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As athletes from across the world descend on Melbourne Park, top female tennis players, including defending champ, Aryna Sabalenka, and top seeds Coco Gauff and Iga Świątek, will battle it out for this year’s Australian Open title.
These rising stars, fan favourites, and record-breaking athletes are only some of the top female tennis players poised to make an impact on the court.
Read below for the names to note at this year’s Australian Open.
Aryna Sabalenka
Current Singles Ranking: #1
Grand Slams Won: 3
Singles Titles: 18
Age: 26
Country: Belarus
Need To Know
Aryna Sabalenka has been heralded as the player to beat in this year’s Australian Open.
As the two-time defending champ, taking out a third title would see the Belarussian player join the likes of Margaret Court (1969-71), Evonne Goolagong (1974-76), Steffi Graf (1988-90) and Martina Hingis (1997-99) in the three-peat hall of fame.
Speaking about the prospect of becoming one of the top five female tennis players to achieve such a title at Melbourne Park, Sabalenka was quick to point out that her focus lies elsewhere.
“The biggest lesson I learnt last year is just not focusing on defending title or having the opportunity to put your name in history,” she told the ABC.
“I think the key is just to keep focusing on yourself and trying your best and see what happens after the tournament.” A directive that seems to be working well for her so far with three grand slam titles under her belt already.
Despite her success, Sabalenka’s road to tennis court domination hasn’t been an easy one. The star player was forced to take a step back after personal tragedy led to a string of health issues and injuries half way through 2024.
Sabalenka was competing at the Miami Open in March 2024 when she received news that her ex-partner of three years, NHL player Konstantin Koltsov’s, had died.
The tennis star continued through the tournament, but later had to pull out of the French Open and Wimbledon due to injury.
Sabalenka later told The Independent that she regretted the decision to play on through the heartbreak.
“Looking back I definitely think that I should have just stopped and just separated myself from tennis, just have a little break, recharge and start things over again,” she said.
“I think I overplayed and I carried a lot. At the end, it just hit me with the injury.”
After taking the necessary time to grieve and recoup, Sabalenka returned stronger than ever, taking out the US Open title and entering the new year as world number one.
According to former world number four, and 2000 Wimbledon semifinalist, Jelena Dokic, Sabalenka has the means to make it at the Australian Open this year.
“I would say [Sabalenka and Gauff are] two of the best hard court players in the world by far Dokic said of the player’s 2025 chances.
“The last time Sabalenka lost on hard court at a Grand Slam was almost 18 months ago at the US Open 2023. That gives you massive confidence and Sabalenka showed last year with all the improvement in her game emotionally, confidence wise, that she is the best hard court player.”
Coco Gauff
Current Singles Ranking: #3
Grand Slams Won: 1
Singles Titles: 10
Age: 20
Country: United States
Need To Know
American tennis player Coco Gauff has been named as one to watch at this year’s Australian Open after a stellar season placed her in the top female tennis players list for 2024.
Reaching a career-high ranking of number two, the American player known for her hard court prowess was victorious in all three finals she competed in at Auckland, Beijing and Riyadh.
Her winning streak also resulted in a record-breaking prize win of $4.8m (the largest ever for a women’s tennis event) in Saudi Arabia where she also defeated world number two Zheng Qinwen.
As for her 2025 Australian Open chances, Gauff lost to Sabalenka in last year’s semifinals but returns to Melbourne Park a more confidant, compelling player, according to 2018 US Open quarterfinalist and former world number 33, John Millman.
“I thought she was super impressive at the United Cup,” said Millman of Gauff’s performance.
“She’s got a massive serve, close to that 200km-mark which is crazy. She is such a good mover, an athlete… and I think if someone is going to knock off Sabalenka it is going to be Coco.”
Iga Świątek
Current Singles Ranking: #2
Grand Slams Won: 5
Singles Titles: 22
Age: 23
Country: Poland
Need To Know
Second seed Iga Świątek will face Katerina Siniakova in her first round match at this year’s Australian Open. If successful, the Polish player will progress to the second round where she’ll take on Slovakia’s Rebecca Sramkova.
Claiming a total of 22 singles titles over the course of just four years, Świątek’s career performance has earned her recognition as one of the top female tennis players currently competing on the world circuit.
Świątek was named as the World Tennis Associations number one player for both 2022 and 2023, but it was last year’s winning streak took her game to the next level – despite having a narrow brush with scandal.
Forced to pull out of the WTA’s Asian tournament in September 2024 due to “personal matters”, it was later revealed that the star player had been hit with a one-month doping ban.
“Trust me, I was the one that was the most surprised,” Świątek told reporters ahead of her Aus Open match.
“It was probably the worst time in my life… and the fact that I had no control over this whole situation and I had no chance to avoid it made it even worse.”
Testing positive for a banned heart drug she maintained was the result of contaminated non-prescription medication, Świątek was eventually cleared and allowed to return to the circuit where she went on to have a bumper rest of the year.
While she’s never progressed beyond the semifinals at Melbourne Park, 2025 could be the year for the promising player.
Elena Rybakina
Current Singles Ranking: #7
Grand Slams Won: 1
Singles Titles: 8
Age: 25
Country: Russia
Need To Know
Elena Rybakina will kick off her 2025 Australian Open campaign in a first round match against Australia’s Emerson Jones.
Despite dealing with a two month injury-related absence at the tale end of last year, Rybakina returns to Melbourne fighting fit as world number six.
She’ll be keen to beat her finals-reaching 2024 performance where she was overpowered by two-time winner Sabalenka.
Speaking to media ahead of her opening round, Rybakina noted that while her opponent may be 10 years her junior, she still has the local crowd on her side.
“I think she’s definitely a good player. I don’t know her much, but I think she’s a good player, dangerous player,” she said.
“Especially when you’re young, you have nothing to lose.”
In addressing her chances of taking out the title, Dokic said that while the player is “still finding her form… hard court does suit her,” and her loss last year might prove motivation enough to advance even more this year.
Naomi Osaka
Current Singles Ranking: #51
Grand Slams Won: 4
Singles Titles: 7
Age: 27
Country: Japan
Need To Know
Winner of the 2019 and 2021 Aus Open titles, Japan’s Naomi Osaka will return to face off against France’s Caroline Garcia in round one of the grand slam tournament.
The daughter of a Haitian father and Japanese mother, Osaka has become the first Asian player to hold the No. 1 ranking in singles tennis, and the first Japanese player to win a Grand Slam.
In 2020, she was named the highest-paid female athlete in the world, surpassing fellow tennis star, Serena Williams.
After taking a year off following the birth of her first child she shares with (recent) ex-partner Cordae, she returned to the circuit at the beginning of 2024.
Starting 2025 with an impressive performance at the WTA event in Auckland, the player beat American Alycia Parks in straight sets to take out her first singles final since her 2022 Miami Open win.
While she might not be competing at her same peak form levels, Dokic is convinced she has what it takes to cause an upset this season.
“She’s finding her form, I feel like she was looking really happy, looking really healthy. I’m looking forward to seeing what she can do,” she said.
“She is to me the most dangerous hard court player outside the top 3-4.”
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