U.S. Open tennis odds: No Djokovic means wide-open men’s draw; Swiatek favored for women

The year’s fourth tennis Grand Slam event starts Monday in Flushing Meadows, N.Y., with the U.S. Open fortnight sure to bring excitement with two of the more wide-open main singles draws in recent memory.

The women’s final is set for Saturday, Sept. 10, with the men’s final the following day. Let’s take a look at the men’s and women’s singles draws, first with some highlights and then a comprehensive look at the odds at Caesars Sportsbook, official odds partner of Bet Chicago Sports.

Men’s glance

The idea of a Grand Slam tennis tournament going into its late stages without Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic involved has been a strange concept for a long time.

But unless Nadal overcomes nagging injuries to make a run at this year’s U.S. Open, it could become reality.

Federer isn’t officially retired but hasn’t played since Wimbledon of 2021, after which he underwent a third knee surgery. Djokovic is banned from the U.S. Open, just like he was for this year’s Australian Open, because of his refusal to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

Nadal is playing, and is even among the favorites for the event at Caesars Sportsbook. But the 22-time Grand Slam champion withdrew from Wimbledon with an abdominal injury and has only played once since, a first-round loss at the ATP Masters event in Cincinnati.

Still, Nadal is listed with +400 odds, the second favorite behind only Daniil Medvedev at +225. Medvedev is the reigning champion at the event but also has had a strange year — after he lost in the Australian final to Nadal and the fourth round of the French Open, Wimbledon banned him and all Russian players because of the war in Ukraine.

Close behind Medvedev and Nadal are Carlos Alcaraz at +500, then Nick Kyrgios at +900, young players who have yet to break through at a Grand Slam.

Of course, that describes almost everyone in the event not named Nadal or Medvedev. Dominic Thiem (+6500) was the 2020 U.S. Open champion, but he missed nine months last year with a wrist injury and has been pedestrian since his return, going 10-11 this year despite skipping several top events.

Women’s glance

On the women’s side, French Open champion Iga Swiatek is a more solid favorite at +350, with the next player listed not until Simona Halep at +750. American Coco Gauff is third at +1400.

Swiatek won 37 consecutive matches, including the final at Roland Garros, but the streak ended against Alize Cornet at Wimbledon, and she’s just 4-3 since then, not reaching the semifinals at any of her three post-Wimbledon entries. She also has never won a Grand Slam event outside of her two French Open titles.

Other women’s players are equally hard to pin down as they fight to fill the void left by the sudden retirement of world No. 1 Ash Barty after she won the Australian Open. Reigning champion Emma Raducanu (+2000) has battled some injuries in practice. Wimbledon champ Elena Rybakina (+1800) is just 4-3 since her triumph at the All-England Club. Madison Keys (+3500) beat Swiatek and Rybakina at Cincinnati but has only played in one Grand Slam final — five years ago in Flushing Meadows.

Naomi Osaka (+2000) is a four-time Grand Slam champion but skipped Wimbledon and is just 2-5 since reaching the final of the Miami Open in March.

And then there’s Serena Williams, the living legend who strongly hinted she would retire after this event. Williams has won 23 Grand Slams, one behind Margaret Court for the all-time record, but the 40-year-old Williams won’t have (m)any more chances after this. Oddsmakers at Caesars have installed her as a 50/1 long shot, but she’ll be a sentimental favorite.

Men’s singles odds

(From Caesars Sportsbook; players 150/1 or lower plus notables)

Daniil Medvedev +225

Rafael Nadal +400

Carlos Alcaraz +500

Nick Kyrgios +900

Stefanos Tsitsipas +1400

Jannik Sinner +1800

Taylor Fritz +2000

Matteo Berrettini +2500

Felix Auger-Aliassime +3500

Borna Coric +3500

Cameron Norrie +4000

Hubert Hurkacz +5000

Andrey Rublev +5000

Casper Ruud +6500

Marin Cilic +6500

Denis Shapovalov +6500

Pablo Carreno-Busta +6500

Andy Murray +10000

Brandon Nakashima +10000

Maxime Cressy +10000

Lorenzo Musetti +10000

Dominic Thiem +10000

Frances Tiafoe +10000

Miomir Kecmanovic +10000

Holger Rune +10000

John Isner +12500

Sebastian Korda +12500

Roberto Bautista Agut +15000

Botic Van De Zandschulp +15000

Lorenzo Sonego +15000

Alex De Minaur +15000

Emil Ruusuvuori +15000

Lloyd Harris +15000

Aslan Karatsev +15000

Grigor Dimitrov +15000

Fabio Fognini +15000

Tommy Paul +15000

Karen Khachanov +15000

Alejandro Fokina +15000

Jenson Brooksby +15000

Jack Draper +15000

Jaume Munar +15000

Sebastian Baez +15000

Diego Schwartzman +15000

Women’s singles odds

(From Caesars Sportsbook; players 150/1 or lower plus notables)

Iga Swiatek +350

Simona Halep +750

Coco Gauff +1400

Aryna Sabalenka +1600

Carolina Garcia +1800

Elena Rybakina +1800

Emma Raducanu +2000

Naomi Osaka +2000

Ons Jabeur +2000

Karolina Pliskova +2500

Jessica Pegula +2500

Beatriz Haddad Maia +2500

Belinda Bencic +2500

Bianca Andreescu +2500

Petra Kvitova +3500

Daria Kasatkina +3500

Madison Keys +3500

Maria Sakkari +3500

Leylah Annie Fernandez +3500

Paula Badosa +3500

Amanda Anisimova +4000

Qinwen Zheng +5000

Serena Williams +5000

Ludmilla Samsonova +5000

Anett Kontaveit +5000

Jelena Ostapenko +6500

Garbine Muguruza +6500

Sloane Stephens +6500

Victoria Azarenka +6500

Marie Bouzkova +8000

Danielle Collins +8000

Elise Mertens +8000

Sorana Cirstea +10000

Sofia Kenin +10000

Ekaterina Alexandrova +10000

Katerina Siniakova +10000

Tereza Martincova +10000

Barbora Krejcikova +10000

Camila Giorgi +10000

Ajla Tomlajanovic +10000

Harmony Tan +10000

Marta Kostyuk +10000

Zhang Shuai +10000

Alison Riske +10000

Clara Burel +15000

Dayana Yastremska +15000

Jil Teichmann +15000

Kamilla Rakhimova +15000

Karolina Muchova +15000

Sara Sorribes Tormo +15000

Clara Tauson +15000

Aliaksandra Sasnovich +15000