Has Aryna Sabalenka’s path to Australian Open hat-trick really opened up?
One of Aryna Sabalenka’s biggest rivals in the top half of the 2025 Australian Open has faltered early yet there are still several potential banana skins in her way.
While two-time defending champion Sabalenka overcame a tricky second set to see off Jessica Bouzas Maneiro in the second round of the season-opening Grand Slam, last year’s runner-up Zheng Qinwen made an exit.
Zheng was expected to challenge for the title again this year, especially after she finished runner-up to Coco Gauff at the 2024 WTA Finals.
But she was stunned by veteran Laura Siegemund as the German defeated the fifth seed 7-6 (7-3), 6-3.
Sabalenka and Zheng were in the same quarter of the women’s singles draw and on paper that clears the path for the world No 1’s run to the semi-final.
Yet there are still a few hurdles in the three-time Grand Slam winner’s side that she has to clear.
Next she faces Clara Tauson, who already caused an upset when she beat 29th seed Linda Noskova in the first round.
“I know that she’s a very aggressive player, serving well, hitting pretty heavy shots. It’s going to be a great battle. Really looking forward to face her for the first time,” she said of Tauson.
There is also a spicy fourth-round match against rising star Mirra Andreeva is on the cards. They met in the semi-final of the Brisbane International recently and Sabalenka came away with a two-set win.
But the 17-year-old Andreeva already has a string of top-10 wins to her name, including against Sabalenka at last year’s French Open.
And while Section 2 of the draw appears to be easier after Zheng’s defeat, there is also the small matter of the in-form Diana Shnaider, who won four titles last year and risen to a career-high No 12 in the WTA Rankings.
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As Sabalenka herself said, several players can make your life uncomfortable.
“Listen, it’s a Slam, you know? Not everyone can handle these emotions,” she said. “As you can see, there are so many players who are playing really well in these conditions. It’s not like if they’re gone, it’s easy for me. No, it’s not.
“I have to go there, I have to compete, I have to fight. Today’s match proved that. Girls can go there and just play without any fear, without anything to lose.
“They can put you in really uncomfortable positions.”
But Sabalenka – looking to become the first player to win three Australian Open titles in a row since Martina Hingis’s run from 1997 to 1999 – is without a doubt the player to beat as she lost only one match Down Under since the start of 2023.
If she does make the semi-final as expected, Gauff is her potential semi-final opponent although the American will likely have to get past seventh seed Jessica Pegula first.
