Australian Open Day 7 Best Bets, Women’s Predictions for Pegula vs Selekhmeteva, Rybakina vs Valentova

The third round continues on Friday at Melbourne Park, and there are plenty of matches to like from a betting perspective.

Let's look at a pair of Australian Open matches below.

Here are my previews and Round 3 Australian Open predictions for Jessica Pegula vs. Oksana Selekhmeteva and Elena Rybakina vs. Tereza Valentova.

Australian Open Women's Predictions, Picks — Third Round

Pegula vs Selekhmeteva Odds

By Tudor Cosma

Pegula should have a comfortable outing here. As one of the world's premier players, she enters this match in high form, having not dropped a set in her first two matches.

She rarely falters when positioned as the heavy favorite, so we're likely to see a relatively short contest. Naturally, Pegula's clinical return game is capable of forcing numerous break points.

Selekhmeteva arrives following a major upset, a straight-sets victory over Paula Badosa. While she's played quite well this year, her performances have often been marked by fluctuations and inconsistent spells.

One constant, however, is the vulnerability of her second serve. In her match against Badosa, she committed seven double faults, and recently recorded five against Panna Udvardy and nine against Taylah Preston.

I believe Selekhmeteva will commit at least four double faults today.

Pick: Selekhmeteva to Commit Over 3.5 Double Faults

Rybakina vs Valentova Odds

By Tudor Cosma

Rybakina is a Wimbledon champion and former World No. 3, and she's firmly established as one of the elite competitors in women's tennis. Her objectives are clear: more Grand Slam titles and the world No. 1 ranking.

While the top spot is currently a tall order given the consistency of Aryna Sabalenka, Rybakina is considered by many specialists as a top favorite for this year's title in Melbourne.

Standing at 1.84m, she possesses one of the most potent serves in the circuit and is nearly unstoppable when her first-serve percentage is high, though this remains one of the more inconsistent areas of her game.

Off the ground, her aggressive style produces a high volume of winners that most opponents struggle to neutralize.

After a strong finish to 2025, she began 2026 with a quarterfinal in Brisbane. Here in Melbourne, she's yet to drop a set, though she showed some vulnerability on serve and unforced errors during the early stages of her second-round match against Varvara Gracheva.

Valentova is an 18-year-old Czech sensation currently at a career-high world No. 54. Many view her as a future world No. 1 and the next great star of the WTA. She's a tall, aggressive player who excels on both serve and return.

While she proved her versatility by winning the Roland Garros junior title (both singles and doubles), her game translates perfectly to hard courts. In 2025, she climbed over 200 ranking spots, winning titles at the WTA 125K level in Grado and Porto and reaching the final in Osaka.

Her 2026 season started with tough losses to Anna Kalinskaya and Madison Keys, but she's found her footing in Melbourne. She upset the No. 30 seed Maya Joint in the first round and then outlasted Linda Fruhvirtova in a three-set battle.

While Rybakina is the heavy favorite, the match's dynamics will rely heavily on her first-serve percentage. Given Valentova's high-risk/high-reward return style and Rybakina's occasional early-match serving lapses, I expect several service exchanges

Pick: Over 5.5 Breaks of Serve in the Match