Tennis isn’t the biggest bet in Iowa, but Grand Slam events like 2022 Wimbledon will still draw plenty of interest compared to other tour events.
Play begins at 5 a.m. Iowa time on Monday, so get up early each day for live bets or place your pre-match wagers the night before. From there, players will wear down the pristine grass of Centre Court until the ladies doubles champions are crowned on July 10.
But things will look a little different at sportsbooks when play begins in England. You won’t find Betfred IA Sportsbook odds for men’s world No. 1 Daniil Medvedev of Russia or women’s No. 6 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus.
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Key players missing from 2022 Wimbledon
Following guidance from the UK government, players from Russia and Belarus are banned from the 2022 Wimbledon Championships.
Top 40 women denied entry by Wimbledon:
- (6) Sabalenka
- (13) Daria Kasatkina (Russia)
- (20) Victoria Azarenka (Belarus)
- (22) Veronica Kudermatova (Russia)
- (28) Ekaterina Alexandrova (Russia)
- (34) Aliaksandra Sasnovich (Belarus)
Top 40 men impacted:
- (1) Medvedev
- (8) Andrey Rublev (Russia)
- (22) Karen Khachanov (Russia)
- (40) Ilya Ivashka (Belarus)
“We recognize that this is hard on the individuals affected, and it is with sadness that they will suffer for the actions of the leaders of the Russian regime,” Ian Hewitt, Chairman of the All England Club said on April 20.
But, he added, Wimbledon sees the importance of “not allowing sport to be used to promote the Russian regime.”
The ATP, which governs the men’s tour, disagreed with the decision. They responded by removing ATP points for Wimbledon in 2022. An ATP statement said: “Discrimination by individual tournaments is simply not viable on a tour that operates in more than 30 countries.”
The WTA tour also pulled its points from Wimbledon, saying the ban violates its “fundamental principle that all players have an equal opportunity to compete based on merit and without discrimination.”
Players count on tour points to build their rankings. Better rankings impact their access and placements in future tournaments, including the US Open.
2022 Wimbledon odds in Iowa
Lou Damico, the VP of Race and Sports for Betfred Sportsbook knows the absence of Sabalenka, Medvedev and others will impact futures odds for the eventual 2022 Wimbledon champions, but he told PlayIA: “Let’s keep politics out of it.”
“The players that will draw the most betting interest will be Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Matteo Berrettini for the men. For the women it will be Iga Swiatek, Ons Jabeur and Coco Gauff. That doesn’t mean that customers won’t look for value with other players besides the ones that I mentioned. I would be looking for players that perform well on grass with value.”
Injuries might open up the draw as well. World men’s No. 2 Alexander Zverev is out and Wimbledon would love to see the return of Roger Federer return in 2023.
One very bright spot is the return of Serena Williams, who accepted a wild card into the tournament.
Betfred odds favorites in the women’s draw
| Player | Odds to win Wimbledon |
|---|---|
| Iga Swiatek (Poland) | +150 |
| Ons Jabeur (Tunisia) | +880 |
| Coco Gauff (USA) | +1200 |
| Simona Halep (Romania) | +1400 |
| Serena Williams (USA) | +1600 |
| Beatriz Haddad Maia (Brazil) | +2000 |
| Belinda Bencic (Switzerland) | +2000 |
| Emma Raducanu (Great Britain) | +2000 |
| Jelana Ostapenko (Latvia) | +2000 |
| Maria Sakkari (Greece) | +2000 |
| Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic) | +2000 |
Betfred odds favorites in the men’s draw
| Player | Odds to win Wimbledon |
|---|---|
| Novak Djokovic (Serbia) | -130 |
| Matteo Berrettini (Italy) | +550 |
| Rafael Nadal (Spain) | +650 |
| Carlos Alcaraz (Spain) | +800 |
| Felix Auger Aliassime (Canada) | +1100 |
| Stefanos Tsitsipas (Greece) | +1800 |
| Hubert Hurkacz (Poland) | +2000 |
| Marin Cilic (Croatia) | +2000 |
| Nick Kyrgios (Austrailia) | +2000 |
| Andy Murray (Great Britian) | +2500 |
How to watch Wimbledon as you bet in Iowa
Disney networks have exclusive rights to what they’re calling “first ball to last ball” coverage of Wimbledon in the US. Here’s what you need to know:
- Monday through Friday of next week — ESPN has coverage from 5 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
- Weekend coverage — stays on ESPN from 7 a.m. to noon July 2-3. ABC then takes over from noon to 3 p.m. on both days. Wimbledon is breaking with tradition by scheduling matches on the middle Sunday.
- Fourth of July — “Cross court coverage” begins, which means different matches on ESPN channels at the same time.
- ESPN2 will carry No. 1 Court and outer court matches from 5-10 a.m.
- ESPN overlaps, with Centre Court coverage from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- July 5-6 — Quarterfinals are carried on both ESPN (Centre Court) and ESPN2 (No. 1 Court) from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Ladies semifinals — 7 a.m. to noon on Thursday, July 7, with the mixed doubles final to follow on ESPN.
- Gentlemen’s semifinals — 7 a.m. to completion Friday, July 8, on ESPN.
- Championship Saturday — 8 a.m. Ladies’ final followed by men’s doubles championship.
- Championship Sunday — 8 a.m. Gentlemen’s final, followed by the Ladies’ doubles championship.
Two more notes:
- The ESPN+ subscriber streaming service will have plenty of early-round matches on the outer courts.
- Tennis Channel doesn’t have rights to live matches, but they will rebroadcast some of the day’s action when ESPN signs off.
