A yaw bearing assembly configured to rotatably couple a nacelle to a tower of a wind turbine to allow a rotation of the nacelle relative to the tower about a yaw axis, the yaw bearing assembly comprising a first yaw bearing component fixed to the tower or being integrally formed with the tower, a second yaw bearing component fixed to the nacelle or being integrally formed with the nacelle, and a plurality of sliding components having a sliding surface and being arranged between the first yaw bearing component and the second yaw bearing component, wherein at least one of the sliding components is an axially shiftable sliding component configured to axially shift in the direction of the yaw axis to change the preload and/or friction between the first yaw bearing component and the second yaw bearing component and at least one of the further sliding components is a fixed sliding component configured to be axially fixed to a position at the first yaw bearing component or at the second yaw bearing component, wherein said axially shiftable sliding component comprises a piston, a sliding pad, at least a seal and a pressure chamber, wherein the plurality of sliding components comprising the at least one sliding component and the at least one further sliding component is divided into a first group of sliding components and a second group of sliding components, wherein the first group of sliding components is located at the front part of the yaw bearing assembly and the second group of sliding components is located at the rear part of the yaw bearing assembly, wherein the front part is configured to be oriented towards a hub of the wind turbine and the rear part is configured to be oriented away from the hub of the wind turbine, characterized in that the first group of sliding components only consists of said axially shiftable sliding components, and in that the second group of sliding components comprises said axially shiftable sliding components. a second yaw bearing component fixed to the nacelle or being integrally formed with the nacelle, and a plurality of sliding components having a sliding surface and being arranged between the first yaw bearing component and the second yaw bearing component, wherein at least one of the sliding components is an axially shiftable sliding component configured to axially shift in the direction of the yaw axis to change the preload and/or friction between the first yaw bearing component and the second yaw bearing component and at least one of the further sliding components is a fixed sliding component configured to be axially fixed to a position at the first yaw bearing component or at the second yaw bearing component, wherein said axially shiftable sliding component comprises a piston, a sliding pad, at least a seal and a pressure chamber, wherein the plurality of sliding components comprising the at least one sliding component and the at least one further sliding component is divided into a first group of sliding components and a second group of sliding components, wherein the first group of sliding components is located at the front part of the yaw bearing assembly and the second group of sliding components is located at the rear part of the yaw bearing assembly, wherein the front part is configured to be oriented towards a hub of the wind turbine and the rear part is configured to be oriented away from the hub of the wind turbine, characterized in that the first group of sliding components only consists of said axially shiftable sliding components, and in that the second group of sliding components comprises said axially shiftable sliding components.