IGA SWIATEK ‘FULL OF REVENGE’ BUT ARYNA SABALENKA ‘SLIGHT FAVOURITE’ FOR WOMEN’S SINGLES GLORY AT AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2025

After suffering a poor end to the 2024 season, Eurosport expert Mats Wilander believes that Iga Swiatek is “full of revenge” and refuses to rule the Polish star out of the running at the Australian Open. However, who does the Swede feel wins the title in Melbourne? Aryna Sabalenka will be hard to stop, but Coco Gauff is possibly the world’s “best” player at the moment.

Mats Wilander believes that while Iga Swiatek is not the favourite to win the Australian Open, the Polish star is “full of revenge” and could “cause an upset” in Melbourne.

The five-time Grand Slam winner recently lost her place as the world No. 1 to Aryna Sabalenka and later missed the Asia swing because of a positive doping test.

Swiatek said she felt she was treated “like a liar” by those assessing her case after she tested positive for a banned substance – trimetazidine – back in August 2024.

But Wilander believes returning to the top of the rankings will be her main focus in 2025.

“I think Iga is probably full of revenge for many reasons – the biggest being that she lost her No. 1 ranking to Aryna Sabalenka,” Wilander exclusively told Eurosport.

“She has a new coach [Wim Fissette] in her corner. She’s not always going to be the best player in the world, but she’s going to be knocking on the door to the No. 1 ranking for at least another five years.
“She’s too serious. She’s too good. She’s too complete.

“Yes, she has a problem against some of the big hitters on the women’s tour, but so does everybody else too.

“Not much is going to change her mindset or her drive, or her ambition and motivation to be the absolute best version of herself every single day she steps on the court.

“It’s hard to say that she’s not going to win a Grand Slam. I think she’s going to win one, she might even win two.”