The 2026 Australian Open women’s singles draw is out, but who will Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Amanda Anisimova and other WTA stars face?
This will be the 114th edition of the Australian Open, which has been staged on hard courts at Melbourne Park since 1988.
Zheng Qinwen, Veronika Kudermetova, Lois Boisson, Danielle Collins, Wang Yafan and Ons Jabeur have all withdrawn.
Madison Keys is the defending champion, having beaten Sabalenka in the 2025 championship match to secure her maiden Grand Slam title.
Australian Open women’s singles draw
Top half
World No 1 Sabalenka is the top seed, and she will start her quest to win a third Australian Open crown against Tiantsoa Sarah Rakotomanga Rajaonah.
The Belarusian could then meet Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova or a qualifier in the second round before a potential third round clash with 28th seed Emma Raducanu.
The four-time major champion is projected to face 14th seed Clara Tauson or 17th seed Victoria Mboko in the fourth round, while she could take on seventh seed Jasmine Paolini in the quarter-finals.
Sabalenka’s projected semi-final opponent is No 3 seed Coco Gauff — who will begin her campaign against Kamilla Rakhimova.
Gauff could play Olga Danilovic or Venus Williams in the second round before a possible third round meeting with 32nd seed Marketa Vondrousova.
The American is projected to play 15th seed Emma Navarro or 19th seed Karolina Muchova in the last 16, while eighth seed Mirra Andreeva and 12th seed Elina Svitolina are potential quarter-final opponents.
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Bottom half
At the bottom of the draw, No 2 seed Swiatek will start her bid for a maiden Australian Open title against a qualifier.
The Pole could then play Renata Zarazua or Marie Bouzkova in the second round, before a possible third round match with 31st seed Anna Kalinskaya.
In the fourth round, Swiatek is projected to face 16th seed and two-time former champion Naomi Osaka, or 18th seed Liudmila Samsonova.
The six-time Grand Slam winner could take on fifth seed Elena Rybakina or 10th seed Belinda Bencic in the last eight.
Swiatek’s possible semi-final opponents include fourth seed Amanda Anisimova, sixth seed Jessica Pegula, and ninth seed and reigning champion Keys.
Keys will start her title defence against Oleksandra Oliynykova, and she is projected to meet Pegula in the fourth round.
Australian Open women’s singles draw projected quarter-finals
Aryna Sabalenka (1) vs Jasmine Paolini (7)
Coco Gauff (3) vs Mirra Andreeva (8)
Jessica Pegula (6) vs Amanda Anisimova (4)
Elena Rybakina (5) vs Iga Swiatek (2)
The post Australian Open 2026 women’s draw: Swiatek faces tricky path, Sabalenka & Gauff on collision course appeared first on Tennis365.
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