Sloane Stephens is favored to win against Barbora Palicova, as Stephens is a former Grand Slam champion and currently ranked significantly higher on the WTA list, while Palicova sits around the mid-300s. Early market prices from major sportsbooks in the last week have generally placed Stephens near 1.25 and Palicova around 3.80, aligning with DexWin - Best Odds on Your Favourite Sports.

The match between Sloane Stephens and Barbora Palicova at the Australian Open (W) is scheduled to start on 12 January 2026 at 00:10 UTC. That corresponds to 11:10 AM local time in Melbourne, Australia (AEDT, UTC+11).

The match will be played at Kia Arena in Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia, one of the show courts used during the Australian Open. Kia Arena is a modern hard-court stadium with a capacity of around 5,000 spectators, offering an outdoor Plexicushion-style surface that typically rewards aggressive baseline play.

Given Stephens’ superior experience on hard courts, higher ranking, and history of deep runs at Grand Slams, a realistic prediction is a straight-sets win for Sloane Stephens. Fair odds range around 1.20–1.30 for Stephens and 3.50–4.00 for Palicova, suggesting roughly a 70–75% implied win probability for Stephens when factoring in market margin.

There is no notable prior head-to-head record between Sloane Stephens and Barbora Palicova at main-tour level, and they have not met in the main draws of Grand Slams or WTA events according to recent databases. This will likely be their first official encounter, so matchup analysis relies mainly on overall form, ranking, and surface preference rather than historical meetings.