The 2025 WTA Tour season has only just finished, but the 2026 Australian Open is already rapidly approaching.
The Australian Open represents the first Grand Slam of the new WTA Tour season, with a handful of events taking place beforehand.
But many players will be firmly focused on a lengthy run at Melbourne Park, the iconic host of the iconic tournament.
American star Madison Keys will enter the Australian Open as the defending champion, having beaten Aryna Sabalenka in the 2025 final.
WTA Tour warned Elena Rybakina could win the Australian Open
Sabalenka has been the player to beat in Melbourne in recent times, reaching the final in each of the last three years.
But former player Rennae Stubbs has picked out WTA Finals champion Elena Rybakina as the one to watch this time around.
She said on The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast: “Rybakina has had a little bit of an up and down year but I think look out for her in Australia.
“She smoked Sabalenka a couple of years ago in Brisbane and then came down and decided to play Adelaide and retweaked a bit of an Achilles issue and went and lost in an epic tiebreak to [Anna] Blinkova a couple of years ago.
“I think that’s when she should have won the Australian Open after what she did to Sabalenka the week before, but she will be there and knocking on the door big time. And no player wants to play her. No player.
“She does not have a ton of weaknesses, massive serve. She has the biggest and best serve in women’s tennis probably. One of the best backhands I have ever seen. So she will definitely be in the mix at the Australian Open.”
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Why Elena Rybakina represents a major threat at the Australian Open
Rybakina is indeed a player bang in form, having just gone unbeaten at the WTA Finals in Riyadh last month.
And it was world number one Sabalenka that she beat in the final to clinch the trophy and the huge prize money on offer.
Rybakina has finished the year fifth in the WTA rankings, with Australian Open success now very likely her next goal.
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She reached the final of the hard-court Grand Slam in 2023, a year after winning Wimbledon, but lost out to Sabalenka.
But Rybakina’s superb serving certainly makes her a real threat in January, with the Kazakhstan ace firing down a huge 516 aces in 2025, more than any other player.
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