WTA Wimbledon first-round play begins. For many, this is the crown jewel of all tennis tournaments, known locally as The Championships. The women’s tournament begins with Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina as the top two seeds. Still, they are not playing well and are not entering the All-England Club with much of any confidence. Iga Swiatek is the defending champion but is not playing well, either. There are a lot of questions in the women’s tournament, and there is a real chance the tournament will be as unpredictable as the French Open was a few weeks ago, with Mirra Andreeva playing Maja Chwalinska in a very unexpected final. What will happen at Wimbledon? There’s a lot of uncertainty, which should create a very exciting tournament. LWOS has our best bet for three matches. Post your best bets and thoughts in the comments.
WTA Wimbledon
Stearns – Bartunkova: 10:00 EST
H2H: 0-0
Nikola Bartunkova is a very interesting figure as the WTA Wimbledon women’s main draw begins. Bartunkova is a tall player with a strong serve, the kind of player who should do well on grass. Bartunkova has indeed had a solid grass season, winning six matches. She made the final in Birmingham before losing to another good grass player, Alexandra Eala. She made the quarterfinals in Berlin and led Aryna Sabalenka a set and 4-0 before falling apart and letting that match slip away. She is very talented and is beginning to get the attention of a lot of people in the tennis world. She comes to this WTA Wimbledon event as a player to watch in the draw.
Best Bet to Make
Peyton Stearns has played just two matches since Roland-Garros, winning one and losing one. Bartunkova’s six grass match victories offer far more reason to trust her on this surface. Bartunkova is the better player overall. She is the better in-form player. She is more comfortable on grass and has gotten more match play on grass this year. If you make a bet on this match, it should favor Bartunkova. You could put Bartunkova moneyline into a parlay, but as a standalone bet, that won’t offer a big price. The big price comes from Bartunkova winning in straight sets. That’s the individual wager you should make here.
That being said, betting on Bartunkova winning 2:0 is a value bet for sure.
Value bet/ the best odds: Bartunkova winning 2:0 @2.10 @betway
Xu – Kasatkina: Time 10:00 EST
H2H: 0-0
This is a WTA Wimbledon match in which neither player is in good form right now. Mimi Xu has played five grass matches in 2026 and won only one. Daria Kasatkina has played three grass matches over the past few weeks and has not won any of them. That’s a combined total of eight grass matches played between the two players and only one total win. Because Kasatkina is 0-3 on grass this year, you might think this match will be evenly priced. It’s not. Kasatkina is a former top-10 player with a lot of experience and past achievements. Mimi Xu is ranked outside the WTA top 300 and does not have many accomplishments of note. Kasatkina is a top-70 player ranked far ahead of Xu. These players are not seen as being equally competitive.
Best Bet to Make
The markets have Kasatkina installed as an overwhelming favorite for this WTA Wimbledon first-round match. You won’t be able to get a good price on Kasatkina winning in straight sets, so you have to go to the game spread. The most evenly-priced spread is 5.5 games. Given that Kasatkina is 0-3 on grass this season, it seems hard to trust her with a game spread that large. You could perhaps fold Kasatkina minus 4.5 games into a parlay, but for our standalone bet, we are going to go with Xu plus the 5.5-game spread.
That being said, betting on Xu +5.5 games is a value bet for sure.
Value bet/ the best odds: Xu +5.5 games @2.09 @1xbet
Oliynykova – Kessler: Time 10:00 EST
H2H: 0-0
Oleksandra Oliynykova played 21 clay matches in 2026. She really loaded up on that surface and tried to play as much as she could on it, in an attempt to gain points and prize money. She has since played just one match on grass, and she lost. She looks like the kind of player who is just not that interested in grass and is not basically comfortable on the surface. Her opponent in this WTA Wimbledon first-round match, McCartney Kessler, is not a tremendous grass player, but she is decent. She has played five grass matches in 2026 and won two out of the five. That’s not a great record, but she does at least have a few grass wins on the board, unlike Oliynykova. Also, Kessler has lost to talented grass players, Madison Keys and Karolina Pliskova. That’s quality competition. Kessler is more battle-tested entering this match.
Best Bet to Make
The markets have Kessler as a massive favorite, so betting on Kessler to win in straight sets won’t be much of a price. You need to go to the game spread. Oliynykova doesn’t seem ready to play on grass, and she doesn’t seem excited about the idea of playing on grass. She looks like the kind of player who will show up at WTA Wimbledon, collect her first-round paycheck, and then play post-Wimbledon clay tournaments in July. Kessler should be able to cover a medium-sized game spread. The price is solid.
That being said, betting on Kessler -5.5 games is a value bet for sure.
Value bet/ the best odds: Kessler -5.5 games @1.83 @10bet
Main Photo Credit: Danielle Parhizkaran-USA TODAY Sports
