From Coco Gauff, Naomi Osaka, Emma Raducanu to Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina: Where the WTA Stars will prepare in Australian Open 2025 lead-up
The 2025 WTA season is all set to begin from the last week of December itself. Various WTA 250 and 500 events are scheduled to start, leading up to the first Major tournament of the year, the 2025 Australian Open.
All the top players will have an eye on Melbourne, and to put their best foot forward, they will prepare themselves for the events in Brisbane, Adelaide, and Auckland, and at the United Cup.
The United Cup is an annual mixed tennis event that is held across different cities in Australia. The event is well-stacked as top ATP and WTA players are committed to playing the event. On the women's side, the event will see 5 of the Top 10 players in the World, including Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Jasmine Paolini, Zheng Qinwen, and Elena Rybakina, all of whom will be representing their countries along with their ATP counterparts.
The event will also have some of the top 20 players, such as Beatriz Haddad Maia, Donna Vekic, and Danielle Collins.
4 Grand Slam winners will be in Auckland, whereas World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka begins her season in Brisbane
The 2025 ABS Classic in Auckland will be a high-profile event as the playing field has four Grand Slam champions. Former Major champions Naomi Osaka, Sofia Kenin, Emma Raducanu, and Sloane Stephens will headline the first events on the WTA calendar in 2025.
Notably, defending champion Coco Gauff will not be defending her title as she has chosen to play in the United Cup. From a rankings point of view, the highest-ranked player who will be in Auckland will be World No. 21 Madison Keys.
On the other hand, World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka will begin her 2025 campaign at the Brisbane International. The Belarusian is a two-time defending champion at the Australian Open, and there will be a lot of scrutiny on her performances in the lead-up to the event in Melbourne. She will be joined by other Top 10 players in Brisbane like Emma Navarro, Jessica Pegula, and Daria Kasatkina.
Other Top 20 players like Paula Badosa, Diana Shnaider, Anna Kalinskaya, Jelena Ostapenko, Mirra Andreeva, Marta Kostyuk, and Victoria Azarenka will also be in Brisbane. However, defending champion Elena Rybakina will not be there to defend her titles, as she will be at the United Cup.
Jasmine Paolini will lead the WTA event in Adelaide
The WTA 500 event in Adelaide in the week leading up to the Australian Open, will be headlined by World No. 4 Jasmine Paolini. She will be joined by other Top-10 players like Jessica Pegula, Emma Navarro, Daria Kasatkina, and Barbora Krejcikova.
Defending champion Jelena Ostapenko is part of the playing field, as are other Top 20 players like Paula Badosa, and Diana Shnaider. The event also marks the return of the former Wimbledon Champion Marketa Vondrousova. The Czech player had taken a break from the Tour after the 2024 Wimbledon Championships due to injury.
Some of the players have been listed in multiple events in the build-up to the Australian Open. They might manage their schedule depending on their workload to be fresh for the Grand Slam.