A two-tier society is emerging in the women’s field at the Australian Open 2024.
by Jens Huiber
last edited: January 8, 2024, 11:27 a.m
Elena Rybakina after her convincing week in Brisbane
It doesn’t often happen that in two tournaments taking place at the same time on the WTA tour, the two top-seeded players actually play in the final. Yesterday, Sunday, the time had come: In Brisbane, number two Elena Rybakina beat tournament favorite Aryna Sabalenka. And that was pretty clear with 6:0 and 6:3. Coco Gauff, as number one in Auckland, had a little more trouble in her successful title defense against Elina Svitolina.
Rybakina, Sabalenka and Gauff make up three-quarters of the leading quartet in women’s tennis. The missing piece of the puzzle is Iga Swiatek. But she was active at the United Cup – and had to shed a few bitter tears at the end. Nevertheless, her individual performances make the world number one the slight favorite for the title at the first major in Melbourne. Swiatek only had to give up a set against Caroline Garcia.
Rybakina overtakes Gauff
Right behind her is Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon winner. The Kazakh left no stone unturned throughout the entire tournament in Brisbane, and her success against Sabakenka in the final was the final exclamation point. Not that this was necessary. Rybakina should always be on your list. She has overtaken Coco Gauff in the WTA charts, but this has no impact on the draw at the Australian Open.
The question is: How far away are these four players from the rest of the field? Last year it was only Marketa Vondrousova who took advantage of the opportunity at Wimbledon. Does Jessica Pegula, who is ranked fifth in the world, have what it takes to compete at a major? The performances at the United Cup do not necessarily suggest this.
Elina Svitolina is the favorite of many hearts, Ons Jabeur also receives a lot of sympathy. But can these two pose a threat to the favorites?
No. At the moment there are many indications that the first Grand Slam tournament of 2024 will also develop according to the paper form. Which isn’t bad news for women’s tennis.
2024-01-08 19:15:00
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