Qinwen Zheng vs. Donna Vekić Odds and Prediction for Women's Tennis Olympic Gold Medal Match

Iain MacMillan | Aug 2, 2024

Jul 30, 2024; Paris, France; Donna Vekic (CRO) in action during her third round tennis match during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Stade Roland Garros. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The gold medal match for women's tennis singles at the Olympics is set for Saturday at 6 a.m. et. Qinwen Zheng of China will face Donna Vekic of Croatia with the gold medal on the line.

This showdown is an unexpected one as neither athlete was close to the top of the odds list to win the gold medal before the games started. Qinwen Zheng was ninth on the odds list at 29-1 pre-tournament and Vekic was far down the list at north of 50-1 odds.

With that being said, both competitors earned their way to the gold medal match by pulling off significant upsets. Zheng took down the odds-on favorite, Iga Swiatek in the semifinal and Vekic defeated Coco Gauff, the second favorite behind Swiatek, in the third round.

Let's take a look at the odds for this gold medal match and then I'll give you my prediction.

Zhang vs. Vekic Odds

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

Moneyline:

• Qinwen Zheng -250 (71.43% implied probability)
• Donna Vekic +200

Total Sets:

• 2.5 (Over +140/Under -200)

Zhang vs. Vekic Prediction

This is only the third time these two competitors will face each other. Vekic won the first meeting between them in 2021 but Zheng got revenge, defeating Vekic in October of last year.

I'm going to go against the grain in this one and back the underdog in Vekic. She has been trending in the right direction for years and may just be hitting her peak at the perfect time. She has only lost one set in the entire tournament, including beating Gauff in straight sets in the semifinal and then losing only four games to Anna Karolina Schmiedlova in the semifinals.

After falling just short of the final in Wimbledon, losing to Jasmin Paolini in the semifinal, she's going to be well poised to get over the hump this weekend.

Her aggressive style of play will match Zheng but with the Croatian having a smoother path to the final, she may be on fresher legs when these two meet on Saturday.

I'll back the Croatian to pull off the upset and win Olympic gold.

Prediction: Donna Vekic +200

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Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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