This year’s top five seeded players are almost completely different from what we saw at the 2022 Australian Open. The only player to remain in both is the Belarusian tennis star Aryna Sabalenka, who dropped from the second seed to the fifth seed. The number one seed is Iga Swiatek, the Polish superstar who in 2022 won 88.2% of her matches, winning nine titles, including two grand slams, the 2022 French Open and 2022 US Open and three Masters 1000 titles at Indian Wells, Miami and Rome. She was the favorite to win the entire tournament. The number two seed of the tournament, Ons Jabeur, had a breakout year in 2022 making the 2022 Wimbledon Final and the 2022 US Open Final and reaching a career high ranking of World Number Two. The Turkish lost to Iga Swiatek in both the 2022 US Open Final and the 2022 Italian Open. She is a player who is very unpredictable, the fast paced court favors her game, however, she can also just as easily lose in the first round. The third seed is American Jessica Pegula, who is the second most experienced player in the top five. She made the quarter finals of two grand slams in 2022, the 2022 French Open and the 2022 US Open. She made the finals of the Mutua Madrid Open, losing to the number two seed Ons Jabeur, and in the semi-finals of the Miami Open losing to the number one seed Iga Swiatek. She, and her fellow Americans did recently win the United Cup, defeating Italy in the finals, and beating Martina Trevisan in the finals. The number four seed Caroline Garcia won the largest tournament in her career in 2022, beating the number five seed Aryna Sabalenka in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Dallas Fort Worth Finals. She made the quarter-finals of the 2022 French Open and the semi-finals of the 2022 US Open. She is the most experienced player of the top five, however, she plays better on slower surfaces and the Australian Open is the second fastest major, only behind Wimbledon. The fifth seed is Aryna Sabalenka, the Belarusian had a rocky 2022, partially due to the fact that she was banned from the 2022 Wimbledon Championship due to the Russian/Belarusian ban. Luckily the WTA did not count the points the players gained from the 2022 Wimbledon Championship; however, Sabalenka did drop three ratings since the last Australian Open. She made the semi-finals of the US Open and the finals of the WTA Dallas Fort Worth Finals. She still plays extremely well on faster surfaces and should be considered a favorite for the tournament, but there are dangers to her title ambitions. 

Starting with the first round, there were no major upsets at all, in my opinion every match went as expected. The second round, however, shocked many people when the Czech Marketa Vondrousova defeated the number two seed Ons Jabeur in three sets – 6-1, 5-7, 6-1. While the Turk does prefer slower surfaces, this is a shocking result as she was expected to at least make the quarter-finals. The next upset in the round occurred when Russian Liudmilla Samsonova lost to Croatian Donna Vekic in straight sets—6-3, 6-0. Samsonova is an extremely underrated player and I was very surprised that she lost in the second round. Another upset was when the polish Magda Linette defeated the

Estonian Anett Kontaveit in three sets—3-6, 6-3, 6-4. Kontaveit was seeded relatively low; however, I had expected her to go relatively far, with an expected finish in the fourth round or the quarter-finals. The next upset occurred when Anhelina Kalinina defeated Petra Kvitova in straight sets—7-5, 6-4. The third round was incredibly chaotic, starting with Elena Rybakina beating Dani Collins in three sets—6-2, 5-7, 6-2. Rybakina was seeded however she hasn’t proven herself in any major tournament yet and I was surprised she bested the American. The next upset occurred when Viktoria Azaranka defeated Madison Keys in three sets—1-6, 6-2, 6-1. Azaranka used to be one of the best female tennis players in the world, winning this tournament twice in 2012 and 2013. That being said, she was not expected to go far and this result was a shocking one to say the least. Magda Linette continues her streak of upsets by defeating Ekatarina Alexandrova in straight sets—6-3, 6-4. Linette is playing far above her normal level, in fact, one could go so far as to say she is playing the best tennis she has ever played. The most shocking upset of the round in my opinion was when Lin Zhu defeated the number six seed Maria Sakkari in three sets—7-6, 1-6, 6-4. The 2022 Indian Wells finalist was one of the favourites to win the entire tournament and her loss to the number 53 in the world was one of the most shocking upsets in the entire tournament, only second to what comes next. What comes next is the fourth round, 16 players remaining and still four out of the top five are still in the running. The first upset of the round occurred when Jelena Ostepanko defeated the number seven seed Coco Gauf in straight sets—7-5, 6-3. Gauf, in my opinion, was never predicted to win the tournament, however, 2022 was one of her best years, reaching a career high of number four in the world in singles and number one in the world in doubles with her partner Jesica Pegula. Ostapenko on the other hand was someone who’s prime was long faded, winning her first and only major at the 2017 French Open. The next upset of the fourth round occurred when Magda Linette, the Polish giant killer defeated the number four seed Caroline Garcia in straight sets, 7-6, 6-4. The Pole will be the only one representing her country in the quarter finals as her fellow countrywoman, the favorite, Iga Swiatek, was bested by Elena Rybakina in a decisive 6-4, 6-4 victory. Swiatek was in my opinion the clear favorite, her performance in 2022 solidified her as the winner of the tournament in all but name, and yet the 23 year old Kazakhstani tennis player defeated her before she even made it to the top eight. This was the largest upset of the tournament, on both the mens and womens side. The quarter finals held three major upsets, the first being Elena Rybakina defeating Jelena Ostapenko in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4. In my opinion this is barely an upset, while Ostapenko is seeded higher, I wouldn’t have bet on her beating the Kazakhstani. The next upset occurred when Viktoria Azarenka defeated the number three seed Jesica Pegula in two quick sets—6-4, 6-1. Pegula was the favorite to win the tournament after the Polish juggernaut fell in the previous round. The last Pole to survive, Magda Linette continues her campaign of killing off seeded players defeating Karolína Plíšková in straight sets—6-3, 7-5. The Czech giant has done well in the past, making the quarter-finals in 2017 and 2018 and making the semi-finals in 2019. Her game favors faster court speeds and I am surprised she did so poorly. As the last Pole remaining, Linette seemingly absorbed all of Swiateks ability after her loss in the fourth round. The semi-finals were extremely strange, with the highest seeded player being Aryna Sabalenka with a ranking of five, while the other three players not breaking the top 20. Sabalenka quickly dispatched Magda Linette, ending the Pole’s fairytale run in 7-6, 6-2. Not a surprising result but looking at the Linette’s history, who knows what could have happened. The other semi-final match showed the 23 year old Elena

Rybakina beat the two time Australian Open champion Viktoria Azarenka in straight sets—7-6, 6-3, allowing her to make her first grand slam final of her career. The finals went as one would have expected, with the number five seed Aryna Sabalenka defeating the young Kazakhstani Elena Rybakyna in straight sets—7-6, 6-3. This grandslam was filled with upsets, epic battles, and fairy tale runs, something I have found common in women’s tennis. Upsets seem to happen far more often on the women’s side compared to the mens I have noticed. If I were to give an MVP of the tournament my vote would go to Magda Linette, the unseeded Pole defeated many top level players, and made her way to her first grand slam finals.