The third round of singles matches at the Australian Open has concluded, with the biggest upset being the elimination of No. 4 seed Paulini. Facing Svitolina, she won the first set but was ultimately reversed, suffering a humiliating 6-0 defeat in the third set.
With this, the top 16 of the Australian Open have been determined. The No. 4, 5, and 7 seeds have all been eliminated. However, the top four favorites for the championship—Sabalenka, Gauff, Swiatek, and Rybakina—all defeated their opponents 2-0 to advance.
Starting today, the women's singles will enter the fourth round of the competition. Players like Sabalenka and Gauff will make their appearances, and CCTV5 will broadcast the matches live.
The 2025 Australian Open women's singles top 16 matchups are as follows:
[1] Sabalenka vs. Mira Andreeva [14]
[18] Vekic vs. Pavlyuchenkova [27]
[3] Gauff vs. Bencic [11]
Badosa vs. Danilovic
[6] Rybakina vs. Keys [19]
Veronika Kudermetova vs. Svitolina [28]
[8] Navarro vs. Kasatkina [9]
[LL] Reese vs. Swiatek [2]
As the defending champion, Sabalenka will face tough challenges in the upcoming matches. Although she has an advantage against Andreeva, Andreeva defeated Sabalenka 2-1 in last year's French Open quarterfinals.
Even if Sabalenka advances, her likely opponent in the quarterfinals will be Vekic, who has a 6-2 record against Sabalenka and completely restrains her playing style.
Gauff's draw currently looks very favorable. She has achieved three consecutive victories in this Australian Open and has won eight consecutive matches, including the United Cup, showing strong momentum for the championship.
Gauff's opponent will be Bencic, who performed well in the previous match against Osaka Naomi but advanced directly due to her opponent's withdrawal. It will be very difficult for her to progress further.
If Gauff can defeat Bencic, her quarterfinal opponent will be either Badosa or Danilovic. Given Gauff's current form, it seems almost impossible for anyone to stop her from reaching the semifinals!
In the lower half of the draw, the favorites to win are Rybakina and Swiatek. In the previous match, Rybakina had some back problems, but after on-site treatment, there were no major issues.
Swiatek will face qualifier Reese, with a huge gap in strength. Swiatek has won all three rounds 2-0 and only lost 10 games in total, demonstrating excellent form.
In the lower half, as long as there are no major issues, it is most likely that Rybakina and Swiatek will meet in the semifinals. This Australian Open truly shows that only the strongest players can reach the end!
For fans, the upcoming matches will become increasingly exciting and intense, and they can watch with peace of mind!
However, with all Chinese players eliminated in the second round, viewership ratings have significantly dropped. Many fans may not know these unfamiliar players, so it is understandable that many fans choose not to watch.