The Australian Open is nearly here. Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek and a strong cast of contenders look to set the tone for the 2025 season. Last year, Sabalenka captured her second consecutive title in Melbourne, while Swiatek reached another semifinal and Coco Gauff made her deepest run yet at the tournament.

As the first Grand Slam of the season approaches, 18-time Grand Slam champion Martina Navratilova sat down with wtatennis.com to answer key questions about the top five players, assessing their form, challenges and chances of success in the year’s opening major.

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No.1 Aryna Sabalenka

  • Age: 26
  • Career singles titles: 18
  • Career main-draw win-loss record at Australian Open: 22-5
  • Best Australian Open result: Champion (2023, 2024)
  • Last Australian Open result: Champion (2024)
  • Australian Open first-round opponent: Sloane Stephens

In your mind, is there any reason Aryna Sabalenka -- 5-0 to start the year with the title in Brisbane -- can’t win a third straight AO title?

Navratilova: None. None, whatsoever. She does have a bit of a tough draw. She could have to get through [Mirra] Andreeva in the fourth round, and Zheng [quarterfinals] has the weapons to hit her off the court. Aryna’s got the confidence, she’s healthy. And she’s got the game, and she’s adding to it. She’s more aggressive than any of them. Her weapons are bigger, more solid, less likely to fall apart. From everything I have seen to start the year, she is my favorite to win again.

Australian Open: Scores | Schedule | Draws

Champions Reel: How Aryna Sabalenka won Brisbane 2025

No.2 Iga Swiatek

  • Age: 23
  • Career singles titles: 22
  • Career main-draw win-loss record at Australian Open: 17-6
  • Best Australian Open result: Semifinals (2022)
  • Last Australian Open result: Third round (2024)
  • Australian Open first-round opponent: Katerina Siniakova

Iga Swiatek played well at the United Cup, but lost a second straight match to Coco Gauff. How do you see her chances in Melbourne?

Navratilova: With her game, she’ll always be a challenger in Australia. She won the US Open on hard courts, why not in Australia? I think the doping suspension, she really took it hard. It’s such a cloud that hangs over you. But she rebounded and played well at the United Cup. Only Coco was able to beat her. There’s no reason she can’t win this title.

No.3 Coco Gauff

  • Age: 20
  • Career singles titles: 10
  • Career main-draw win-loss record at Australian Open: 12-5
  • Best Australian Open result: Semifinals (2024)
  • Last Australian Open result: Semifinals (2024)
  • Australian Open first-round opponent: Sofia Kenin

Coco Gauff is riding high after going 7-0 at the United Cup and winning the team title. She made the semifinals last year. Is she a legitimate contender for this title?

Navratilova: Yeah, of course. She’s the more complete player. She moves better than anybody. She’s quicker and faster than anybody. She’s also really good at recovering from awkward situations on the court, ad-libbing. Coco would get [Jessica] Pegula in the quarters. Coco has more weapons, Jessie is more consistent. The forehand is still attackable, so is the serve. But she’s been dealing with it very well so far this year. If anyone's going to shake things up at the top of the rankings, it’s Coco.

No.4 Jasmine Paolini

  • Age: 29
  • Career singles titles: 2
  • Career main-draw win-loss record at Australian Open: 3-5
  • Best Australian Open result: Round of 16 (2024)
  • Last Australian Open result: Round of 16 (2024)
  • Australian Open first-round opponent: Wei Sijia

Can Jasmine Paolini sustain her terrific 2024 season, when she reached the finals at Roland Garros and Wimbledon?

Navratilova: She’s got a nice possible road here. The seeded players she’d see before the quarters are No.15 Beatriz Haddad Maia, No.22 Katie Boulter and No.28 Elina Svitolina. I don’t think she worries about the pressure. I think she enjoys competing. Until I see a different look on her face when she’s playing, I’m not too worried.

No.5 Zheng Qinwen

  • Age: 22
  • Career singles titles: 5
  • Career main-draw win-loss record at Australian Open: 8-3
  • Best Australian Open result: Finalist (2024)
  • Last Australian Open result: Finalist (2024)
  • Australian Open first-round opponent: Anca Todoni

When Zheng Qinwen reached the final here last year, some people were surprised. How do you see her chances?

Navratilova: She looked pretty good winning the Olympics and getting to the last match at the WTA Finals. I don’t know how much pressure she’ll feel playing the major in front of fans who are clearly rooting for her. But she handled that well in Paris. You win gold and a lot of pressure falls off of you. She’s a wild card there. But when her serve is on, she’s hard to beat.

Seeded players in action on Day 1

Thinking about it more, Navratilova's confidence in Zheng extends beyond her recent successes. When asked which player who has yet to win a Grand Slam could finally break through in Melbourne, Navratilova did not hesitate: “Zheng, no doubt about it, based on what we saw last year.”

On opening day, Zheng will be one of nine seeded players to take the court. Here’s a look at the seeds in action on Sunday:

  • No.1  Aryna Sabalenka
  • No.5  Zheng Qinwen
  • No.11 Paula Badosa
  • No.14 Mirra Andreeva
  • No.17 Marta Kostyuk
  • No.18 Donna Vekic
  • No.27 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
  • No.29 Linda Noskova
  • No.30 Leylah Fernandez

Underdogs to Watch

The last time a player outside the Top 10 won the Australian Open was five years ago, when Sofia Kenin, seeded No.14, captured her first and only Grand Slam title. Since 1980, only three players -- Kenin, an unseeded Serena Williams and Jennifer Capriati in 2001 -- have managed to win the title from outside the Top 10.

Is there a dark horse, someone under the radar who might surprise us?

Navratilova: Diana Shnaider, the No.12 seed, could see Zheng in the fourth round. She plays kind of unorthodox, which can bother people. She can be very dangerous. She’s got all the goods, and the left-handedness really helps.

Among the veterans on tour, who seems poised for a comeback season that could include a deep Slam run or a major title?

Navratilova: I’m hoping for Naomi Osaka, because she’s such a big name. She won four Slams with that power game. She’s been back for well over a year, and now it’s harder to come back from the physical and the emotional when you’re still looking for that confidence. She won the first set in the Auckland final last week before retiring with an abdominal injury. Before that setback, you could see her all of a sudden remembering how she used to play and blowing through the field. Osaka said she is ready to play despite the injury, but her first-round matchup will not be an easy one.

Not at all. Your general thoughts on her opening matchup?

Navratilova: She drew Caroline Garcia -- that’s the matchup I marked when the draw came out. Unbelievably, it’s the same as last year’s first-round matchup. Osaka won that match, but it was close. Osaka’s ranked No.50 and Garcia is No.58. They’re so much better than that. Big hitting all over the place. But assuming she is healthy, Osaka has some momentum right now, and she clearly wants to get back to where she was before taking maternity leave.