Naomi Osaka, Ashleigh Barty and Emma Raducanu are considered the top 3 favorites to win the Australian Open by some top betting companies.
Naomi Osaka had a rather strange 2021. The Japanese sensation won the first slam of the year in Melbourne before suffering from a complete meltdown in the rest of the season. Naomi Osaka refused to attend press conferences at the French Open to spark a controversy that made her withdraw from the French slam and Wimbledon.
Later, Naomi had the incredible honor of carrying the torch at the Olympic Games, where she lost as early as in the third round. Later, Osaka also was unable to go beyond the third round in Cincinnati and at the US Open. Eventually, she decided to take a longer break after the American slam to be back only on the occasion of the Australian summer.
Training
Naomi Osaka is now putting all her efforts in training for the Australian Open where she will try to defend her title. While Ashleigh Barty and Emma Raducanu are indicated as the most challenging players, the competition will be much wider. Here a video of Naomi working out with her team.
Naomi Osaka in 2021
Ranked world no.13, Naomi played her last match on the 3rd of September when she was overcome by world no.24 Leylah Annie Fernandez 5-7 7-6(2) 6-4 in the 3rd round in U.S. Open (draw).
This year Osaka achieved a composed 18-6 match record. Naomi has won 1 title at the Australian Open.
Ashleigh Barty in 2021
Now ranked no.1, the Australian played her last match on the 4th of September when she capitulated to world no.40 Shelby Rogers 6-2 1-6 7-6(5) in the 3rd round in U.S. Open (draw).
This season Ashleigh has managed to achieve a 42-8 record. The Australian conquered 5 titles in 2021 in Melbourne, in Miami, in Stuttgart, in Wimbledon and in Cincinnati. The Australian reached the final in Madrid.
Naomi Osaka and Ashleigh Barty played each other 4 times. Their current head to head is 2-2. Previously, the last time when they played, Naomi Osaka won 3-6 6-3 6-2 in the final in Beijing (China Open) in October 2019.
In the following video you can watch the highlights.
Emma Raducanu in 2021
Ranked world no.19 (career-high), Raducanu played her last match on the 9th of November when she lost to world no.102 Xin Yu Wang 6-1 6-7(0) 7-5 in the 2nd round in Linz (draw).
Currently, during this year Raducanu has a 25-9 match record. Emma clinched 1 title at the U.S. Open. The Brit was the finalist in the Chicago.
