‘Tis the season for bold predictions.
Scroll through the sports websites and you’ll see them everywhere -- results before they actually happen: NFL playoff winners, the college football playoff bracket, even the early returns are in for MLB World Series odds.
Not to be outdone, after a thrilling opening week on the Hologic WTA Tour, our fearless tennis legends are wading into the fray. Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert and Pam Shriver -- Hall of Famers all -- offer these pungent prognostications ahead of the Australian Open and for the rest of 2025:
Will Gauff end the year as World No.1? It's more than possible
Evert, an 18-time Grand Slam singles champion, did not hesitate when the subject came up.
“I think Coco [Gauff] will end up No.1 -- did you see the last few tournaments she played?” said Evert, clearly fired up.
For the record, the 20-year-old American won 13 of her last 15 matches to close out 2024, taking the titles in Beijing and at the WTA Finals in Riyadh, where she defeated No.1 Aryna Sabalenka and No.2 Iga Swiatek back-to-back. And then, she swept through the 2025 United Cup, leading her team to its second victory in three years.
“When I watched Iga play Coco, and Coco was winning the forehand rallies,” Evert said of their past two matches, including the final in Sydney just days ago. “In that matchup, whoever’s forehand is better, is going to win the match. She is No.3 right now. It’s not that far out. I think she’s going to get there.”
Said Navratilova: “I think Coco will win a major. Australia might be her best chance. But she can win on any surface -- clay, grass, hard, it doesn’t matter.”
For the record, Sabalenka has a steady lead in the rankings, with more than 1,500 points separating her from Swiatek and nearly 3,000 points ahead of Gauff.
Can Rybakina rejoin the elite trio at the top of women’s tennis?
For the past two years, the top of tennis has featured the same dangerous trio. Sabalenka, Swiatek and Gauff have been the top three players in the year-end PIF WTA Rankings. They’ve won eight of the 12 majors over the past three years.
Shriver, a 20-time major doubles champion with Navratilova, thinks we’re on the verge of having a fourth dominant player.
“Elena Rybakina was a shadow of herself in 2024,” Shriver said. “I personally think 2025 is going to be a big year for her.”
Rybakina played only 53 matches because of injury and illness. And yet, her winning percentage was third, only to Sabalenka and Swiatek. She finished with three titles, but failed to win a Grand Slam or a WTA 1000.
China’s stars are ready to make a big leap in 2025
King, even at the age of 81, doesn’t miss much. For the last five or six years she’s been telling her partner, Ilana Kloss, that China is the sleeping giant of tennis.
“The Chinese players are on their way up,” she said. “That’s a great sign. There’s a lot of good players in China right now.”
Twenty-two-year-old Zheng Qinwen, who won the Olympic singles gold medal in Paris and finished the year at No.5, is only the leading edge. There are four other players from China in the Top 100: No.37 Wang Xinyu, No.49 Yuan Yue, No.62 Wang Yafan, No.97 Wang Xiyu.
Can Raducanu reclaim her magic from four years ago?
In a startling turn of events, Emma Raducanu won the 2021 US Open as a teenager. She was the first qualifier, male or female, to win a Grand Slam singles title.
Since then, it’s been a barrage of injuries, including her latest when she withdrew from the ASB Classic in Auckland last week with back problems.
After that breakthrough in New York, Raducanu’s record is 47-40.
In 2024, following three different surgeries, Raducanu rallied to produce a 23-13 record, playing well on grass and winning all three of her Billie Jean King Cup matches to finish strong.
“I liked some things I saw in the last couple months of the year,” Shriver said. “She really is quite the talent. Such an unusual thing happened [in 2021] and she and her team didn’t know how to navigate what came next. As it turned out, physically she couldn’t handle it.
“I think she’s learned a lot about scheduling better. I really think she’s going to make it to the semifinals of a major this year.”
Which players are poised to win big at this year’s Grand Slams?
Will someone repeat Sabalenka’s 2024 effort and win two of the new season’s four major titles?
“Yes,” said Evert, “but I don’t know who.
“There’s no reason Swiatek can’t find her form, and she showed us just that during the United Cup with some hard-fought wins. Iga, Sabalenka and Gauff all have high ceilings, and on the day each could win every Grand Slam. “When you look at Rybakina’s game, we should include her in the foursome. Nothing would surprise me with her.
Said King: “They’re very even at the top. To me, whoever wins two is fantastic. I think they’re all capable.”
Shriver: “I actually think the majors will be won by four different people.”
Navratilova: “Sabalenka will win one Slam, and of all the players mentioned above, she has the best shot of winning two.”
Is Andreeva destined to take the next step and become the next superstar?
Mirra Andreeva finished the season ranked No.13. That’s only four spots above her age. In Brisbane to kick off the new season, she made an auspicious run to the semis before falling to Sabalenka.
All four legends like the look of her game.
Kid’s going to be great,” King said. “She’s a great fit for coach Conchita Martinez.”
Said Evert: “I liked her game from Day 1. She just needs to get bigger and get a bigger game, physically and play a bigger game. Can’t be running down balls defensively all the time. Needs to develop some power, which she will in time. A great competitor. She’s pretty relentless.”
