Wimbledon 2019: Women's Final Schedule, Prediction and Prize Money

Serena Williams will be looking for her 24th major title when she faces Simona Halep in the Wimbledon final on Saturday.

The 11th-ranked Williams, a seven-time Wimbledon champion, has participated in a mix of comfortable straight-set victories and three-set thrillers in 2019.

Her 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 quarterfinal victory over unranked Alison Riske, who beat No. 1 Ashleigh Barty earlier in the major, stands as one of the tournament's best matches.

The No. 7 Halep has won six of her seven Wimbledon matches in straight sets and taken eight of her last nine games by 6-3 scores or better.

Here's a look at the Wimbledon final schedule, prize money, odds and a quick preview and prediction.

Final Schedule

ESPN will televise the 9 a.m. ET contest stateside Saturday, with WatchESPN the home for live-streamers. BBC is the television home in the United Kingdom, and BBC iPlayer is the streaming option there.

Prize Money

Per an official Wimbledon press release, the winner will receive £2,350,000 ($2,955,603, per MSN.com), and the runner-up will take home £1,175,000 ($1,477,801). The men's and women's singles field purses are both £14,245,000 ($17,915,985).

Preview and Prediction

Caesars Palace lists Williams as a -185 favorite (bet $100 to win $54.05) to take home the larger prize money, and that's for good reason: She's beaten Halep in nine of their 10 career singles matches.

Technically, Williams is 9-2 due to a walkover at Indian Wells in 2015, but she still hasn't lost to Halep face-to-face since 2014 at the WTA Championship group stage. Williams avenged that loss immediately with a win over Halep in the WTA Championship final.

As far as this year goes, tennis legend Billie Jean King cited Williams' mixed-doubles work with Andy Murray this year, saying that "helped her superb timing and movement."

Still, Halep should give Williams a strong challenge.

The 23-time major winner hasn't forgotten that loss and even cited it during a press conference with reporters, per the New York Times' Ben Rothenberg:

Tom Perrotta of the Wall Street Journal also gave Halep credit, writing that she "sprints like lightning."

Halep also seems ready to roll given a recent Wimbledon press conference:

The 2018 French Open winner has given Williams some stiff tests outside of her lone head-to-head victory, notably pushing her to three sets at the Australian Open. She also took Williams the distance at the 2016 U.S. Open, the 2015 Sony Open and in their only Wimbledon matchup in 2011.

Ultimately, it's hard to bet against Williams' major track record and head-to-head history versus Halep, even if the latter player has cruised into the final.

No. 24 shouldn't come easy, but look for Williams to win her first major since the 2017 Australian Open in three sets.