Depth is not a problem for the WTA Tour heading into the 2024 Australian Open, unless you are in the predictions business.
Just days away from the season’s first major and it feels like it’s anybody’s guess as to who will be the last woman standing in Melbourne in a few weeks.
Welcome to the first edition of the National Bank Open Power Rankings. This week, we are trying to figure out who is most likely to be crowned champion at the 2024 Australian Open.
The National Bank Open Power Rankings are a group collaboration by the Power Rankings Panel which includes:
- Pete Borkowski – Content Editor, Tennis Canada
- Melissa Boyd – Content Writer, Tennis Canada
- Sarah-Jade Champagne – Content Specialist, Tennis Canada
- Edward Lee – Content Contributor, Tennis Canada
- Ben Lewis – Host, Match Point Canada
- Hugues Leger – Producer, Podcast Sur La Ligne
- Mike McIntyre – Host, Match Point Canada
- Abraham Santerre – Content Creator, Podcast Sur La Ligne
1. Iga Swiatek
Actual Ranking: 1
2024 Record: 5-0
Best Australian Open Result: SF (2022)
Would anyone dare bet against the World No.1? Undefeated since September 28, Iga Swiatek is straight fire with 16 straight wins.
The 22-year-old, who already holds 18 titles including 4 Slams, closed out 2023 with her first WTA Finals hardware, so why not get things rolling in 2024 with her first winner’s trophy from the AO? The sky’s the limit for the Polish ace!
- Abraham
2. Elena Rybakina
Actual Ranking: 3
2024 Record: 5-0
Best Australian Open Result: Runner-Up (2023)
Elena Rybakina will be arriving in Melbourne full of confidence following an impressive victory at the Brisbane International to start the season. After losing four games in the first set of her first match, she never dropped more than three in a set the rest of the way, culminating in a blowout win against Aryna Sabalenka for the title.
Read also: This Week in Tennis - Getting Ready for the AO
Despite a down second half of 2023, Rybakina looks primed to go a step farther in Melbourne after losing in the final last season.
- Pete
3. Aryna Sabalenka
Actual Ranking: 2
2024 Record: 4-1
Best Australian Open Result: Champion (2023)
It’s downright frightening just how hard Aryna Sabalenka hits a tennis ball. It bounds through the court with perfect trajectory, precise placement, and immense speed, and is the trademark of her elite tennis.
Sabalenka achieved new heights on tour last season. She won her maiden Grand Slam at the Australian Open, was a U.S. Open finalist, and even snatched the world number one ranking from Iga Swiatek in the summer. Now she’ll have the daunting task of trying to repeat as champion in Melbourne. The last women’s player to do so? Fellow Belarusian Victoria Azarenka in 2012 and 2013.
- Ben
4. Coco Gauff
Actual Ranking: 4
2024 Record: 5-0
Best Australian Open Result: R4 (Twice)
Red-hot Coco Gauff is the one to beat right now. In Auckland, the 19-year-old defended her ASB Classic title and made room in her trophy case for her seventh winner’s prize.
Will the reigning US Open champion get a lock on the Australian Open? One thing’s for sure: it’ll be an uphill battle against a string of opponents vying for an upset!
- Sarah-Jade
5. Jessica Pegula
Actual Ranking: 5
2024 Record: 1-1
Best Australian Open Result: QF (Three times)
Jessica Pegula enjoyed yet another year near the top of the women’s game in 2023. She finished things off by making it to the championship match at the WTA Finals, beating the likes of Rybakina, Sakkari, Sabalenka and Gauff along the way, and in straight sets too.
Read also: How the Rest of 2023 Went for NBO Champion Jessica Pegula
Although the American has yet to have her breakthrough in singles at a Slam, she has made the quarter-finals six times at the majors and seems poised now to go even further.
- Mike
6. Maria Sakkari
Actual Ranking: 8
2024 Record: 3-0
Best Australian Open Result: R4 (Twice)
Maria Sakkari continued to prove in 2023 that she is one of the top players in the women’s game. Despite falling in the opening round of the final three majors of the year, she rebounded in the late stages of the season by capturing the WTA 1000 title in Guadalajara and played for the third consecutive year in the WTA Finals.
Sakkari has started 2024 in fine form by winning all three of her singles matches at the United Cup which proves she’s already feeling good Down Under.
- Mike
7. Ons Jabeur
Actual Ranking: 6
2024 Record: 0-0
Best Australian Open Result: QF (2020)
Will 2024 be the year Ons Jabeur secures her very first Grand Slam crown? There’s no doubt her Wimbledon heartbreaker rattled her and her team. At 29 years old, she’s determined to win, and there’s every reason to hope she’ll make it happen.
Read also: Best WTA Stories of 2023
Ons has racked up victories over the entire Top 10 except Barbora Krejcikova, since the two have yet to go head-to-head. Keep an eye on Jabeur: her electrifying game could take her to new heights!
- Abraham
8. Elina Svitolina
Actual Ranking: 23
2024 Record: 4-1
Best Australian Open Result: QF (Twice)
Last season, Elina Svitolina made an absolutely amazing comeback. It was almost as if she’d never left. In Auckland, she rang in 2024 with wins over Caroline Wozniacki and Emma Raducanu but ran into Coco Gauff in the final.
Svitolina is now focused on keeping her momentum going on the Australian swing, and we’re rooting for her!
- Sarah-Jade
9. Qinwen Zheng
Actual Ranking: 13
2024 Record: 2-1
Best Australian Open Result: R2 (Twice)
Zheng Qinwen is one of a handful of young, fast-rising stars on the WTA circuit.
At just 21 years of age, she’s already cracked the Top 15 in the rankings and finished 2023 on a high note, winning the Zhengzhou Open, and finishing runner-up at the WTA Elite Trophy, both events in her native country of China.
Zheng already has six Top 10 wins in her career and her all-court athleticism and potent baseline game make her a threat for a deep run Down Under.
- Ben
10. Marketa Vondrousova
Actual Ranking: 7
2024 Record: 1-1
Best Australian Open Result: R4 (2021)
Marketa Vondrousova came out of nowhere to win Wimbledon last year and backed it up well with solid results throughout the summer hard court swing. However, she struggled down the stretch and arrives in Melbourne with just one win to her name since the US Open.
However, that victory came last week at the United Cup in the Group Stage, where she also battled hard with the in-form Zheng Qinwen. Despite her recent struggles, Vondrousova has shown she is capable of anything at the majors.
- Pete
The WTA's best return to Toronto this summer for the National Bank Open August 4 to 12, 2024 at Sobeys Stadium. 2024 Tickets are on sale. Get your tickets today!
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