Ashleigh Barty Retires, Impacts Roland Garros Odds

Ashleigh Barty stunned the tennis world on Tuesday night when she announced her retirement from the sport. The 25-year-old was the top-ranked player in women’s tennis, coming off an impressive win at the Australian Open where she didn’t drop a single set. It was Barty’s third Grand Slam title, and she looked set to be one of the next greats in the sport. Instead, she has decided to step away from tennis for the second time in her career, impacting the 2022 French Open odds.

2022 ROLAND GARROS WOMEN'S BETTING ODDS

• Iga Swiatek +300
• Simona Halep +650
• Barbora Krejcikova +1000
• Garbine Muguruza +1200
• Naomi Osaka +1200

Odds Provided by bet365 - Subject to Change

IGA SWIATEK IS NOW FAVORED TO WIN AT ROLAND GARROS

Before the announcement, Ashleigh Barty and Iga Swiatek were co-favorites to win the French Open. Barty won the 2019 French Open to claim her first Grand Slam title, and Swiatek bested Sofia Kenin in the 2020 French Open Final to win her lone Grand Slam. Barty’s retirement makes Swiatek the favorite at this point.

Swiatek was ousted 6-4, 6-4 in the quarterfinals of last year’s French Open. She was the only player ranked in the top 16 still left at that point, as the 2021 French Open was rife with upsets. Swiatek is just 20 years old, but she became the No. 2 ranked player in the world earlier this week. We saw her reach the semifinals of the Australian Open, and she won the Qatar Open in February and the Indian Wells Open earlier this month.

Her double bagel win over Karolina Pliskova in the finals of last year’s Italian Open shows that she is an elite player on clay, and Swiatek made the finals of last year’s French Open in doubles. The French Open is the most difficult Grand Slam to win, and she is the surest bet on the board because of her past performances on clay.

Simona Halep is the only other player with odds of less than 10-1 after Barty’s retirement. Halep won the 2018 French Open and has been to the finals of this event twice, but we have seen her struggle in her last two majors.