With less than 5 days to go before the Australian Open, Madison Keys slipped a few steps in the WTA rankings; however, Aryna Sabalenka topped the women's category seeds for the AO, materializing what was expected.

While the qualifying stages of the first major tournament of the year have already begun, the main draw is scheduled to start on January 18 and continue till February 1.

Keys defeated Sabalenka in the finals of the 2025 AO to win the title in the women's singles category. However, her loss against the Belarusian in the Brisbane International a few days ago caused her to fall to the 9th rank in the WTA women's rankings. As a result, Keys became the 9th seed for the AO.

The tournament organizers also confirmed that Iga Swiatek will enter the tournament as the No. 2 seed in the women's category. According to Tennis365, Sabalenka and Swiatek's positions were sealed since late 2025, as it was mathematically impossible for them to lose spots ahead of the opening major.

While the top 2 spots were out of bounds, the race for the top 10 became intriguing. Coco Gauff and Amanda Anisimova swapped places at 3 and 4 in the beginning, but Gauff reclaimed the 3rd seed for the Australian Open.

Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina rounds up the top 5, followed by Jessica Pegula, Jasmine Paolini, and teenage sensation Mirra Andreeva. Swiss Belinda Bencic also entered the top 10 after a standout performance in the United Cup.

But while the defending champion Keys fell to the 9th seed, she knows how to come up from behind.

Madison Keys has proven her skills as an underdog against Aryna Sabalenka

Keys' loss against Sabalenka in the Brisbane International might take a toll on her mentally, besides lowering her rankings. However, the last edition of AO says that she has the capacity to defeat all the odds against her.

Keys entered the 2025 edition of AO as the 19th seed and still went on to defeat Sabalenka in the finals of the women's singles category to lift the title.

The then 29-year-old American started the match in flying colors and bagged the first set 6-3. However, Sabalenka didn't let go, as she leveled up by winning the next set 6-2.

The two had an intense battle for the final set, which went to a tie-breaker. Nevertheless, Keys enjoyed the last laugh, winning it 7-5 and writing her name on the AO women's singles title.

It remains to be seen if she can repeat the feat this time, or if Sabalenka gains redemption for her 2025 AO defeat.

Written by

Fatema Kapasi

Edited by

Souvik Roy