Rankings: Over/Under

As ever Unibet are the only bookmaker out there willing to offer an extensive list of over/under ranking lines for the new season and a couple of lines stick out to me as worthwhile plays. The obvious danger with taking the under on a rankings line is that injury is not on your side. Despite the provision that a player must play in at least five tournaments for bets to stand, it is highly unlikely that any player would beat their ranking line off the back of five tournaments alone.

However, that being said, there are two lines that I particularly like the under on and because of the possibility of injury I advise them as two point plays. If injury wasn't something we'd need to factor into the process I'd be quite tempted to advise four or five point plays, but it's worth being prudent on long-term bets of this nature.

Mona Barthel

Mona Barthel ended the 2012 season ranked 39 and her line for 2013 is 37.5. Barthel is a player very capable of being top 20 in the future and arguably higher. Early last year Barthel won Hobart as a qualifier and reached the 3rd round of the Australian Open - losing to eventual champion Victoria Azarenka. The young German had a shocking run of form during mid-season, losing 6 consecutive matches, and failed to go beyond the first round of the Olympics or the remaining Grand Slams. That poor run of results plays into our hands this season as there is plenty of scope for Barthel to improve and gain rankings points. She will need to take an upward curve on her 2012 season and with the potential she possesses it's worth backing her to do so.

2* Mona Barthel under 37.5 (to finish in the top 37) 2013 year-end ranking @ 1.87 (Unibet)

Eugenie Bouchard

'Genie' Bouchard made her first forays on to the main tour during 2011 and I'm fully expecting her to end 2013 inside the world's top 100. Bouchard is currently ranked 147 and her line is 106.5. The junior Wimbledon champion has a big future in the women's game and is very marketable for the WTA on and off the court. Up until now Bouchard has only played in a handful of main tour events but we should see a significant increase in that number for 2013. The Canadian has already been the beneficiary of a wildcard for Auckland and she should regularly qualify for main draws on the occasions she doesn't get in via entry ranking or by virtue of a wildcard.

2* Eugenie Bouchard under 106.5 (to finish in the top 106) 2013 year-end ranking @ 1.87 (Unibet)