The first major tournament of the 2025 season, the Australian Open, is nearing with each passing day. As the hype surrounding the tournament is going up, predictions have already started coming in about who will clinch the top honors. On the women’s side, fans can expect a strong playing field as the likes of Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, and Coco Gauff have already confirmed their participation. But one question lies ahead: Who will win the 2025 Australian Open?

Earlier this week, tennis experts sat down to pick their winners for the Grand Slam Down Under. In the video released by Eurosport, World Number 1 and defending champion Aryna Sabalenka was among the top picks to lift the trophy in Melbourne. On the other hand, experts snubbed Coco Gauff, who had a strong finish to the 2024 season.

Tennis legend and expert Mats Wilander said, “Aryna Sabalenka will win yet another Grand Slam title at the Australian Open. That makes it three in a row.” The Belarusian star is already coming from two consecutive Australian Open wins in 2023 and 2024, and Wilander feels that she is looking good to make it a hat trick of Australian Open wins. Further, this thought was seconded by Laura Robson, who revealed, “I’m going Sabalenka.”

However, a few other experts had different ideas. While Tim Henman picked this year’s finalist, Qinwen Zheng, for the top honors, Alex Corretja said, “I’m going to go for [Elena] Rybakina. I’m actually thinking she might finish as No. 1 this year.” However, none of the experts mentioned Gauff’s name as the 2025 Australian Open champion. Understandably so, the American sensation hasn’t had the best record Down Under. She is yet to reach a final there and exited in the last 4 this year, losing against the eventual champion Sabalenka.

Nonetheless, Gauff is putting up a tough off-season regimen to build up for the next season. A few days back, Rennae Stubbs was all praise for the American sensation while mentioning her among the Australian Open hopefuls.

Coco Gauff gets a lift from Rennae Stubbs

The World Number 3 had a solid end to her 2024 campaign after winning the WTA Finals. Subsequently, she began her preparations for the 2025 season quickly, showing how determined she is to start her campaign on a positive note. Rennae Stubbs acknowledged Gauff’s efforts during the off-season and picked her as one of the favorites for the Grand Slam Down Under.

She said, “Looking at the training schedule right now of Coco Gauff on Instagram, she is putting in the work. I think after the way she finished the way she did, that is going to be really interesting to see. I do believe she has absolutely put her hands up to be one of the favorites for the Australian Open.”

Additionally, Stubbs feels that Italian star Jasmine Paolini is another player to watch out for, saying, “I think she understands she probably has a window of about three or four years to really capitalize on her age, her experience, and how well she plays. It gets harder when you get to your mid-30s. She is at an age right now where she is 28 and is really starting to be in her prime. I think she will be in the top 10 for sure throughout the entire year next year.”

Gauff will be seen in action at the United Cup, representing her country in the warm-up tournament for the Australian Open. It’ll be interesting to see how she performs during the Australian summer.