High-ranked Aryna Sabalenka is favorite to win a 3rd Australian Open in 4 years however faces robust competitors from a United States contingent led by Coco Gauff and defending champion Madison Keys.
World quantity two Iga Swiatek is one other huge risk whereas two-time Melbourne champion Naomi Osaka will hope to be within the combine when the primary Grand Slam of the yr begins on Sunday (January 18, 2026).
Keys surprised title-holder Sabalenka 12 months in the past in a traditional three-set closing to win her first main title aged 29.
However she didn’t kick on from there, not profitable one other event all yr, and the world quantity 9 could have a goal on her again because the title holder.
Three different People are ranked contained in the world’s prime 10: Gauff (third), Amanda Anisimova (fourth) and Jessica Pegula (sixth).
The 21-year-old Gauff final yr beat Sabalenka on the French Open for her second main crown, however her finest efficiency on the Melbourne Park hardcourts was making the semi-finals in 2024.
Talking on the mixed-teams United Cup, the place she launched her 2026 marketing campaign, Gauff mentioned she spent the low season “simply general turning into higher and extra comfy with my sport”.
Her serve has been her largest failing and she or he suffered a shock defeat to Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro on the United Cup, however recovered to defeat Swiatek 6-4, 6-2 in a press release victory.
It was Gauff’s fourth win in a row over Swiatek.
The 24-year-old Anisimova has emerged as a critical risk after having fun with the perfect yr of her profession in 2025, reaching the finals of Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, and profitable 1000 titles in Beijing and Qatar.
She additionally made the season-ending WTA Finals for the primary time, happening to Sabalenka in three units in a high-octane semi-final.
“She all the time pushes me to play my finest tennis,” mentioned Sabalenka.
Like Pegula, a primary main title stays elusive for Anisimova regardless of going shut.
Swiatek, Sabalenka’s long-term rival for the highest rating, is overdue one thing particular in Melbourne.
The Pole is a six-time Grand Slam champion and the Australian Open is the one main she has but to win.
She matched her finest Melbourne efficiency by reaching final yr’s semi-finals, and did so in rampant model, solely to lose to an impressed Keys.
“At a Grand Slam it’s a must to actually play nice for 2 weeks, not have any unhealthy days, be constant,” the 24-year-old mentioned on the United Cup.
Japan’s former world primary Osaka can be a preferred winner if she have been so as to add to her 2019 and 2021 Melbourne triumphs.
Now ranked sixteenth, the 28-year-old should rank as an outsider, able to conjuring up her finest tennis in flashes however unable to do it persistently and keep match for lengthy stretches.
World quantity 5 Elena Rybakina, the Moscow-born Kazakh, is one other to observe.
Imperious Sabalenka
It’s arduous to look past Sabalenka.
Having been surprised by the unfancied Keys, the Belarusian suffered extra Grand Slam heartbreak within the French Open closing in opposition to Gauff.
She then went right down to Anisimova within the Wimbledon final 4, earlier than roaring again to get revenge over the American and retain her U.S. Open title.
The Australian Open champion in 2023 and 2024, Sabalenka will likely be in an unfamiliar position when she goes into the event as runner-up from 12 months in the past.
“Truthfully, there isn’t any distinction,” the hard-hitting Sabalenka mentioned in Brisbane this month, the place she received the title for a second successive yr in an ominous assertion of intent.
“Each time, if I’m defending champion, if I misplaced first spherical final yr, the aim is all the time the identical — to convey my finest tennis and to enhance my sport.”
Exterior the title contenders there will likely be fascination in how Venus Williams performs when she turns into the oldest girl to play in the primary draw at Melbourne.
The seven-time Grand Slam singles champion was handed a wildcard aged 45.
The American, who has performed solely a restricted variety of singles matches in recent times, will compete on the Australian Open for the primary time since 2021.
Printed – January 13, 2026 08:38 am IST
