Wimbledon women's semi-final predictions and tennis betting tips: Take Kerber

Free tennis tips, best bets and analysis for the women's singles semi-finals at Wimbledon on Thursday.

Where to watch

BBC1, BBC2 & BBC red button, from 1pm Thursday

Best bets

A Kerber
2pts 2-1 bet365

Three total sets in K Pliskova v A Sabalenka
1pt 6-4 general

Four elite WTA names remain in the Wimbledon women's draw at the semi-final stage and the two previous Grand Slam winners, Ashleigh Barty and Angelique Kerber, will battle it out for their chance to compete for the Venus Rosewater Dish on Saturday.

In the bottom half of the draw, Belarus's Aryna Sabalenka looks to finally be coming of age at a Grand Slam and she will face former US Open finalist Karolina Pliskova for a place in the Wimbledon final.

Ashleigh Barty v Angelique Kerber

Barty, the women's top seed and the world's number one-ranked player, has her sights firmly set on a first Wimbledon crown but the Australian looks to have her hands full against 2018 winner Kerber.

The German, who outplayed the great Serena Williams to win this title three years ago, was winless since that victory but found her form in spectacular fashion on the eve of the 2021 Championships, claiming the WTA Bad Homburg Open crown on home turf.

A three-time Grand Slam champion, Kerber has improved as the tournament has progressed, claiming straight-sets victories over Coco Gauff and Karolina Muchova in the last two rounds – both of whom are ranked higher than the 33-year-old.

A clash with Barty is another step up but the Aussie has enjoyed a fairly charmed run to the semi-finals as four of her five opponents were ranked outside the top 60 and the other, French Open winner Barbora Krejcikova, completely lacks grass-court experience as a singles player.

Kerber leads Barty 3-2 in head-to-head meetings and will arrive on Centre Court brimming with self-belief having won ten consecutive matches. Her defence has looked rock-solid and, while Barty is the right favourite, the underdog looks the value at the prices.

Karolina Pliskova v Aryna Sabalenka

Karolina Pliskova and Aryna Sabalenka have both looked like Grand Slam winners in waiting for a long while and one of them will get the chance to strut their stuff in a Wimbledon final, with bookmakers preferring the chances of Sabalenka.

Prolific in regular WTA Tournaments, the big-hitting Belarusian has felt the pressure in Grand Slams but has brushed off the expectation that comes with being Wimbledon's second seed to reach the last four, having previously never gone past the fourth round in any Slam.

She has negotiated a number of difficult ties to get to this point but none of her rivals have carried the same threat as former world number one Pliskova, who is yet to drop a set at Wimbledon 2021.

However, when Sabalenka is on, she can be irrepressible and Pliskova, for all her ability, has been unable to stop her in their two previous clashes despite being favourite on both occasions.

Sabalenka is the one to beat but Pliskova should be able to test her opponent's nerves at some point and a long match looks on the cards, as has been the case in their previous meetings, both of which were settled in three sets.

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