Sabalenka, Swiatek, Gauff, Keys and Venus Williams highlight the 2026 Australian Open women's field

A look at some of the women to watch at the Australian Open, which starts at Melbourne Park on Sunday (Saturday night EST), with money-line odds via BetMGM Sportsbook:

Seeded: 1

Career-Best Ranking: 1

Country: Belarus

Age: 27

Career Titles: 22

Grand Slam Titles: 4 — Australian Open (2: 2023, 2024), U.S. Open (2: 2024, 2025)

Last 5 Australian Opens: 2025-Runner-Up, 2024-Won Championship, 2023-W, 2022-Lost in 4th, 2021-4th

Aces: Reached the past three finals at Melbourne Park, winning twice and losing to Madison Keys a year ago. ... Add in the U.S. Open, and she's been to each of the last six hard-court Grand Slam finals, winning four. ... Held the No. 1 ranking since October 2024. In 2025, she joined Serena Williams and Ash Barty as the only women since 2000 to lead the WTA every week during a full calendar year. ... 19 of 22 career titles came on hard courts. ... Won 43 of her past 47 matches against players ranked outside the top 20. ... Opened 2026 with a title at a tune-up tournament in Brisbane.

She Said It: “It’s tennis, it’s sport, and that’s why it’s so beautiful, because you cannot predict anything.”

Read All About It: Sabalenka is the first woman since Serena Williams with consecutive US Open titles

Odds Are: +240

Seeded: 2

Career-Best Ranking: 1

Country: Poland

Age: 24

Career Titles: 25

Grand Slam Titles: 6 — U.S. Open (1: 2022), French Open (4: 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024), Wimbledon (1: 2025)

Last 5 Australian Opens: 2025-SF, 2024-3rd, 2023-4th, 2022-SF, 2021-4th

Aces: The Australian Open is the lone Grand Slam tournament she hasn't won, bowing out in the semifinals a year ago and in 2022. If she adds that title to her collection, she would be the 11th woman with a career Slam. ... She is 6-0 in major finals. ... Is the first woman with at least four 60-victory seasons in a row since Martina Hingis and Lindsay Davenport both had their streaks end after 2001.

She Said It: “Just thinking about one swing, only tournaments in Australia. Then, after I’m done with that, I’ll think about the next one.”

Read All About It: Iga Swiatek won Wimbledon after a difficult year

Odds Are: +400

Seeded: 3

Career-Best Ranking: 2

Country: United States

Age: 21

Career Titles: 11

Grand Slam Titles: 2 — French Open (2025), U.S. Open (2023)

Last 5 Australian Opens: 2025-QF, 2024-SF, 2023-4th, 2022-1st, 2021-2nd

Aces: Could face Venus Williams in the second round. Gauff's Grand Slam debut at age 15 in 2019 was a victory over Williams at Wimbledon. ... Had by far the most double-faults on the WTA Tour in 2025, with 431. No one else had more than 300. ... Topped Forbes' list of highest-earning female athletes for the second year in a row in 2025, with more than $30 million in prize money and endorsements. ... Last year became the youngest American woman since Serena Williams in 2002 to earn at least 10 wins against top-10 opponents.

She Said It: “I would like to go deep in all the Slams this year. Obviously, I would like to touch the No. 1 ranking.”

Read All About It: Coco Gauff reworked her serve during last year's US Open

Odds Are: +600

Seeded: 4

Career-Best Ranking: 3

Country: United States

Age: 24

Career Titles: 4

Grand Slam Titles: Zero — Best: Runner-Up, Wimbledon (2025), U.S. Open (2025)

Last 5 Australian Opens: 2025-2nd, 2024-4th, 2023-1st, 2022-4th, 2021-Did Not Play

Aces: Reached her first two Grand Slam finals during a breakthrough 2025, finishing as the runner-up to Swiatek at Wimbledon and to Sabalenka at the U.S. Open. ... The Australian Open is now the only major where she hasn’t been past the fourth round; she’s been to at least the semifinals at all three others. ... Has big strokes and possesses what might just be the best backhand on tour.

She Said It: “It was a great year for me. I was really happy with my consistency throughout, and I feel like I had a lot of new experiences and a lot of lessons learned to go into this year.”

Read All About It: Anisimova uses wins over Osaka and Swiatek to reach the US Open final

Odds Are: +900

Seeded: 9

Career-Best Ranking: 5

Country: United States

Age: 30

Career Titles: 10

Grand Slam Titles: 1 — Australian Open (2025)

Last 5 Australian Opens: 2025-W, 2024-DNP, 2023-3rd, 2022-SF, 2021-DNP

Aces: Captured her first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open a year ago, upsetting Swiatek in the semifinals and Sabalenka in the final. ... Best career moments have come on hard courts, including a runner-up showing at the U.S. Open in 2017 and six of her total seven major semifinal appearances. ... Lost in the first round at Flushing Meadows in her most recent Grand Slam tournament.

She Said It: “I finally got to the point where (winning a major) didn’t matter anymore, and I didn’t need it anymore. And then I still got it because I wanted it.”

Read All About It: Madison Keys credits therapy for helping her on and off the tennis court

Odds Are: +2000

Ranked: 576 (Not seeded)

Career-Best Ranking: 1

Country: United States

Age: 45

Career Titles: 49

Grand Slam Titles: 7 — U.S. Open (2: 2000, 2001), Wimbledon (5: 2000, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2008)

Last 5 Australian Opens: 2025-DNP, 2024-DNP, 2023-DNP, 2022-DNP, 2021-2nd

Aces: Hadn't played at any Grand Slam tournament in two full years until the U.S. Open last August and will be appearing in her second in a row after receiving a wild card from Tennis Australia. ... This is her 22nd appearance at Melbourne Park; the first was in 1998. She was the runner-up here to younger sister Serena in 2003 and 2017. ... After 16 months away from the tour, Williams returned to action in July at Washington, winning one match in singles and one in doubles. ... She will be the oldest player to compete in singles at the Australian Open.

She Said It: “It does not get old; it just gets more exciting.”

Read All About It: Venus Williams' return to Grand Slam tennis meant more than the result

Odds Are: Not Listed

Venus Williams of the U.S. hits a backhand to Magda Linette of Poland during her singles match of the ASB Classic Women's Tennis Tournament in Auckland, New Zealand, Tuesday Jan. 6, 2026. (Andrew Cornaga/Photosport via AP)

FILE - Amanda Anisimova, of the United States, returns a shot against Aryna Sabalenka, of Belarus, during the women's finals of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Sept. 6, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

Coco Gauff of the U.S. hits a forehand to Iga Swiatek of Poland during their semifinal match at the United Cup tennis tournament in Sydney, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

Iga Swiatek of Poland hits a backhand to Belinda Bencic of Switzerland during their final match at the United Cup tennis tournament in Sydney, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus plays a shot during the women's final match against Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine at the Brisbane International tennis tournament in Brisbane, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard)

The U.N. Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting Thursday to discuss Iran's deadly protests at the request of the United States, even as President Donald Trump left unclear what actions he would take against the Islamic state.

Tehran appeared to make conciliatory statements in an effort to defuse the situation after Trump threatened to take action to stop further killing of protesters, including the execution of anyone detained in Tehran’s bloody crackdown on nationwide protests.

Iran’s crackdown on the demonstrations has killed at least 2,615, the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported. The death toll exceeds any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades and recalls the chaos surrounding the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Iran closed its airspace to commercial flights for hours without explanation early Thursday and some personnel at a key U.S. military base in Qatar were advised to evacuate. The U.S. Embassy in Kuwait also ordered its personnel to “temporary halt” travel to the multiple military bases in the small Gulf Arab country.

Iran previously closed its airspace during the 12-day war against Israel in June.

Here is the latest:

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi has spoken with his counterpart in Iran, who said the situation was “now stable,” China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

Abbas Araghchi said “he hoped China will play a greater role in regional peace and stability” during the talks, according to the statement from the ministry.

“China opposes imposing its will on other countries, and opposes a return to the ‘law of the jungle’,” Wang said.

“China believes that the Iranian government and people will unite, overcome difficulties, maintain national stability, and safeguard their legitimate rights and interests,” he added. “China hopes all parties will cherish peace, exercise restraint, and resolve differences through dialogue. China is willing to play a constructive role in this regard.”

“We are against military intervention in Iran,” Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told journalists in Istanbul on Thursday. “Iran must address its own internal problems… They must address their problems with the region and in global terms through diplomacy so that certain structural problems that cause economic problems can be addressed.”

Ankara and Tehran enjoy warm relations despite often holding divergent interests in the region.

Fidan said the unrest in Iran was rooted in economic conditions caused by sanctions, rather than ideological opposition to the government.

Iranians have been largely absent from an annual pilgrimage to Baghdad, Iraq, to commemorate the death of Imam Musa al-Kadhim, one of the twelve Shiite imams.

Many Iranian pilgrims typically make the journey every year for the annual religious rituals.

Streets across Baghdad were crowded with pilgrims Thursday. Most had arrived on foot from central and southern provinces of Iraq, heading toward the shrine of Imam al-Kadhim in the Kadhimiya district in northern Baghdad,

Adel Zaidan, who owns a hotel near the shrine, said the number of Iranian visitors this year compared to previous years was very small. Other residents agreed.

“This visit is different from previous ones. It lacks the large numbers of Iranian pilgrims, especially in terms of providing food and accommodation,” said Haider Al-Obaidi.

Europe’s largest airline group said Thursday it would halt night flights to and from Tel Aviv and Jordan's capital Amman for five days, citing security concerns as fears grow that unrest in Iran could spiral into wider regional violence.

Lufthansa — which operates Swiss, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and Eurowings — said flights would run only during daytime hours from Thursday through Monday “due to the current situation in the Middle East.” It said the change would ensure its staff — which includes unionized cabin crews and pilots -- would not be required to stay overnight in the region.

The airline group also said its planes would bypass Iranian and Iraqi airspace, key corridors for air travel between the Middle East and Asia.

Iran closed its airspace to commercial flights for several hours early Thursday without explanation.

A spokesperson for Israel’s Airport Authority, which oversees Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport, said the airport was operating as usual.

Iranian state media has denied claims that a young man arrested during Iran’s recent protests was condemned to death. The statement from Iran’s judicial authorities on Thursday contradicted what it said were “opposition media abroad” which claimed the young man had been quickly sentenced to death during a violent crackdown on anti-government protests in the country.

State television didn’t immediately give any details beyond his name, Erfan Soltani. Iranian judicial authorities said Soltani was being held in a detention facility outside of the capital. Alongside other protesters, he has been accused of “propaganda activities against the regime,” state media said.

New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters said Thursday that his government was “appalled by the escalation of violence and repression” in Iran.

“We condemn the brutal crackdown being carried out by Iran’s security forces, including the killing of protesters,” Peters posted on X.

“Iranians have the right to peaceful protest, freedom of expression, and access to information – and that right is currently being brutally repressed,” he said.

Peters said his government had expressed serious concerns to the Iranian Embassy in Wellington.

A demonstrator lights a cigarette with a burning poster depicting Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a rally in support of Iran's anti-government protests, in Holon, Israel, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Protesters participate in a demonstration in support of the nationwide mass protests in Iran against the government, in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Protesters participate in a demonstration in support of the nationwide mass protests in Iran against the government, in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)