You have got to love the tennis circus as not even 24 hours after the Australian Open finished, we already have three tour-level tournaments to go through again. While part of the circuit is traveling to Europe, the women also stop for another one in Asia – Hua Hin, Thailand to be precise. Here, we find a pretty unbalanced draw, meaning that there could be players presenting value that aren’t necessarily tournament favorites.
But let’s start with the top half, where we have top favorite Paula Badosa amongst a lot of other capable players. The Spaniard is the biggest name in the tournament, even though we have four Wangs in here. Badosa would already face top seed Magda Linette, who has always done well in Asia and even won this event in Hua Hin four years ago, in round two. That is if the Pole gets past Diana Shnaider, who could present a tricky first round as well. More names in the top half: Ajla Tomljanovic, Wang Xiyu, Wang Xinyu, Wang Qiang – who I’m excited to see back on a tennis court – Yulia Putintseva, Emina Bektas, Kamilla Rakhimova and Viktorija Golubic. Any of these women could go on a run and you just don’t have that gathering of talent in the second half. Consequently, seven of the nine tournament favorites are located in the top half.
Anna-Karolina Schmiedlova, Tatjana Maria, Yuan Yue and Zhu Lin are the four seeds down below. Zhu is actually the second tournament favorite, but of all the players in the second half, she arguably got the toughest draw, starting against the young and in-form Taylah Preston before taking on the winner of Linda Fruhvirtova and Claire Liu. At 7.00, her price is just too low for me since she also didn’t show her best tennis so far in 2024.
Instead, I’m taking an eye on Yuan Yue, whose process is remarkable. The 25-year-old is off to a good start to the new season as she reached the semifinal in Hobart, beating Shnaider, Podoroska, Stephens, Xinyu and Putintseva. Talking about WTA-level, there won’t be too many better draws than Arina Rodionova in the first and Bai Zhuoxuan or Chloe Paquet in the second round. Yuan will like the quicker conditions in Thailand, trying to aggressively redirect pace as she’s also accustomed to the heat and humidity.
Call me crazy, but with this kind of draw, we could also see Alina Korneeva break out (even more) in just her second WTA event. Playing the fourth Wang in Yafan first up is not an easy start, but if she beats her, the 16-year-old prodigy should have every chance to beat Schmiedlova or Hontama too. I was close between Korneeva and Katie Volynets in the third quarter, but betting outrights should always be a bit of fun as well – and what more fun could it be than to predict the first of many tournament wins of Korneeva.
In a lopsided draw like this, I’m happy to take two talented bigger-odd selections on the weaker side of the draw. I’m placing each-way bets on both Yuan and Korneeva to already get paid half the odds when they reach the final.
Suggested Bets:
1u on Yuan Yue each-way at 17.00 (+1600) with bet365
1u on Alina Korneeva each-way at 21.00 (+2000) with Unibet
Over 18s Only (21+ in some jurisdictions). 1 unit = 1% of bankroll. These are my bets that I am making. Please enjoy your betting responsibly. Never bet more than you can afford to lose, and do not chase a loss.