Sabalenka, Swiatek, Gauff, Keys and Venus Williams highlight the 2026 Australian Open women’s field

By Canadian Press on January 15, 2026.

A look at some of the women to watch at the Australian Open, which starts at Melbourne Park on Sunday (Saturday night EST), with money-line odds via BetMGM Sportsbook:

Aryna Sabalenka

Seeded: 1

Career-Best Ranking: 1

Country: Belarus

Age: 27

Career Titles: 22

Grand Slam Titles: 4 — Australian Open (2: 2023, 2024), U.S. Open (2: 2024, 2025)

Last 5 Australian Opens: 2025-Runner-Up, 2024-Won Championship, 2023-W, 2022-Lost in 4th, 2021-4th

Aces: Reached the past three finals at Melbourne Park, winning twice and losing to Madison Keys a year ago. … Add in the U.S. Open, and she’s been to each of the last six hard-court Grand Slam finals, winning four. … Held the No. 1 ranking since October 2024. In 2025, she joined Serena Williams and Ash Barty as the only women since 2000 to lead the WTA every week during a full calendar year. … 19 of 22 career titles came on hard courts. … Won 43 of her past 47 matches against players ranked outside the top 20. … Opened 2026 with a title at a tune-up tournament in Brisbane.

She Said It: “It’s tennis, it’s sport, and that’s why it’s so beautiful, because you cannot predict anything.”

Read All About It: Sabalenka is the first woman since Serena Williams with consecutive US Open titles

Odds Are: +240

Iga Swiatek

Seeded: 2

Career-Best Ranking: 1

Country: Poland

Age: 24

Career Titles: 25

Grand Slam Titles: 6 — U.S. Open (1: 2022), French Open (4: 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024), Wimbledon (1: 2025)

Last 5 Australian Opens: 2025-SF, 2024-3rd, 2023-4th, 2022-SF, 2021-4th

Aces: The Australian Open is the lone Grand Slam tournament she hasn’t won, bowing out in the semifinals a year ago and in 2022. If she adds that title to her collection, she would be the 11th woman with a career Slam. … She is 6-0 in major finals. … Is the first woman with at least four 60-victory seasons in a row since Martina Hingis and Lindsay Davenport both had their streaks end after 2001.

She Said It: “Just thinking about one swing, only tournaments in Australia. Then, after I’m done with that, I’ll think about the next one.”

Read All About It: Iga Swiatek won Wimbledon after a difficult year

Odds Are: +400

Coco Gauff

Seeded: 3

Career-Best Ranking: 2

Country: United States

Age: 21

Career Titles: 11

Grand Slam Titles: 2 — French Open (2025), U.S. Open (2023)

Last 5 Australian Opens: 2025-QF, 2024-SF, 2023-4th, 2022-1st, 2021-2nd

Aces: Could face Venus Williams in the second round. Gauff’s Grand Slam debut at age 15 in 2019 was a victory over Williams at Wimbledon. … Had by far the most double-faults on the WTA Tour in 2025, with 431. No one else had more than 300. … Topped Forbes’ list of highest-earning female athletes for the second year in a row in 2025, with more than $30 million in prize money and endorsements. … Last year became the youngest American woman since Serena Williams in 2002 to earn at least 10 wins against top-10 opponents.

She Said It: “I would like to go deep in all the Slams this year. Obviously, I would like to touch the No. 1 ranking.”

Read All About It: Coco Gauff reworked her serve during last year’s US Open

Odds Are: +600

Amanda Anisimova

Seeded: 4

Career-Best Ranking: 3

Country: United States

Age: 24

Career Titles: 4

Grand Slam Titles: Zero — Best: Runner-Up, Wimbledon (2025), U.S. Open (2025)

Last 5 Australian Opens: 2025-2nd, 2024-4th, 2023-1st, 2022-4th, 2021-Did Not Play

Aces: Reached her first two Grand Slam finals during a breakthrough 2025, finishing as the runner-up to Swiatek at Wimbledon and to Sabalenka at the U.S. Open. … The Australian Open is now the only major where she hasn’t been past the fourth round; she’s been to at least the semifinals at all three others. … Has big strokes and possesses what might just be the best backhand on tour.

She Said It: “It was a great year for me. I was really happy with my consistency throughout, and I feel like I had a lot of new experiences and a lot of lessons learned to go into this year.”

Read All About It: Anisimova uses wins over Osaka and Swiatek to reach the US Open final

Odds Are: +900

Madison Keys

Seeded: 9

Career-Best Ranking: 5

Country: United States

Age: 30

Career Titles: 10

Grand Slam Titles: 1 — Australian Open (2025)

Last 5 Australian Opens: 2025-W, 2024-DNP, 2023-3rd, 2022-SF, 2021-DNP

Aces: Captured her first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open a year ago, upsetting Swiatek in the semifinals and Sabalenka in the final. … Best career moments have come on hard courts, including a runner-up showing at the U.S. Open in 2017 and six of her total seven major semifinal appearances. … Lost in the first round at Flushing Meadows in her most recent Grand Slam tournament.

She Said It: “I finally got to the point where (winning a major) didn’t matter anymore, and I didn’t need it anymore. And then I still got it because I wanted it.”

Read All About It: Madison Keys credits therapy for helping her on and off the tennis court

Odds Are: +2000

Venus Williams

Ranked: 576 (Not seeded)

Career-Best Ranking: 1

Country: United States

Age: 45

Career Titles: 49

Grand Slam Titles: 7 — U.S. Open (2: 2000, 2001), Wimbledon (5: 2000, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2008)

Last 5 Australian Opens: 2025-DNP, 2024-DNP, 2023-DNP, 2022-DNP, 2021-2nd

Aces: Hadn’t played at any Grand Slam tournament in two full years until the U.S. Open last August and will be appearing in her second in a row after receiving a wild card from Tennis Australia. … This is her 22nd appearance at Melbourne Park; the first was in 1998. She was the runner-up here to younger sister Serena in 2003 and 2017. … After 16 months away from the tour, Williams returned to action in July at Washington, winning one match in singles and one in doubles. … She will be the oldest player to compete in singles at the Australian Open.

She Said It: “It does not get old; it just gets more exciting.”

Read All About It: Venus Williams’ return to Grand Slam tennis meant more than the result

Odds Are: Not Listed

___

Howard Fendrich has been the AP’s tennis writer since 2002. Find his stories here: https://apnews.com/author/howard-fendrich. More AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

Howard Fendrich, The Associated Press