The Australian portion of the season includes six tournaments, including the Australian Open. Other tournaments on the Australian calendar include the United Cup, WTA 500 Brisbane International, WTA 250 ASB Classic in Auckland, WTA 500 Adelaide International and WTA 250 Hobart International.
The top ten WTA players will be defending a lot of points in Australia and we will see a significant change in the rankings in the first month of the season.
Iga Swiatek only has 365 ranking points to defend. Last year, the world number one scored 125 points in the 2023 United Cup and 240 points in the fourth round of the Australian Open. The United Cup will once again be Iga’s only preparation tournament before the first Grand Slam tournament of the year.
Meanwhile, Aryna Sabalenka defends the most points among the top 10 players. She was undefeated in Australia last year, winning the Adelaide International 1 and the Australian Open for a total of 2,470 points. The Belarusian will begin 2024 at a tournament in Brisbane before heading to Melbourne.
Coco Gauff should remain in third position if she continues her good form which allowed her to win the US Open. The American defends 520 points in Australia in 2024. She has 280 points after her triumph at the ASB Classic 2023 and 240 points after her fourth-round elimination at the Australian Open. In 2024, Gauff will look to defend her ASB Classic title before the Australian Open.
Elena Rybakina defeated Iga Swiatek en route to the 2023 Australian Open final and received 1,300 points. Last year, Elena also participated in the two Adelaide Internationals, but only scored 56 points. In January 2024, she will play at the Brisbane International, the Adelaide International and then the Australian Open.
Jessica Pegula has 740 points to defend. She was part of the winning U.S. team at the 2023 Inited Cup and reached the quarterfinals in Melbourne. Pegula will participate in the United Cup, the Adelaide International and then the Australian Open this year.
Ons Jabeur ranked second in the world after the Australian portion of the season. She reached the semi-finals of the Adelaide International and fell short in the second round in Melbourne. Ons has 255 points to defend and has not participated in any tournament before the Australian Open.
Marketa Vondrousova will defend 230 points and play at the 2024 Adelaide International and Australian Open. Another Czech, Karolina Muchova, has even fewer points at stake (170) and, like Jabeur, will not participate in any tournament before the Australian Open.
Maria Sakkari scored 235 points in January 2023. She reached the semi-finals of the United Cup with Greece and the third round of the Australian Open. The 28-year-old will also compete in the United Cup this year before turning her attention to the Australian Open.
The third Czech tennis player in the top 10, Barbora Krejcikova, defends 295 points. She won them through the second round of the Adelaide International 2 and the fourth round of the Australian Open.
Vyacheslav Gorbachev/Athletistic
Source: Sport
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