In light of her retirement announcement earlier in August, Serena Williams’ career will come to a close when she exits the US Open — whether by way of loss or Grand Slam No. 24.
Many around the country are betting that won’t happen just yet — and some very brave ones think she won’t lose at all.
Several U.S. sportsbooks have been experiencing both high volume and high percentage of bets on Williams during her run in Flushing Meadows, which began with a two-set victory over Danka Kovinic in the first round and continues Wednesday night against tournament No. 2 seed Anett Kontaveit.
“People want to be involved in the story,” says Caesars Sportsbook assistant director of trading Adam Pullen. “It would be great for her to end her career as US Open champion, it would be one of the greatest sporting stories ever.”
Books might be taking action on Serena’s story having a happy ending — but her play in recent months isn’t convincing everyone.
- Caesars: Highest percentage of bets (25%) and money (20%).
- DraftKings: 1st in bets (26.1%), and 2nd in money (12.6%) behind Iga Swiatek (45.4%).
- PointsBet: 5th in bets, 4th in money (10%); Swiatek leads both (31.3% and 38%).
Online books aren’t the only ones feeling the heat: A source at Las Vegas’ Westgate SuperBook told Front Office Sports that bets on Serena at +5000 have “created some liability for us.”
That pressure for the books is only going to intensify if Serena can keep advancing.
“We’ve got quite a bit of liability on her to win this whole thing and it’s increasing,” says DraftKings Director of Race & Sportsbook Operations Johnny Avello. “She was 45-1. Now she’s 22-1. And they’re gonna keep betting her two to win the whole thing, thinking that maybe this is her last hurrah.”
“People know her pedigree and that when Serena’s motivated and focused, she’s capable of anything, even if she hasn’t played for a while,” Pullen says. “If she gets past this match, it’s just going to build and build.”
As for Wednesday’s match, Williams finds herself in rare territory: She’s around a +200 underdog for her match against Kontaveit.
Of course, that has attracted the attention of Williams’ betting faithful.
The 40-year-old is seeing upwards of 70% of the bets and 63% of the money at Caesars and DraftKings.
“The public is all over her right now,” says Avello.
