Game, Set, Bet, presented by BetMGM: Is Iga Swiatek the best bet you can make for the 2023 US Open? 

World No. 1 Iga Swiatek couldn’t brush off any grass-court concerns at Wimbledon. The 22-year-old lost to Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals, and that was after she barely escaped with a victory over Belinda Bencic. All in all, she never quite put together extended stretches in which she played her best tennis, and I wonder if that left a poor taste in people’s mouths.

If it has, I’d encourage you to remember that the grass portion of the season is over. We’re back on hard courts, where Swiatek has already won a title. She didn’t drop a single set on her way to winning the Warsaw Open two weeks ago.

Swiatek may not be as good on hard courts as she is on clay—but she’s still the best player in the world on this surface. And I’m not sure the margin between her and the next tier is all that close. Swiatek is 106-34 on hard courts at the WTA level, and she’s 40-8 on the surface over the last 52 weeks.

Aryna Sabalenka has the second-best record in that same span, as she’s 33-10 on the surface in the last year. But do you really trust Sabalenka at a major right now? Since winning the Australian Open, Sabalenka has looked extremely uncomfortable closing out matches at the highest level. Elena Rybakina would probably be the next biggest threat to lift this trophy, but she hasn’t yet won a hard-court major and lacks momentum.

Swiatek is also a player that rarely loses matches she’s supposed to win, so you can pretty much pencil her in for a trip to the semifinals. And if she does reach that point in the tournament, you’ll wish you grabbed her at +225 to win the tournament at BetMGM. Swiatek will be a heavy favorite over anybody she faces in the semifinals or finals, and that includes Sabalenka and Rybakina.

Bet: Swiatek To Win US Open (+225)