WTA – Australian Open
For the past decade or so, Serena Williams has been synonymous to women’s tennis. And so when she steps on the hard court in Melbourne for the 2019 Australian Open, she is unsurprisingly the favourite to come out on top.
However, while Serena remains a dominant force, the WTA has been a wide-open competition for the past couple of years. With a number of players rising beyond expectations, unpredictability became a common theme.
The likes of Simona Halep and former Australia champs Angelique Kerber and Caroline Wozniacki are predicted to mount a title challenge once again, while the other top seeds and rising stars in the game could provide more feel-good stories and, perhaps, the best upsets.
It’s set to be an action-packed two weeks in Australia, and certainly, another eventful one.
Talking Points
Serena’s search for history
Serena, 23-time Grand Slam winner, is in search of trophy no.24.
That has been the main storyline for her since her return from maternity leave, but she is yet to win it. In fact, the 37-year-old has not won a title since giving birth to her daughter Olympia.
She reached the final of the 2018 installments of Wimbledon and US Open, but twice she failed as well. She bowed down to Kerber in the London major before falling at the hands of rising youngster Naomi Osaka at home.
The Australian Open is another chance for Williams to go level with Margaret Court’s 24 major singles titles. And it seems only fitting that she’ll be trying to match it in the competition where there is an arena named after the Aussie tennis legend.
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Interestingly, the Australian Open is also where Serena won her last major before her pregnancy. She won the competition in 2017, beating her sister Venus in straight sets.
A win in Melbourne will also make it Serena’s most successful slam. She currently has seven trophies in the competition.
Tough road ahead for Coach-less and hapless Halep
While much of the focus will be on Serena and her quest for tennis immortality, Halep is also drawing some attention…but for the wrong reasons.
After parting ways with coach Darren Cahill, the Romanian’s prospects of winning it all in the land down under look shaky.
The World no.1 is flying solo, and it might just be a bad time for her considering her recent record and fitness issue. Halep has just recovered from a back injury, and it shouldn’t help that she’s riding a five-game losing skid.
Halep recently lost to Ash Barty in the Sydney International, the only game she played before the Australian Open.
Halep did make it to the Australian Open final last year, but it’s also worth mentioning that she lost in the first round in the 2016 and 2017 editions.
Making things more difficult for the 27-year-old, she is drawn in the same group as Serena, which means they could meet in the Round of 16. Yikes!
Who can pull off a surprise?
Williams and Halep are getting the attention, but there are still plenty of names that shouldn’t be forgotten. The WTA is anybody’s game, after all.
Wozniacki leads the chasing pack, and the defending champion undoubtedly has every reason to come out and reign supreme. The same goes for Kerber who will look to maintain her resurgence and fight for the no.1 spot.
Osaka and Sloane Stephens might not be household names yet, but they do have grand slam victories to their names.
Karolina Pliskova, Elina Svitolina, Garbine Muguruza and Petra Kvitova are exciting players to watch as well, and all of them have proven they can win on the big stage.
When it comes to dark horse candidates, 20-year-old Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka and 22-year-old Aussie Ash Barty lead the list. The two have grabbed headlines in recent days and are expected to provide some of the best Australian Open 2019 highlights.
History
Over the past 10 years, only two players have won the Australian Open multiple times: Serena and Victoria Azarenka.
Serena won it four times while Azarenka bagged two, with the other four split by Kim Clijsters, Li Na, Kerber and Wozniacki.
Serena will hope to recapture her form in the competition. Nonetheless, as mentioned, the WTA has been a wide-open race in the past few campaigns. In the past two years, no player has won more than two grand slams in a single season, showing the parity in the women’s field.
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