It is not just the men who will be in Melbourne for the next two weeks, the leading women in the tennis world will head there to play for the Australian Open, the opening Grand Slam title of 2024 and one which looks as wide open as ever.
Aryna Sabalenka took advantage of the draw here a year ago to win her maiden Grand Slam title and the Belarussian has arrived in Melbourne looking to make a successful defence of the trophy in a stacked field.
Recent Winners
2023 – Aryna Sabalenka
2022 – Ash Barty
2021 – Naomi Osaka
2020 – Sofia Kenin
2019 – Naomi Osaka
2018 – Caroline Wozniacki
2017 – Serena Williams
2016 – Angelique Kerber
2015 – Serena Williams
2014 – Li Na
The Format
As with the men’s draw, the tournament bracket has already been pre-drawn and everyone in their places to prepare for the event. From the first round until the last ball is hit in this tournament each match will be the best-of-three sets but unlike the old days should the final set reach 6-6 a champion’s tiebreak will be played with the match winner being the first to 10pts with at least a two point advantage.
Top Quarter
Iga Swiatek arrived here as the number one seed last year and failed to walk off with the title and she will have another go at trying to win a tournament she has never won before from the top of the draw bracket and as the leading light in the top quarter. Swiatek is on something of a collision course with the Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova in the quarter final but six seeds will be looking to ensure that match doesn’t happen. They are Emma Navarro, the former champion Victoria Azarenka, Jelena Ostapenko, Veronika Kudermetova, Elina Svitolina and Marie Bouzkova.
There are plenty of recognisable names among the unseeded players in this quarter of the draw including two recent winners of the event in Sofia Kenin and Angelique Kerber, while Danielle Collins is a former finalist here having lost to Ash Barty two years ago. Katerina Siniakova, Petra Martic, Camila Giorgi and Dayana Yastrenska are just some of the other players who will be looking to show their best and make it through a few rounds.
Second Quarter
The beaten finalist of a year ago, Elena Rybakina, is the top seed in the second quarter of the draw. She has already landed a title in Brisbane this year when she gained her revenge on Sabalenka in the final. The Kazakhstan star is seeded to meet Jessica Pegula in the quarter final but there are plenty of players looking to stop that form happening, including the six seeds who are Lin Zhu, Sorana Cirstea, Qinwen Zheng, Daria Kasatkina, Anna Kalinina and Jasmine Paolini. In truth, Rybakina has landed a plum draw here.
She will however have to overcome the former finalist Karolina Pliskova in the opening round though before her draw gets softer. The Czech is one of a few interesting names who aren’t seeded and they include the British pair of Katie Boulter and Emma Raducanu, although the latter is under a fitness cloud. Sloane Stephens, Shelby Rogers and Martina Trevisan have all had good runs in Grand Slam events in the past too.
Third Quarter
Coco Gauff arrives in Melbourne as the only woman who can win two successive Grand Slam titles after she won the US Open last year. She has probably landed the kindest draw in terms of potential quarter final opponent with Maria Sakkari seeded to meet here in the last eight. Leylah Fernandez, Anastasia Potapova, Caroline Garcia, Beatriz Haddad Maia, Magda Linette and Elise Mertens are the other seeds in this quarter of the draw.
There are a number of recognisable names in the unseeded fraternity in this section not least the former winner Naomi Osaka who is back on a wildcard after a break for giving birth. Caroline Wozniacki is another mum in the draw on a wildcard while Alize Cornet picked up a wildcard spot too. Sara Sorribes Tormo, Linda Fruhvirtova, Daria Saville and Yulia Putintseva are the other names who could cause some upsets.
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Bottom Quarter
This is the second of the draw that the defending champion Aryna Sabalenka will look to keep hold of the title from. She is seeded to meet the former US Open and Wimbledon finalist Ons Jabeur in the quarter final but six seeds will be out to stop that one from happening. They are Xinyu Wang, Ekaterina Alexandrova, the former French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova, Liudmila Samsonova, Donna Vekic and Lesia Tsurenko.
This is a weak quarter in terms of genuine household names who aren’t seeded. Aliaksandra Sasnovich sometimes pops up with an eye catching result while Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova looked good in walloping Beatriz Haddad Maia in Adelaide last week. Paula Badosa is much better than her ranking at the minute while Taylor Townsend and Amanda Anisimova are capable of troubling the better players. The youngster Mirra Andreeva is in this quarter too.
Outright Betting
I’m not normally one for taking short priced runners in these 128 player fields but the draw Elena Rybakina has this week couldn’t have been hand picked for her any better. She will have to overcome Karolina Pliskova in the opening round but I think the power of the Kazakh will expose the Czech’s movement in that contest and then it just opens right up for her until the semi-final where she could meet Iga Swiatek at a tournament where her record doesn’t read fantastically. Rybakina made the final here last year, has a Grand Slam title on her CV and has already won a tournament this year. Even at 11/2 she feels like tremendous value here.
I will side with someone at a much bigger price though and that is Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. I didn’t catch a huge amount of the Adelaide event last week as I was focusing on tournaments elsewhere but one match I did see was the Russian taking on Beatriz Haddad Maia and the aggression she showed from the back of the court and the clean hitting which was on show was really impressive. I think Pavlyuchenkova is an underachiever in the sport, largely down to injuries, but she has made a Grand Slam final in the past and has been to the quarter final three times here. Aryna Sabalenka will be a tough nut to crack but if she can do it there isn’t a whole lot more in the bottom half so at a bonkers price I’ll see if the form Pavlyuchenkova showed last week can come with her here.
Quarter Betting
Jelena Ostapenko has various bits of good form in Australia which includes a run to the last eight here a year ago and having won in Adelaide last week I think the Latvian is overpriced to win the top quarter this week. I think Ostapenko has a lovely draw this week as well. Her last 16 opponent is expected to be the Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova but I don’t think that is a bad matchup and if the Latvian ends up facing Swiatek in the quarter final it is well known that she is 4-0 against the world number one in her career.
Ostapenko is a streaky player so the fact that she has already won a title this season can’t be a bad thing and if she can keep hitting the ball cleanly then I think she has a decent run in her. I don’t think the top quarter is the strongest this year, especially with the Latvian seemingly being the code cracker in the Swiatek armour and at 11/1 I think she has an excellent chance of giving us a real run for our money.
Tips
Back E.Rybakina to win Australian Open (e/w) for a 2.5/10 stake at 6.50 with Spreadex (1/2 1-2)
Back A.Pavlyuchenkova to win Australian Open (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 201.00 with Unibet (1/2 1-2)
Back J.Ostapenko to win 1st Quarter for a 1/10 stake at 12.00 with Unibet
