Our women\u2019s seed report \u2026<\/p>\n
The top 16<\/p>\n
1. Aryna Sabalenka<\/p>\n
The winner of the previous major and 20 of her past 21 matches in Australia has to be the favorite. Initially known for erratic play, she has become a reliable second-week player. The hitch: She loses a lot of close, late-round matches (including two major finals and the 2025 WTA Finals final). She\u2019s not invincible late in events. But there is so much to like. (And\u2014to answer a question multiple readers raised last week\u2014she\u2019ll spend a day answering questions about\/shaking off the blemish that was the \u201cBattle of the Sexes\u201d, then play will resume and all will be forgotten.)<\/p>\n
\u00a02. Iga \u015awi\u0105tek<\/p>\n
The 24-year-old is going for the Career Slam (having ticked off Wimbledon last summer). Australia is a riddle she\u2019s yet to crack, never advancing to the semifinals, and the faster the courts play, the more challenging. After two United Cup losses (despite Poland\u2019s team win), she has lost four of her past five matches against top 10 opponents. But her game and athleticism are there. The Wimbledon result shows that she is capable of adjustment. And if she gets some help from the climate, so much the better.<\/p>\n
3. Coco Gauff<\/p>\n
Gauff is at a strange point in her career. She is\u2014still\u2014a top-three seed, guaranteed to steer clear of a higher-ranked opponent until the semifinals. She is a defending major winner. And she comes shrouded in questions. We know her serve and forehand can go off, but we also know she can play through her lapses. In miniature, she lost in the United Cup 6\u20130 in the third set when her technique deserted her, then she beat \u015awi\u0105tek for the fourth consecutive time.<\/p>\n
4. Amanda Anisimova<\/p>\n
Now we know the answer to, How do you recover from losing 6\u20130, 6\u20130 in a major final? By reaching the final of the next major, including a takedown of the player who defeated you at Wimbledon. Anisimova is the winner of 12 of her past 14 major matches. She\u2019s confident and relaxed, and she still possesses immaculate strokes. There is so much to like here.<\/p>\n
5.\u00a0 Elena Rybakina<\/p>\n
Coming off the second most significant title of her career (the WTA Finals in Riyadh, which also netted her $5.2 million), Rybakina is back, as it were. Shea has the biggest serve in the women\u2019s game, paired with fearsome strokes (and court coverage that makes it hard to penetrate her defense). While determinedly private, any off-court drama seems to have subsided. She came within a few points of winning this event in 2023, and there is no reason she can\u2019t contend in \u201926.\u00a0<\/p>\n
6. Jessica Pegula<\/p>\n
Simply put, a player worth emulating, Pegula maxes out everything she can control, avoids own-goals and competes uncompromisingly. Solid gets you so far \u2026 but only so far.\u00a0<\/p>\n
7. Jasmine Paolini<\/p>\n
A year ago, the question was whether 2024 was a fluke or a new normal. Paolini answered that with panache. It\u2019s still unclear if she has the weapons\u2014starting with the serve\u2014to win major singles titles. But extended brava to Paolini for her mid-career ascent, and the base camp she established.\u00a0<\/p>\n
8. Mirra Andreeva<\/p>\n
The salon has divined that she is a future major winner, but she still has some steps to go.\u00a0<\/p>\n
9. Madison Keys<\/p>\n
![\"Naomi](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/01kf18zj5cr4gdzzhtbb.jpg\" "\\"Naomi")
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