Unlike the current scenario of the ATP tour, picking a clear favorite on the women’s side isn’t exactly easy. But for former world No. 1 doubles player and tennis analyst Rennae Stubbs, the choice comes down to one player: Iga Świątek. Even though Świątek hasn’t had a perfect season, Stubbs believes her absolute best is still better than anyone else’s. On the flip side, she also explained why she has serious doubts about top rivals Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka.
Rennae Stubbs Predicts Iga Świątek Victory, Raising Doubts About Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka
Świątek has always been the tough one to beat on clay, boasting four French Open trophies alongside five WTA 1000/500 titles. But her 2026 season has been underwhelming, with quarterfinal exits in the Australian Open, Doha, and Indian Wells. To address it, she made coaching changes, now training under Francisco Roig, Rafael Nadal’s former longtime coach, and made a few technical adjustments.
Despite the chaos, Stubbs is sticking with the current world No. 3:
“If I’m putting money on anybody, honestly, it’s Iga. And not because I expected her to win this tournament. I was disappointed that she didn’t. I expected her to be in shambles because of how much turnover and how technically sort of all over the place she’s been. She gets panicky, and I haven’t liked the fact that she’s had a sort of confusing run-up. That said, what she did at the height of her powers in Rome looked untouchable.”
Świątek might be going through a confusing stretch, but if she finds her groove, she definitely will be the clear favorite.
Meanwhile, Stubbs isn’t nearly as confident in Gauff or Sabalenka. About the two major champions’ chances this year, she said:
“The ones that I have more question marks about for me are Coco and Aryna Sabalenka. Coco obviously won it last year. Aryna Sabalenka lost in the Finals. I don’t know what’s going on with Aryna. Clay is not obviously necessarily her part of the calendar to shine in, but she did get to a Finals last year and and arguably could have and maybe should have won it.”
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Gauff, the 2025 French Open champion, is yet to win a title this year, although she reached the late stages of several WTA 1000 events, including the runner-up finish in Miami and Rome.
Sabalenka, on the other hand, has firmly established herself as the most dominant player in women’s tennis, securing the WTA Year-End world No. 1 ranking for the second consecutive year, and even won the prestigious Laureus World Sports Award for Sportswoman of the Year. This year, she won three titles, the Brisbane International, the Indian Wells-Miami “Sunshine Double,” and reached the final of the Australian Open, while being over 1000 points ahead in the first place of the WTA rankings.