ED MCGROGAN, SENIOR EDITOR: Karolina Pliskova
There’s a lot to like in this 24-year-old, who served her way into last year’s U.S. Open final and cruised to a tune-up title in Brisbane. And there a lot of question marks with her Top 10 contemporaries, including defending champion Angelique Kerber, who already has two losses this year.
NINA PANTIC, ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Karolina Pliskova
It’s a gamble, but Pliskova’s time to cash in has arrived. She won Brisbane last week in dominant fashion and in her last Grand Slam pulled off one of the biggest feats in the sport: beating both Williams sisters. The tall Czech makes power tennis look easy—she at least appears to not exert herself too much— which should help her in Melbourne.
BRAD KALLET, ONLINE EDITOR: Karolina Pliskova
I don’t feel great about Serena Williams after her loss to Madison Brengle in Auckland, and Kerber has hardly looked like a No. 1 this year. So why not Pliskova? The field is wide open, and the door is ajar for the incredibly talented Czech to win her first Grand Slam.
STEVE TIGNOR, SENIOR WRITER: Angelique Kerber
Kerber is 1-2 to start the year, and has looked flat in general. If there were another Slam winner who was in better form right now, I’d probably go with her. But Serena is also off to a slow start, and Garbiñe Muguruza is too erratic to count on. It’s anyone’s Aussie Open on the women’s side, but at least Kerber has made it hers before.
MCGROGAN: Daria Kasatkina
The 19-year-old narrowly fell to Muguruza in Brisbane (7-6 in the third), then beat world No. 1 Kerber in Sydney and played Johanna Konta tough in defeat. If she isn’t worn out, the 23rd seed could absolutely trouble a suddenly vulnerable Kerber in the fourth round.
PANTIC: Daria Kasatkina
She beat Kerber earlier last week, so why can’t she do it again in Melbourne? The Russian is in a packed section of the draw, with other dark-horse candidates including Eugenie Bouchard and CoCo Vandeweghe, but she’s already shown that she can beat all comers.
KALLET:Monica Puig
The Puerto Rican been wildly consistent since her gold-medal run in Rio last summer, but who on the WTA tour hasn’t been? Unlike most of the players alongside her in the rankings, Puig knows how to win on the biggest stage. Should she advance to the third round, she’ll have a real chance to upset Simona Halep.
TIGNOR: Shuai Zhang
Last year in Melbourne, the 27-year-old from China came out of qualifying to reach the quarters. This year she arrives as the 20th seed, with a draw that could let her reach the quarterfinals without having to pull off any stunning upsets.
MCGROGAN: Johanna Konta
The Brit—who won the Sydney tune-up—has the pressure of defending semifinal points, but just getting through the first week may be a challenge. She opens against wily veteran Kirsten Flipkens, then could face Naomi Osaka, a hard-serving star in the making. I should also mention that she’s near Serena.
PANTIC: Simona Halep
Halep says she’s just trying to enjoy herself; not dreaming of winning her first major, but winning as much as she can. The truth is, the Romanian lacks killer instinct and finishing power, and in Australia, she can get swallowed up by the occasion early on. She ended 2016 with two losses in Singapore, and began 2017 with a loss to world No. 52 Katerina Siniakova in Shenzhen. Her draw won’t help her settle in—Shelby Rogers in the first round and possibly Puig in the second.
KALLET:Garbiñe Muguruza
Muguruza has never played exceptional tennis in Oz—she’s never been past the fourth round—and she’s coming off a worrisome right thigh injury. If she reaches the third round, Anastasija Sevastova, who reached the quarters at the U.S. Open this past summer, could send her home early.
TIGNOR: Johanna Konta
Like Thiem on the men’s side, is Konta’s 2016 breakthrough destined to turn into her 2017 slump? It wouldn’t be a shock: the 25-year-old Aussie-turned-Brit was a late-bloomer, and she has split with the coach who helped her bloom. Konta’s first-round match, with Flipkens, won’t make for an easy start.