Sabalenka begins title defense against Stephens

On January 9, 2025By Littum

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – JANUARY 08: Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus plays a backhand during a practice … (+) session ahead of the 2025 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 8, 2025 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo: Graham Denholm/Getty Images)

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World no. 1 Aryna Sabalenka will begin her Australian Open title defense by facing former US Open champion Sloane Stephens after the draw ceremony for the hard court major took place in Melbourne on Thursday.

Sabalenka, who won the Australian Open in 2023 and 2024, is aiming to become the first woman to win three consecutive singles titles Down Under since Martina Hingis in 1997-99.

The 26-year-old, top seed at a major for the first time in his career, said it was special to return to Melbourne as the two-time defending champion.

“I really hope I can keep doing what I’m doing here in Australia,” Sabalenka said. “To put your name in history and be next to these legends, that’s something special.”

Asked about winning three titles in a row, Sabalenka said: “It would be huge, but I have to focus on myself… bring my best tennis every time I’m out there and put my name next to these legends.”

Sabalenka’s road to the final begins with a first-round meeting with 2017 US Open champion Stephens – against whom she has a 4-0 winning record. The pair last met at the French Open in 2023.

While Sabalenka is off to a fairly easy start, things could get tougher later as the Belarusian could face Paris Olympic champion and fifth seed Zheng Qinwen in the quarter-finals.

Zheng, the Australian Open runner-up last year, will open her campaign against either a qualifier or a lucky loser. The Chinese player opted to skip the recently concluded United Cup mixed-team event to focus on his recovery for the Australian Open.

Sabalenka and the in-form Coco Gauff were drawn in the top half of the draw in an expected semi-final. The duo also met in the semi-finals at last year’s Australian Open, where Sabalenka won in straight sets.

Gauff, who won the WTA Finals in November and helped the United States win the United Cup last week, will begin her campaign in Melbourne with a difficult contest against 2020 Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin.

The former world no. 1 and two-time winner Naomi Osaka, who withdrew injured in the ASB Classic final four days ago, will face France’s Caroline Garcia in the first round in Melbourne for the second year in a row.

In the bottom half of the draw, second seed Iga Swiatek will open her campaign against Katerina Siniakova, in the same half as fourth seed Jasmine Paolini, sixth seed Elena Rybakina and eighth seed Emma Navarro.

The main draw at the Australian Open, the year’s opening Grand Slam, begins on Sunday.