BBC Sports Personality Of The Year Odds: Raducanu Runaway Favourite

The BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award is one of the most prestigious individual accolades that you can receive as a sportsperson from the United Kingdom.

Given annually each year in December, it is voted for by the general public after a group of 30 sports journalists submit their list of 10 contenders, from which the 10 main nominees are determined. 

It was first awarded to Christopher Chataway in its inaugural year in 1954 a year which saw him set a world record time of 13 minutes 51.6 seconds in the 5000m, beating rival Roger Bannister and show jumper Pat Smythe who finished second and third, respectively.

Since then, it has been awarded to a further 65 sportspeople in the next 64 years (Jane Torvill and Christopher Dean being joint-recipients in 1984) across various sports and disciplines. 

Lewis Hamilton is the reigning champion after equalling Michael Schumacher’s record of seven Formula 1 World Drivers’ Championship victories, making him the fifth person ever to win multiple Sports Personality of the Year Awards. He also broke the record for the most top three places in the competition’s history, having been voted in the top three on six occasions.

Hamilton joined an esteemed list featuring Andy Murray, Nigel Mansell, Henry Cooper and Damon Hill for multiple winners, with Murray’s return of three trophies being the overall record.

If the oddsmakers are to be believed, we are about to see another tennis player get their hands on the trophy, with Emma Raducanu being the overwhelming 1/12 favourite with Bet365. 

It would be the seventh time that a tennis player has won the award, and it comes after her incredible run at the US Open. Then 18, Raducanu, an unseeded qualifier, won all seven of her matches without dropping a single set en route to lifting the first Grand Slam title of her career.

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She became the first British woman to win a Grand Slam title since Virginia Wade’s Wimbledon victory of 1977, an achievement that later resulted in her being awarded the Sports Personality of the Year trophy for that calendar year.

It certainly looks to be a one-horse race this year, given the incredible nature of her achievement in New York. Raducanu was the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam tournament in the Open Era and the first woman in the Open Era to win the second major tournament she had entered. She was also the first player since Serena Williams in 2014 to win the US Open without dropping a set. 

Next in line behind her is Tom Daley at 10/1, after the 27-year-old finally won the first Olympic Gold Medal of his esteemed career at the fourth time of asking. In his slipstream is the previously mentioned Hamilton at 16/1, who could become an eight-time F1 world champion over the next week or so as his battle with Max Verstappen goes down to the wire.

There is a pretty big drop off from that, with Tyson Fury being priced at 50/1 despite his recent comments associated with the award. He won another epic battle against Deontay Wilder to retain his WBC and The Ring Heavyweight titles, putting his trilogy with the American to an emphatic end with many believing he was victorious in all three despite drawing the first.

They are then followed by a number of selections, all of whom are priced at 100/1. Check out the best free bet offers in the industry before placing your Sports Personality of the Year awards to get the best value for money.

Full BBC Sports Personality of the Year Odds

• Emma Raducanu – 1/12
• Tom Daley – 10/1
• Lewis Hamilton – 16/1
• Tyson Fury – 50/1
• Adam Peaty – 100/1
• Mark Cavendish – 100/1
• Jason Kenny – 100/1
• Laura Kenny – 100/1
• James Anderson – 100/1
• Joe Root – 100/1
• Jonathan Rea – 100/1
• Laura Muir – 100/1
• Marcus Rashford – 100/1
• Raheem Sterling – 100/1
• Rory McIlroy – 100/1