It’s not a BetOnline scam to find Serena Williams at the top of the list of favorites in regards to the women’s draw at the Australian Open, which kicks off on January 16^th, even though injury is threatening to derail her bid for the championship. She has been so dominant here in the past that she’ll be the favorite until she drops out of the tournament.

Serena Williams (+275): Williams injured her ankle in a warm-up tournament in Brisbane, but Bet Online still has her at the top because of five wins in Melbourne, and she missed last year because of an ailing foot. This latest setback isn’t encouraging, but if anyone can come back from an injury, it’s Serena, who hasn’t won a Grand Slam since Wimbledon 2010, and this stretch is the longest she has gone without one since a seven-Slam stretch between 2007 and 2008.

Kim Clijsters (+700): Clijsters won last year’s Aussie Open for her fourth Grand Slam, and second in a row after the 2010 U.S. Open, and players that use pay per head systems should know that she is well rested after a layoff to end the 2011 season. Clijsters has her eye on the Olympics in London this year, and a win in Melbourne would be a boost to her chances for a gold medal with Belgium.

Samantha Stosur (+900): Stosur won her first Grand Slam at last year’s U.S. Open, but you know she would love nothing more than to win this tournament, maybe even more than Wimbledon. Stosur is from Australia and an Aussie woman hasn’t won this event since 1978, so she would like to break that trend. She hasn’t made it past the fourth round here, but she should have confidence from her win at the U.S. Open, another hard-court event.

Caroline Wozniacki (+1000): The world’s No.1 player is still looking for Grand Slam No.1, and even though she has made it to the semifinals in three of the last five Grand Slams, she has to break through soon or she’ll slip in the eyes of players that work with price per head bookie software. Wozniacki is still only 21 years old, but the word “bust” is beginning to creep out in the media.

Li Na (+1800): Na lost to Stosur in last year’s Aussie Open final and then won the French Open, although she stumbled through the rest of the season. Na was the first player from Asia to win a Grand Slam, but she could receive a spark from last season’s early success and given what she did in the first part of last season, she should be a sports betting consideration.