sport news MIKE DICKSON: Iga Swiatek looks the favourite at the Australian Open with ... trends now
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It could be said that Iga Swiatek has one advantage as she begins her pursuit of the Australian Open title this morning — she is not pregnant.
The unusual reality as the tournament starts is that three of the most recent champions, with a total of four trophies between them, are expecting their first child.
Last year’s winner Ash Barty announced earlier this month that she was pregnant, and within a week Naomi Osaka, victor in 2019 and 2021, confirmed her absence by revealing the same news. Germany’s Angelique Kerber, who won in 2016, is also not here as she prepares to become a mother.
Iga Swiatek will be looking to add to her US and French Open titles in Australia
This is the tournament that was won by Serena Williams in 2017 while, it later turned out, she was expecting. Meanwhile Caroline Wozniacki, the 2018 champion, welcomed her second child into the world less than three months ago.
All that combines to mean that, by the second round of the event, only one former women’s Australian Open winner will be left in the field because two other champions of recent times, Victoria Azarenka and American Sofia Kenin, face off against each other.
This has all contributed to the current state
