Australian Open 2024: Decoding the top contenders in women's singles
What's the story
The 2024 Australian Open will be underway on January 14, and there's excitement surrounding the women's singles category.
While Aryna Sabalenka will look to defend her title, the likes of Iga Swaitek, Coco Gauff, and Elena Rybakina will try to dethrone her.
Since 2014, nine different players have won the women's singles title.
We decode five contenders for the Australian Open (women's singles).
Ons Jabuer
Will Ons Jabeur finally end her Grand Slam drought?
Ons Jabeur had a roller coaster 2023 season where she suffered injuries and heartbreak while reaching her third Grand Slam final at Wimbledon.
She defeated four Grand Slam winners on her way to the final where she lost to Marketa Vondrousova in the final.
Jabeur won two WTA titles last year and will desperately look to end her Grand Slam drought in Melbourne.
Elena Rybakina
Elena Rybakina had a solid 2023 season
Elena Rybakina finished as the runner-up at the 2023 Australia Open, having lost the final to Sabalenka.
Rybakina won the Indian Wells and Miami Open in 2023. She became the first player in the Open Era to reach the final of the Australian Open, Indian Wells, Miami Open, and Rome in the same season after Monica Seles (1991) and Maria Sharapova (2012).
Coco Gauff
Coco Gauff will fight for the 2024 Australian Open title
Coco Gauff is one of the rising talents in the women's field. She had a decent 2023, becoming the first teenager to win the Washington Open. She followed it up by winning the Cincinnati Open.
Later, she won the US Open, her first major title. She became the first American teenager to win the US Open since Serena Williams in 1999.
Aryna Sabalenka
Will Aryna Sabalenka defend her title?
Sabalenka had a tremendous 2023 where she won the Australian Open title while also attaining the world number rank.
She defeated Rybakina in Melbourne last year to clinch her first major. She also reached the final of the US Open.
Sabalenka became the first woman since Serena to reach at least the semi-finals of all four majors in a season since 2016.
Iga Swiatek
Iga Swiatek is the favorite to win the Australian Open
World Number one Iga Swiatek won six titles in 2023, including the record-breaking French Open title.
Swiatek ended the year with a 68-11 win-loss record. She is the first player since Justine Henin (2005, 2006, and 2007) to win consecutive women's singles titles at Roland Garros.
The Polish superstar will look to bag her fifth Grand Slam title and her first in Melbourne.