Aryna Sabalenka might be the Australian Open defending champion, but former WTA player Rennae Stubbs considers Iga Swiatek the favourite to win it.
Last year's Australian Open was a rather interesting experience. Iga Swiatek was by many considered the favourite but she kind of stumbled along the way never getting close to the final. It's strange because she was close to the final in years past.
Ultimately it was Aryna Sabalenka who ended up with the trophy after a comeback win over Elena Rybakina. It was a beautiful performance from Sabalenka, who demonstrated maturity, which she had been missing in the past years.
Despite being a great fit on those courts, Stubbs doesn't consider her the favourite. In her podcast, the Australian explained why.
At the start of the year, I know that she was very aware of her winning streak from the year before. I know that she was putting a ton of pressure on herself to have that same year and was a little bit sort of overwhelmed by it in some respects. I think she learned a lot about herself this year and I think she's going to be even better next year,
The line of thinking makes sense because she truly had a tremendous year even if the numbers pale compared to previous years. She faced better competition this year than the previous year and still came out on top at the WTA Finals.
She finished the year as number one and still looks like the player to beat when she's playing her best. We don't know whether she will bring her best in Melbourne, but there is a pretty good chance. She's played well there in the past, so there's no reason to think she won't.
If that happens, she's the player to beat; much like she was for much of this year.
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