2025 Australian Open | Women’s Day 3 (Tuesday) Tips & Preview

The retirement of Ash Barty left a gaping hole in Australian women’s tennis but Emerson Jones has put her hand up to lead the next crop of stars. The 16-year-old has been a dominant force in the juniors having made the Girl’s Singles Final at the Australian Open and Wimbledon last year. Has won a stack of titles at ITF level and a win over Xinyu Wang in the main draw of the Adelaide International is an indication that she is ready to make her mark on the WTA Tour. Faces an accomplished Grand Slam champion and the biggest concern will be dealing with the power of Rybakina. She possesses one of the best serves on tour but after seeing Jones break the Kasatkina three times in a tight straight sets loss, can see her making some inroads here. The crowd support will be worth 1-2 games itself which will be enough to get the Overs home.

Qualifiers add an element of unpredictability to the draw and Wei is one that has been in fine form. Made the finals of her last two tournaments at ITF level and has earned her place in the main draw here after winning a deciding se tiebreaker 11-9. With 8 competitive matches in the first two weeks of the year, her physical condition will be tested by one of the best baseline players on the tour. Despite making multiple Grand Slam finals last year, Paolini does not get the respect she deserves. Don’t be fooled by her small stature as the Italian is tougher than nails and will break serve at will here. She will break serve 2-3 times per set which will help her cover the games handicap.

Navarro is coming off the best year of her career but has struggled since losing to Sabalenka in the semi finals of the US Open. Has lost 6 of her 9 matches since including defeats in 4 of her last 5. The most concerning part is that she was a firm favourite in all those matches. Losses to Frech and Birrell are unacceptable for a player of her ranking/ability but highlight her current struggles. Stearns has notable wins against Sakkari and Kudermetova so far this year and lost a very tight three set match to Paula Badosa at the Adelaide International. You can push the rankings to the side as the form lines says that Stearns will win this one.

This is far from a marquee matchup but Raducanu matches regularly get a feature as she is the BEST player to back against in women’s tennis. She is consistently installed as a false favourite and this is yet another example of that happening. Has failed to make it past the 2nd Round in 7 of her 8 major appearances since winning the US Open with most of those defeats coming as the betting favourite. Is yet to play a competitive match this year which is another red flag while Alexandrova has faced Jabeur, Navarro and Leylah Fernandez – three women who are seeded here. Is better prepared for this match and the inconsistency of Raducanu in the majors means she should be the favourite for this match.