Iga Swiatek is the overwhelming favourite to win her 4th Grand Slam title on the Australian Open, however ought to she stumble and fail to uphold her standing because the world’s top-ranked participant, the outlook turns into significantly extra unpredictable.
With the departure of tennis greats Ash Barty and Serena Williams, and Naomi Osaka anticipating her first youngster, the stage is ready for a brand new period of tennis to be ushered in at Melbourne Park.
On Jan. 29, a first-time champion will likely be topped, marking a historic second within the annals of the game.
The solely two former winners within the 128-strong subject face one another within the opening spherical and it’s extremely unlikely both will nonetheless be round when the Daphne Akhurst Trophy is introduced.
Victoria Azarenka gained her two titles a decade in the past, and little has gone proper for Sofia Kenin since she triumphed in 2020, though she reached the semi-finals in Hobart this week.
The race to fill the void left by the absence of the likes of final 12 months’s home-grown champion Barty and seven-times winner Williams needs to be spearheaded by Swiatek, who appeared unbeatable at occasions final season.
The 21-year-old Pole gained her second French Open, proved she may additionally win on laborious courts with a primary U.S. Open triumph and racked up a Twenty first-century file 37-match profitable streak.
She was lowered to tears after being crushed by American Jessica Pegula on quick Sydney courts on the United Cup solely final week however rapidly moved to quash the concept the emotional outburst was an indication of one thing deeper.
“It’s not the first time I cried after a lost match. Nothing special,” mentioned the self-confessed perfectionist.
“I just knew that I felt a kind of helpless today, because physically and mentally I wasn’t able to kind of show up even, and problem-solve.”
Different place
Swiatek was thrashed 6-4 6-1 by Danielle Collins at Melbourne Park final 12 months in her first hardcourt Grand Slam semi-final, and the American looms this 12 months within the final 16 if the seedings maintain.
Problem-solving is one thing Swiatek prides herself on, nonetheless, and Collins, the thirteenth seed, would possibly discover the Pole a unique proposition in the event that they meet this 12 months.
Unsurprisingly, the bookmakers charge highly effective baseliners Aryna Sabalenka, champion in Adelaide final week, and Pegula, who helped the United States win the United Cup, as the perfect probabilities of taking the title after Swiatek.
Charismatic American teenager Coco Gauff could be a well-liked champion, not least within the Australian Open advertising and marketing division. Last 12 months’s French Open finalist is in kind, having opened the season with the title on the Auckland Open.
Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina’s massive serve provides her an opportunity at a second Grand Slam title, whereas world quantity 4 Caroline Garcia is having fun with a late-career renaissance and gained the WTA Finals on hardcourt final 12 months.
Collins, Barbora Krejcikova, Belinda Bencic, Daria Kasatkina and Veronika Kudermetov have all proven the type of early-season kind that would augur a run deep into the event, which begins on Monday.
Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur is seeded second after reaching the finals on the final two Grand Slams, shedding to Rybakina at Wimbledon and Swiatek at Flushing Meadows.
Her reliance on dazzling racket expertise fairly than energy would possibly work towards her on the well-known blue courts however there would certainly be few extra well-liked winners than the bubbly 28-year-old.
