Serena Williams' Next Match: Odds Favor Tennis Star To Advance At 2022 U.S. Open

Serena Williams' stellar career was expected to come to an end in her second-round match at the 2022 U.S. Open. The tennis star managed to put off retirement for at least a couple more days, upsetting No. 2 seed Anett Kontaveit with an improbable victory Wednesday night.

Williams' next match is scheduled for Friday at Flushing Meadows. The latest betting odds suggest that it won't be her last.

After defeating the second-ranked player in the world, Williams is scheduled to face Ajla Tomljanović, who is 46th in the WTA rankings. Williams is favored to beat the Australian and advance to the fourth round of the 2022 U.S. Open with -165 odds at BetMGM.

Tomljanović has +130 odds to win the match.

Prior to her singles match, Serena Williams will team up with her sister, Venus, in the first round of the U.S. Open doubles tournament Thursday night.

At 40 years old, Williams entered the U.S. Open without expectations of winning the championship. It's an unfamiliar position for the 23-time grand slam winner, who has claimed six U.S. Open titles since winning the tournament for the first time in 1999.

"I just feel like I have had a big red X on my back since I won the US Open in '99," Williams said after Wednesday's match. "It's been there my entire career, because I won my first Grand Slam early in my career. But here it's different. I feel like I've already won, figuratively, mentally. It's just pretty awesome the things that I've done.

"I never, like, accept that. I never think about it. Yeah, so tonight I was just like, 'Serena, you've already won, just play, be Serena. You're better than this.' That's what I was able to do."

When Williams indicated last month that the U.S. Open would be her final tournament, she had +1600 odds at BetMGM to win the championship. Following her two U.S. Open matches, Williams is tied for fifth-best with +1200 odds to win the title.

Iga Swiatek is the U.S. Open favorite with +350 odds. Coco Gauff and Caroline Garcia are up next at +900.

Williams' last grand slam championship came at the 2017 Australian Open. She reached the U.S. Open final in 2018 and 2019, last winning the championship in 2014.

If Williams can somehow find a way to win the U.S. Open, she'll tie Margaret Court for the all-time record with 24 grand slam titles.