Australian Open 2023 Women's Quarterfinalists - Issue #22

Week 1 of the Australian Open is a wrap. There were upsets, comebacks, and everything in between. What we're left with is a highly compelling field of 8 elite women.

Written by Dove Sallow

The first week of the Australian Open is officially a wrap. The quarterfinals are set in Melbourne, and I have to say, it's a pretty interesting bunch of women. But WTA is known for keeping us on our toes, right? This week, we're taking a look at your 2023 Australian Open Quarterfinalists. And if I can tell you one thing, it’s that we have a lot of big, flat hitting to look forward to.

Elena Rybakina

Elena Rybakina is one of the most talented and deserving players in this draw, so was it really an "upset" when she knocked out current world #1, Iga Świątek, in the Fourth Round? I guess it was, but I think a lot of people saw it coming. Her serve is one of the best we've seen in years and her power comes so naturally. You'll never see her muscle a shot to get power. Elena's power comes the right way - through great use of her legs and with fluid strokes. Because she was not awarded her rightful points at Wimbledon, she was a dangerous floater in this draw and had to take out some top seeds to reach the quarterfinals. Her match against Danielle Collins, last year's finalist, was a great one. Elena used her serve and powerful game to outhit Danielle from the back of the court. I actually think the fact that she had to face someone as lethal as Danielle so early in the draw really prepared her for her match against Iga. Against Iga, it took a while for Elena's serve to get going. But once she found it, the rest of her game caught fire. Iga was scrambling at the back of the court for most of the match, and that's exactly how Elena wanted it. Whenever Iga was able to extend the points, she usually had the edge, but those points were rare. With Elena's natural ability to blast winners off of virtually anything, she gave herself many chances, and she took them. As great as Iga is, there simply wasn't anything she could do against the power and serves that came her way. On a slower surface, Iga would've had a better chance. But when Elena isn't making errors, she's basically unplayable. The Kazakh's form is so technically sound that she really never has to force anything on the court. I believe this is the reason she often hits less errors than other massive hitters like Sabalenka. Elena should not be ranked as low as she is, nor should she have to play a top seed so early - she should be one of the top seeds. But it really doesn't matter. Deny her all you'd like. She has the game to beat anybody and win any title, no matter what part of the draw you put her in. As 1 of only 3 Grand Slam winners left in the draw, Elena will be extremely difficult to take out.

Jelena Ostapenko

Jelena Ostapenko might be a surprising name for some of you to see in the quarterfinals. But as someone who's been a fan of hers and admired her for years, this result doesn't surprise me at all. Jelena is, in my opinion, top 3 on the tour in terms of raw talent. Her ball-striking ability is almost rhythmic. Once she finds her rhythm, it's like a symphony of winner after winner. When she falls out of rhythm, her level can be lackluster. But she's not a Grand Slam Champion for no reason. She's capable of getting hot for two weeks and blowing anyone off the court. I saw a lot of nasty comments online about her weight among other things. Jelena is a world-class athlete with a Grand Slam title to her name. She's currently set to rise back to number 11 in the world. People ridiculing her for her size while she's living out her dream look quite ridiculous. She's a tennis player and has proven she doesn't have to be shredded with muscles or paper thin to be one of the best at her job. Don't underestimate her. Her match against Kateryna Baindl in the Third Round was a warning to the field that she's found her game. She hit 37 winners and won 6-3, 6-0 in 66 minutes. I think a lot of people underestimated her against Gauff in the next round. But Jelena showed up in full force. After being broken by Coco in the 1st set, she broke back immediately. She served well and took her chances when returning. Gauff is quick, but Ostapenko's power was too much for her. Coco was constantly on the back foot, other than when she was making first serves. Ostapenko attacked Gauff's forehand frequently. It's true Coco has improved that wing, but she doesn't hit it with enough pace to prevent Ostapenko from dictating play. When they were in backhand to backhand rallies, Coco was able to hit winners and go toe to toe from the baseline. But Ostapenko's pace of shot off both wings is just suffocating. Even though many seem to disregard her as a Grand Slam Champion, her game speaks for itself. She's set to face Rybakina in the quarterfinals.

Jessica Pegula

Jessica Pegula was the most in form player coming into the tournament, so it's no surprise that she's in the quarterfinals. When she dispatched Iga Swiatek 6-2, 6-2 at the United Cup, she announced herself as one of the favorites for this title. Australia is actually the first Grand Slam quarterfinal that Jess ever reached, back in 2021. So in a way, this tournament is sort of where it all began. The conditions seem to favor her game style and she's not bothered by the heat. Jess hits the ball flat and hard, but still plays high percentage tennis. The American rarely goes for the lines and opts for moving her opponent side to side as opposed to corner to corner. This results in less errors and cleaner tennis, while still being aggressive. She's also a proficient mover and can last in long rallies. Jess is yet to lose a set in Melbourne and she's overcome some worthy opposition. She took out Marta Kostyuk 6-0, 6-2 in the Third Round. Marta is certainly no pushover, but Pegula was much steadier and hardly gave away any free points. Against Krejcikova in the Fourth Round, Jess was the more aggressive player. They play a similar style, but Pegula's flat hitting penetrated the court much more. Her greatest strength is her ability to hit with pace like it's no problem, while also hardly giving away any cheap points. She's a true strategist and executes what she wants to do on the court better than perhaps anyone left in the draw. Her tennis isn't flashy, but it's certainly effective.

Victoria Azarenka

Victoria Azarenka is a 2-time Grand Slam Champion, so it's fitting she finds herself back in the quarterfinals of the Major she won twice in back-to-back years (2012, 2013). As much as women's tennis has evolved and elevated over the years in terms of serve speed and power, Vika has these intangibles that can't be taught. She knows how to fight and compete for the biggest titles because she's won them before. She's by no means a ball-basher. She's aggressive, but also, very aware of when to play what shot. She can act like she's just rallying with you and before you know it, you're pulled so far off the court and you don't even know how you got there. Her First Round win over Sofia Kenin was impressive as she was able to get through an in-form Grand Slam Champion in straight sets. She also overcame a red-hot Madison Keys in three sets in the Third Round. Her match against Keys was a battle between one of the biggest servers vs the best returner on tour. But it was also a match between raw power vs tactical prowess. Once Vika works her way into a point, I'd give her the advantage every time. Her win over the new Giant Slayer, Lin Zhu, was also excellent. Zhu played a phenomenal first set before Vika asserted herself. And that brings me to my next point. Vika competes as well as anybody. She's never out of a match because of her willingness to fight. Sakkari, who is a fantastic player that I support, is someone who often fades away when things get tough in big matches. I'm not trying to single her out, but Zhu beat her in the Third Round. Vika was a mountain too high to climb for Zhu at this stage. Vika will face Pegula in the quarterfinals.

Magda Linette

Magda Linette is the real surprise quarterfinalist of this bunch! Magda has always had a ton of potential and has never been afraid of facing top players. If you remember, she took out Ash Barty at Roland Garros in 2021. Granted, Ash wasn't fully healthy. But Magda still played a phenomenal 6-1 set before Ash retired at 2-2 in the second set. Linette also took out Elina Svitolina in the Second Round of Wimbledon a few weeks later. She doesn't shy away from a challenge. I've always thought Magda was a phenomenal player and probably would've been a top 20 player years ago if she had a bigger serve. But she's quick around the court and hits a pretty flat ball. Once the point gets started, she can really hit with the best of them. She took out the 16th seed Anett Kontaveit, 19th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova, and 4th seed Caroline Garcia to reach the last 8. With a draw like that, no one can say she didn't earn her place in her first Grand Slam Quarterfinal. Against Kontaveit, she was hit off the court in the first set and was down a break in the second set. Just when you thought she was out of it, the Pole upped the pace on her ground strokes and found some beautiful out-wide serves. Against Garcia, Magda was actually down a break and Caroline was serving for the first set at 5-4. But she always gives herself a chance, no matter what the score is. I think the most compelling thing about Magda is her fighting spirit. She's inspired a lot of people this week, myself included.

Karolína Plíšková

Karolína Plíšková seems to always find herself back in this position. Whether she's out of form or in form, she clearly has the game to be here. The Czech is a former world #1 and has been in two Grand Slam Finals before, so she'll be pleased at this opportunity to go further in Australia. Her First Round opponent, Xiyu Wang, was actually quite tricky. Wang is a lefty with a big serve and a very heavy forehand. She's beaten a handful of top players in the past. With many wondering what kind of form Plíšková would be in, it was nice to see her come out on fire from the first point played in Melbourne. She's found her serve again and is striking her groundstrokes with conviction. She's re-enlisted her longtime coach, Sascha Bajin, and it's clear they put a ton of work in during the off-season. Karolína has scored 2 bagel sets so far in the first 4 rounds of the tournament. Some people have said she's had an easy draw. But anyone who knows tennis is well aware that it's quite difficult to bagel Yulia Putintseva and Shuai Zhang. These are two scrappy players that really make you work for the win. I think many people are overlooking Plíšková because of her draw, but she can only play who they put in front of her. She's winning matches comfortably and serving accurately. She's flying under the radar, but I would not be at all surprised if she finds herself in the Final in Australia. The Czech is playing at an extremely high level and hits the flattest ball out of any of the women left in the draw. The conditions are in her favor and she knows how to elevate her game toward the end of Slams. Karolína will play Linette in the quarterfinals.

Donna Vekić

Donna Vekić has reached a Grand Slam quarterfinal before this, but many wrote her off when the draw came out. I'm proud to say she was one of my two dark horse picks in my Newsletter from last week (feeling pretty smug right now... lol kidding). Donna suffered a pretty tragic injury at the 2021 Australian Open and lost in the Fourth Round. She underwent surgery and was sidelined for some time. It took a lot of commitment and effort to climb back to this level. I have unwavering respect for Donna and for how much dedication she's put into being a top player again. She survived a scare in the First Round against Oksana Selekhmeteva, where she won in a final set 10-point tie break. Donna followed up that grinder of a match with a 6-3, 6-0 win over 18th seed Liudmila Samsonova. If you've been following tennis, you know Liudmila had won 22 out of her last 27 matches going into her match with Vekic. For the Croatian to just blow her off the court like that, you know she is playing like a top 10 player right now. What was most impressive about that match was how Donna seemed to be able to get on top of basically every single rally. Whether she was serving or returning, she always seemed to find her way to an aggressive position. That is usually impossible against someone who hits and serves as well as Samsonova. Donna also took out Czech teenage prodigy, Linda Fruhvirtova in 3 sets in the Fourth Round. This was a tricky match for Donna, as she's not a fan of long rallies. Linda played excellently for those last two sets, but Donna simply had more firepower. She had more power on her serve as well as her ground strokes. On these courts, a willingness to be aggressive pays off. Donna has enlisted Pam Shriver into her coaching corner and it seems to be working out nicely. What I've been most impressed about this week is how excellent her drop shot has gotten. She has pretty great touch now, but to add to that, she also has excellent awareness of when to use that drop shot. Donna has also been willing to move into the forecourt to finish points off at the net. Her game is becoming more and more complete and her confidence is rapidly rising to where it should be. She will be a very tough out.

Aryna Sabalenka

Aryna Sabalenka is no stranger to Grand Slam quarterfinals. But would you believe me if I told you this is her first quarterfinal at the Australian Open? It's a bit puzzling. Aryna has played some great tennis so far this year. She won the title in Adelaide without dropping a set and is now in the final 8 in Melbourne without dropping a set. She dispatched Shelby Rogers, former doubles partner Elise Mertens, and 12th seed Belinda Bencic. In every match she's played thus far, her serve has been excellent. The serving display she's given has been a far cry from her serving troubles in 2022. Beyond that, she's been much more in control of her emotions this year. Some players seem to do well when they let out their frustrations, but Aryna seems to do better when she brushes off the negative. Her power has simply just been too much to handle for everyone she's faced this year. Bencic was in particularly great form and many were hyping their Fourth Round clash to be a blockbuster. But Aryna's serve and groundstrokes overwhelmed her. With how quick the courts are in Melbourne, it gives her opponents even less time to react. It's been really nice to see Sabalenka find some peace on the tennis court. Clearly, her new calm approach to tennis works well for her. Aryna will face Vekić in the quarterfinals.