2021 Adelaide International Odds & Preview: Barty Looks to Defend Her Title

• The 2021 Adelaide International will take place February 21-27 in front of a live crowd
• Australian Ashleigh Barty looks to defend her title
• See below for the Top 20 players’ odds to win the tournament and a preview of what we can expect

Coming off the Australian Open, the Adelaide International tournament doesn’t historically attract all the big names in tennis, as many take a slight break before a few tournaments in the Middle East. But being a WTA 500 tournament, there’s still more than enough talent competing, and this year six of the world’s top 20 players will be participating.

32 players will be competing, led by World No. 1 Ashleigh Barty and 2021 Gippsland Trophy champion Elise Mertens.

Canadian Bianca Andreescu was set to play, but has withdrawn from the tournament just before it starts, citing a leg injury. The 20-year old has been dealing off and on with injury over the past 15 months.

Read below for the odds of the Top 20 players competing, and a breakdown of a few key players to keep your eye on.

Odds to Win 2021 Adelaide International

Odds taken Feb. 21th from Bet365

Bencic Leads the Bottom Half

The bottom half of the draw is competitive, but not as strong as the top, leaving room for many players to finish on top.

Bencic is the second seed in the tournament, and will be looking to get her 2021 back on track. After a less than ideal performance at the Australian Open, losing in the third round to Elise Mertens, a few wins is exactly what Bencic needs.

With the top four seeds receiving a first-round bye, Bencic will open her tournament up against a qualifier or Anna Blinkova. She probably won’t have much of an issue until the quarterfinals where she could find herself facing Yulia Putintseva, who leads their head-to-head record 3-2.

Dark Horse

Veronika Kudermetova and Shelby Rogers are two players to watch in the tournament. Kudermetova recently reached the final of the Abu Dhabi Open in January, and made it to the third round of the Aussie Open before losing to Simona Halep. Rogers made it to the fourth round of the Grand Slam, where she lost to Barty. Both unseeded at this tournament, they’ll be playing each other tonight.

The two players are in the same quarter as third seed Johanna Konta. Konta is statistically the stronger player, but she’s been battling some injuries. She had to retired from her first round match at the Aussie Open, due to an abdominal strain. No one’s aware of whether or not she has fully recovered from the injury.

If Konta isn’t 100%, it gives a player like Kudermetova or Rogers the chance to make a deep run here.

Defending Champion

After a quarterfinal loss at the Australian Open, Barty will look to rebound at this tournament, as she was granted a wildcard into the main draw. Her entry at this tournament came as a bit of a surprise, but Barty decided not to leave Australia throughout the pandemic to compete, so it makes sense that she’s choosing to compete in another tournament there.

The World No.1’s loss at the Aussie Open was a huge upset, and she’ll be looking to bounce back and get back on track. She started the year off strong, winning the Yarra Valley Classic in January.

Barty has been given a first round bye, but drew a tough half. She’ll open her tournament up against either Danielle Collins or Zheng Saisai. Collins could make it difficult for her, in a possible rematch of last years tight three-set semifinal.

The Australian will most likely have to get past fifth seed Iga Swiatek in a projected quarterfinal match. The 2020 French Open champion is one to look out for this tournament, and is someone that could potentially upset Barty.

Barty looks to be the best bet going into the tournament.

The Pick: Barty (+240)