Women's Tennis Opens Up

Angelique Kerber is the new No. 1 in women's tennis. With two Grand Slam titles this year, including last weekend's U.S. Open triumph, there's little doubt that she deserves the ranking. But let's not kid ourselves, folks; the women's tennis field is as wide open as it has ever been. And you know what that means? It means there are a lot of good players at good prices in women's tennis betting. With almost two months left in the season, and a couple of centerpiece events remaining, there will be opportunities for profit. Here are players to focus on:

Williams-Kerber Rivalry?

Serena Williams had the U.S. Open solidly in her sights, when she just gave out of gas. Some of that was due to scheduling. Just a day after taking a long three-set victory over Simona Halep in the quarters, Serena ran into the hard-serving Karolina Pliskova and just couldn't hold out. She may be No. 2 for the first time in two years, but we still haven't seen the last of Serena.

Kerber has simply been the most consistent of the women's players, and with her ability to cover the court and make spot-on shots, she won't surrender her ranking easily. But after winning the Australian Open early in the year, she went into a bit of a stall. We'll see how she handles the U.S. Open hoopla.

Other Spoilers Halep has improved enough this year to be Grand Slam worthy. But she couldn't quite overcome Serena in the Open quarters and got bumped by Kerber in two long sets in the quarters at Wimbledon. She can beat either of them and should do that sometime in the coming months, if she can smooth over her temperament.

And speaking of temperament, Pliskova is cool to the point of being downright boring. Her powerful serve got her to the finals of the Open, and look for more to come from her. Against Kerber you could tell that Pliskova needs a little more speed to get to the toughest shots.

Garbine Muguruza has just kind of hung around since winning the French Open. She hasn't beaten anyone of note since then, and we're waiting for her next move.

Venus Williams and Madison Keys help keep U.S. women in the top-ten picture. Venus is a proven veteran who has seen a resurgence in recent weeks, and Keys is an up-and-comer who can dominate when she maintains her attention span.

Women's Tennis Betting

Those are my super seven as it stands, and honestly, any one of them can beat the other. Keep that in mind as they head east for key dates in the China Open in early October and the WTA Finals in Singapore later that month.