By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Thursday January 9, 2024
Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff have been drawn into a stacked top half of the women's draw at the Australian Open.
Photo Source: USTA
Aryna Sabalanka and Coco Gauff feature in a stacked top half of the women’s singles draw at the Australian Open, while Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina anchor the lower half.
The women’s singles draw was revealed on Thursday in Melbourne, and it handed Sabalenka and Gauff tricky first-round matches against former Grand Slam champions. Sabalenka, the two-time defending champion, will face American Sloane Stephens, the 2017 US Open champion. Gauff will face 2020 Australian Open Sofia Kenin.
Kenin famously defeated Gauff en route to her lone major title at the 2020 Australian Open. She also defeated the third-ranked American at Wimbledon in 2023. Gauff owns a 2-1 lifetime edge over Kenin, who is now ranked 81.
Take a glimpse at the draw, prior to the placement of qualifiers and lucky losers, below:
Sabalenka, bidding to become the first woman to win three consecutive Australian Open titles since Martina Hingis in 1999, could face Linda Noskova in the third round and Mirra Andreeva, the player that knocked her out of the Roland-Garros quarterfinals last year, in the round of 16.
Her potential quarterfinal opponent is China’s Zheng Qinwen, last year’s runner-up in Melbourne.
Can you say "tricky draw"?
Gauff, who reached the semifinals in Melbourne for the first time last year, could face Leylah Fernandez in the third round. If the seeds hold she would face Jessica Pegula in the quarterfinals. Karolina Muchova, Naomi Osaka and Jelena Ostapenko are also in her quarter of the draw.
Gauff and Sabalenka's draws may be rude, but so has their tennis in recent months.
Gauff has won 18 of her last 20 matches, while Sabalenka is fresh off a season-opening title at Brisbane. The Belarusian has won 27 of her last 28 matches on Aussie soil.
In the lower half, second-seeded Swiatek will face Katerina Siniakova in the opening round. Her potential quarterfinal opponent is Emma Navarro. Sixth-seeded Rybakina would face Italy’s Jasmine Paolini if the seeds hold.