This is an Australian Open not to be missed. Carlos Alcaraz is, incredibly, going for a career grand slam at just 21 years of age. Jannik Sinner is striving to go back-to-back in Melbourne, while Novak Djokovic is pushing for an 11th title. And that’s just the men’s draw. The women’s singles will be incredibly tight, thanks to the genuine depth on the WTA Tour.

It’s always hard at the start of a season to assess the state of play and settle on the women’s favourite for Melbourne Park. Aryna Sabalenka, however, has been the dominant player on hard courts during much of the past few years. I feel Aryna has really settled into that position of world No.1 and will be hard to beat as she tries to win three Australian titles in a row. One of the top traits she has developed is great consistency. Plus, the Australian Open naturally suits her. Aryna also is now very comfortable playing in the latter stages of slams, fitted with the right temperament.

China’s Zheng Qinwen will be in the mix again, having made the final in Melbourne last year when Sabalenka was almost unbeatable. Zheng’s game has developed and grown in spades. She’s coming off a gold medal triumph in Paris as well. There were various other big wins throughout the year for her, too, including when she lost to world No.3 Coco Gauff to just miss a WTA Finals triumph.

As for Gauff, there’s no reason why she now can’t go deep in Melbourne. Previously, she’s probably just fallen at those hurdles midway through the event a few times. But with more experience behind her, and that big win in Saudi Arabia, there’s no reason as to why she can’t be there in the conversation. With all those girls in the world’s top 10, the margins are so fine throughout those matches. Whoever plays those big moments well, whoever is able to have clarity in the moment and really execute their skills, will prevail.

But who’s my tip to win? I’ve settled on the world No.6 and former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina. I think she’s ideally placed to go one better in Melbourne after being beaten in an epic three-set final against Sabalenka two years ago.

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As for my fellow Australians, the country has been able to create a bit more depth within the women’s game with those players ranked between 100 and 200. A few of our next generation of players – including Olivia Gadecki, Emerson Jones and now Maya Joint – have developed well.

It’s an exciting period for the country. We’re going to have a very full quota of Aussie girls in the quallies draw, with some of them looking to be able to take that step and getting into the main draw of a slam for a first time; some others trying to do it again. There are more than a few Australian girls to keep an eye on: Maya rightly got a wildcard, which is a good opportunity. Emerson is in her first Australian Open as well. She’s very young – it will all be very new and exciting for her.

Sometimes you need a little bit of luck with who you draw in those early rounds. It would be nice to see some of those girls avoid the top-10 girls, just to give them a chance to get going. Fingers crossed for a bit of luck.