WTA Qatar Open predictions & tennis betting tips: Kvitova value to retain crown

Free tennis tips, predictions, best bets and analysis for this week's tournament, the WTA Qatar Open in Doha.

Where to watch

Amazon Prime, 10am Monday

Best bets

Petra Kvitova
0.5pt each-way 25-1 Coral, Ladbrokes
Garbine Muguruza
0.5pt each-way 16-1 bet365, Coral, Ladbrokes

Tournament preview

The first WTA 1000 event of the season in Doha has attracted eight of the world’s top ten, and it is a tricky puzzle for punters to solve with most firms going 7-1 the field.

Anett Kontaveit, who won in St Petersburg last week before opting to skip the Dubai Tennis Championships, heads the betting as she chases her sixth title in a little over a year.

The Estonian world number six has to be feared with her confidence sure to be sky high but she is short enough given the quality on show, and the unpredictable nature of the WTA Tour suggests bettors may want to look a little further down the list.

Defending champion Petra Kvitova, who also won this event in 2018 and finished runner-up two years later, hinted at a return to form in Dubai last week and looks a lively outsider at 25-1.

The former world number two has been battling injury in recent seasons but evidently loves these Qatari hard courts and proved she was still capable of mixing it with the very best when making the quarter-finals last time out.

Kvitova thrashed reliable Italian Camila Giorgi in her Dubai opener before recording a straight-set success over top seed Aryna Sabalenka.

The Czech star was defeated by eventual finalist Jelena Ostapenko in the last eight but lost the deciding set in a tiebreak, so there was nothing wrong with her finishing effort.

Those performances should have put her spot on for her title defence in the Middle East and although she may have to face Kontaveit in round three, she did beat the Estonian on her way to victory last year.

Garbine Muguruza, runner-up to Kvitova in 2018 and again last year, is another worth considering at double-figure odds.

The Spaniard is wildly inconsistent but quotes of 16-1 are worth chancing given a return to this venue could spark a revival and she has a draw she could exploit if at her very best.

The fifth seed receives a first-round bye while her likely third-round opponent, Victoria Azarenka, also has a point to prove.

Kvitova and Muguruza would be on course to clash in the last four, so split stakes each-way are advised in the hope of securing a finalist.

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