Naomi Osaka plays Caroline Garcia at the 2025 Australian Open. Our Australian Open odds series has our Osaka-Garcia prediction, odds and pick. Find out how to watch Osaka-Garcia.

The first round of the women's Australian Open has some highly compelling matchups, such as Aryna Sabalenka going against Sloane Stephens. This is another highly-anticipated, much-discussed opening-round match, with two of the best ballstrikers on tour. Naomi Osaka has four major titles, all on hardcourts and two in Australia. She has taken time away from the sport to be a mother and tend to her holistic wellness. We have all seen just how great she can be when she is at the top of the game. There might not be a better pure hitter of the ball than Osaka when she is locked in. However, life has taken her on a wide-ranging journey. Introspective and thoughtful, Osaka is acutely aware that there is much more to life than being an athlete. Finding a healthy balance between on- and off-court identities is important to her. Life is bigger than tennis. That said, we're discussing a tennis match from a betting standpoint and are obviously interested in how Osaka's game and career will take shape in this 2025 season.

Osaka did not have a memorable 2024, except for one moment: She took French Open champion Iga Swiatek to the brink in an early-round Roland Garros match, gaining match point but not being able to win that one final point. Swiatek escaped and went on to take the title in Paris. Osaka is not an especially accomplished clay-court player, yet her pure ballstriking pushed Swiatek around the court for much of that match. Everyone in the global tennis community was reminded that Naomi Osaka still has a lot of game to offer the tour and the sport. If that version of Osaka emerges in 2025, she will be a genuine threat to lift big trophies and knock off the top-ranked players of the WTA.

Osaka's first-round opponent is not easy. Caroline Garcia was once No. 4 in the world. She is a former major semifinalist (2022 U.S. Open). She has won the WTA Finals. She has immense talent and is a world-class shotmaker. Andy Murray infamously predicted that one day Garcia would be World No. 1. She came close, but the enormity of her skill set is precisely why her career remains unfulfilled, despite making a large pile of money. This match against Osaka gives Garcia a big stage on which to display her talent and, more importantly, prove a point that she is not ready to exit the stage without making more special memories and moments. Players who blossom later in their careers are part of the story of tennis; can Caroline Garcia add what would be a very rich chapter to that book? Here's her big chance.

Here are the Osaka-Garcia Australian Open odds, courtesy of FanDuel.

Australian Open Odds: Osaka-Garcia Odds

Game Spread:

Osaka -4.5 (-120)
Garcia +4.5 (-110)

Moneyline:

Osaka -465

Garcia +360

To Win First Set:

Osaka -310

Garcia +240

Total Games In Match:

Over 21.5 (-108)
Under 21.5 (-126)

Total Games Won:

Osaka over 12.5 (-120)
Osaka under 12.5 (-110)

Garcia over 8.5 (-126)
Garcia under 8.5 (-106)

How to Watch Australian Open

Time: approx. 5:30 a.m. ET/2:30 a.m. PT

TV: ESPN2, ESPN Plus

*Watch sports LIVE with fuboTV (Get Access | Save $30)*

Why Naomi Osaka Will Win

Naomi Osaka is a better, more proven tennis player than Caroline Garcia. It's that simple. Osaka has shown that she is a top major-tournament player. Garcia has never made a major tournament final. The difference in these players is clear in the important moments.

Why Caroline Garcia Will Win 

Naomi Osaka does have four major titles, but this is not the same player who once conquered the tennis world and made the game look very easy. This is a different player whose mental outlook on the sport — and whose hunger to excel at it — is just not what it once was. That will make a defining difference. Garcia desperately wants to win this match and will display more tenacity when it really counts.

Final Osaka-Garcia Prediction & Pick

This match feels like a match which will require at least one tiebreaker or go three sets. Therefore, Osaka will need at least 13 games to win.

Final Osaka-Garcia Prediction & Pick: Osaka over 12.5 games won