While the world, it seems, was rooting for Serena Williams to pull it out, sportsbooks were not on the 40-year-old's side.
Williams' three-set loss to Ajla Tomljanovic in the third round of the US Open put an end to her run and those running sportsbooks could breathe a sigh of relief.
Williams started the tournament as long as 50/1 at some sportsbooks, but the money really started to come in after her second-round win over No. 2 ranked Anett Kontaveit.
"Start putting your money on her," former tennis great and analyst Chris Evert said after the match.
And bettors did. Odds shortened from as high as 22/1 to as low as 10/1 as the money poured in.
By the time her match started on Friday night, Williams made up 41% of the money in the women's singles futures market at FanDuel and 40% at DraftKings. She made up 29% of the money at PointsBet and was the top liability everywhere.
About the Author
Darren is a Senior Executive Producer at The Action Network, covering all angles of the sports betting world. He spent two stints at ESPN, from 2000-06 and 2012-18, he regularly wrote for ESPN.com and contributed to ESPN shows, including SportsCenter and Outside The Lines. He also served as a business correspondent for ABC News, where he made appearances on the network’s flagship shows, including “Good Morning America,” “World News Tonight” and “Nightline.” While at CNBC from 2006-2012, Rovell anchored five primetime documentaries, including “Swoosh! Inside Nike,” which was nominated for an Emmy. Rovell also contributed to NBC News, where he earned an Emmy as a correspondent for the network’s Presidential Election coverage.
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