, Swiatek is seeking an unprecedented fourth consecutive title in Doha.
Should she do so, it would be the 23-year-old’s first trophy since May 2024, with the former world No.1 in the midst of her longest title drought since joining the WTA Tour.
“I know how tennis works,” Swiatek said after her victory over Sakkari, addressing her recent lack of titles.
“It doesn’t always depend on you if you win titles or not.
“You just have to put 100% effort and commitment and you’ll get your chances if you play well and if you work hard.
“For sure, it will be nice to win some tournaments, but it’s never helpful to think about it before.
“You have to focus on every match specifically and do it step by step, so I’m going to try to do that again.”
Swiatek’s next match is against big-hitting teen Linda Noskova, with Bovada paying -833.33 for the five-time major champion to book her spot in the Qatar Open quarter-finals.