Madison Keys raised eyebrows when she won the 2025 Australian Open – her first career Grand Slam – after defeating Aryna Sabalenka in the final, and the American international is eager for the same winning feeling once again.
Ranked ninth in the live WTA rankings, Keys is one of the tournament’s top seeds. However, given the competitive playing field, the Australian Open 2026 odds do not exactly back her to win the coveted Grand Slam for the second straight year.
Aryna Sabalenka figures to be among her toughest opponents, as she is the No. 1-ranked WTA star today, and the Belarusian international has already geared up for the tournament. Elina Svitolina also plans to make noise in Melbourne, and the Ukrainian international, like Sabalenka, has also built momentum ahead of Monday evening.
These are some of the latest Australian Open 2026 updates, courtesy of SBOTOP.
Keys maintains positive outlook ahead of Melbourne defence
Madison Keys became the oldest Australian Open first-time women’s champion last year at 29 years old, and she also set a record as the player with the longest gap between their first two Grand Slam finals, as her first was during the 2017 US Open.
After winning the 2025 Australian Open, Keys moved up to the Top 5 the following month. However, since the breakthrough, the American international was eliminated in the French Open quarter-finals, the third round at Wimbledon, and the first round at the US Open. During the season-ending WTA Finals, she dropped two group stage matches, prompting another early exit.
Keys also lost to Aryna Sabalenka in the Brisbane International quarter-finals and to Victoria Mboko in the Adelaide International quarter-finals earlier this month. But despite her recent string of setbacks, the 30-year-old sounded optimistic ahead of her title defence during a recent press conference.
“There’s a really cool photo of me holding the trophy,” Keys said. “Getting to see those, it’s something you dream of in your career. Going to this AO, I’m not really focusing on that last year’s result, but of course I would like to do just a little bit better than I did last year.”
She will commence her Australian Open campaign against Oleksandra Oliynykova in the opening round, with Jessica Pegula and Amanda Anisimova potentially in her way in the Round of 16 and quarter-finals, respectively. At least Keys won’t meet Sabalenka early because she’s on the other side of the draw.
Sabalenka already building momentum
Aryna Sabalenka failed to defend her Australian Open title last year after losing to Madison Keys in the final, so the Belarusian star is out for revenge. Since the early setback, the 27-year-old won the Miami Open, Madrid Open, and the US Open, while reaching the finals in the Indian Wells Masters, Boss Open, Roland Garros, and the WTA Finals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Similar to the build-up before the 2024 Australian Open, where she won her maiden Grand Slam, Sabalenka won the Brisbane International without dropping a set against Cristina Bucsa, Sorana Cirstea, Madison Keys, Karolina Muchova, and Marta Kostyuk.
Against Kostyuk in the final, Sabalenka won 81-per cent of her first-serve points and faced only three break points, losing just one. She also converted three of her eight break chances going the other way. These two stars could meet again in the upcoming quarter-finals in Melbourne.
By winning in Brisbane – her 22nd title – she passed Victoria Azarenka for the third-most WTA Tour titles among active players, behind Venus Williams and Iga Swiatek. Sabalenka will open her Australian Open campaign against French wild card Tiantsoa Sarah Rakotomanga Rajaonah in the opening round.
Svitolina rewarded after hitting reset button
Elina Svitolina needed to hit the reset button after her 2025 season was cut short by a foot surgery following the Billie Jean King Cup Finals. After a long spell on the sidelines, the 31-year-old returned with aplomb by winning the ASB Classic last weekend, defeating Varvara Gracheva, Katie Boulter, Sonay Kartal, Iva Jovic, and Wang Xinyu in her wake.
This was her 19th career title, improving her WTA Tour record finals to a robust 19-4, good for a winning percentage of almost 83-per cent. Svitolina is projected to rise to No. 12 in the WTA Rankings, as she pushes for a Top 10 return.
Svitolina will start their Australian Open campaign against Cristina Bucsa in the opening round tomorrow. She could face the likes of Barbora Krejcikova, Mirra Andreeva, Karolina Muchova, or Coco Gauff if she takes care of business in the early rounds.
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