Rybakina tops Star of the Swing fan vote following Australian Open title

The results are in for the first WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz Star of the Swing.

With 61 percent of the vote, Elena Rybakina was named the star of the Australian swing. She went 9-1 across the month and captured her second career Grand Slam at the Australian Open. In Melbourne, she closed the tournament by beating three Top 6 players, defeating Iga Swiatek and Jessica Pegula in straight sets before edging World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the final.

Rybakina moved up to No. 3 in the PIF WTA Rankings, tying her career high.

Iva Jovic, 18, received the second-most votes. The American went 11-3 during the Australian swing, upsetting seventh seed Jasmine Paolini in Melbourne and becoming the youngest Australian Open quarterfinalist in 19 years. That result moved her up to No. 20 in the PIF WTA Rankings, a new career high.

In third place was Elina Svitolina, who opened the season with 10 straight wins and captured the 19th title of her career in Auckland. In Melbourne, she upset Diana Shnaider, Mirra Andreeva and Coco Gauff to reach the Australian Open semifinals. The run lifted her back into the Top 10 for the first time since October 2021, joining fellow mother Belinda Bencic and marking the first time in WTA Tour history that two mothers have occupied those spots at the same time.

Also receiving votes was Brisbane champion and Australian Open runner-up Sabalenka, Australian Open doubles champions Elise Mertens and Zhang Shuai, Australian Open semifinalist Pegula, Adelaide champion Andreeva, Adelaide finalist Victoria Mboko and United Cup MVP Belinda Bencic.

A fan vote for Star of the Swing will follow each swing this season. The Middle East swing wraps up Feb. 21 after the back-to-back WTA 1000 events in Doha and Dubai, and the Sunshine swing begins Feb. 23 with the Merida Open and ATX Open.