Australia’s world No.1 Ash Barty headlines a stellar field at the 2022 Adelaide International, where main-draw action begins on Monday at Memorial Drive Tennis Centre.
Barty is the top seed ahead of world No.2 Aryna Sabalenka, who could meet Barty in a blockbuster final – the continuation of a rivalry that is currently locked at four wins apiece.
But Barty and Sabalenka must first contend with several other challenges in a WTA 500 field featuring eight of the world’s top 15.
> DRAW: Adelaide International women’s singles
The men are back in Adelaide for the first time since 2020, with the ATP 250 draw led by top three seeds Gael Monfils, Karen Khachanov and Marin Cilic – all former top-10 stars.
A trio of Australian wildcards – Alex Bolt, Aleksandar Vukic and Thanasi Kokkinakis – add plenty of local interest, with Kokkinakis opening his campaign against fellow Aussie John Millman in one of the biggest first-round matches.
The victor would progress to a second-round showdown with Frances Tiafoe, the entertaining American who rounds out the top four seeds in Adelaide.
> DRAW: Adelaide International men’s singles
Other names to note in the ATP field are rapidly-improving Italian teen Lorenzo Musetti, fifth seed Marton Fucsovics – a Wimbledon quarterfinalist in 2021 – and Tommy Paul, the No.6 seed who broke through for his first ATP title in Stockholm just a few months ago.
Women’s draw stacked with stars
Perhaps the most notable first-round match-up in Adelaide is between fourth seed Paula Badosa and two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka.
Badosa pipped Azarenka in a three-hour thriller – and what was considered to be one of the finest matches of 2021 – to win the biggest title of her career at Indian Wells.
Now a top-10 player, Badosa will attempt to repeat the feat against Azarenka to set up a potential meeting with another two-time major winner in Petra Kvitova.
Kvitova opens against wildcard Priscilla Hon, one of four Australian women in the draw.
In addition to Hon and Barty, in-form wildcard Storm Sanders will attempt to upset seventh seed Elena Rybakina in round one while Ajla Tomljanovic begins against Heather Watson, with the winner to potentially face Australian Open 2020 champion Sofia Kenin.
Kenin, the sixth seed, has drawn a qualifier in her first-round match and is projected to meet Barty in the quarterfinals, in what would be a rematch of their tight AO 2020 semifinal.
But Barty must first deal with a likely second-round clash with 17-year-old phenom Coco Gauff, who like Kenin opens against a qualifier.
Defending champion Iga Swiatek returns to Adelaide as the fifth seed and has landed in the Badosa-Azarenka-Kvitova quarter, with a possible second-round meeting looming against unseeded US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez of Canada.
Meanwhile, third seed Maria Sakkari and No.8 seed Elina Svitolina have been placed in the bottom half of the draw, along with Sabalenka.
Qualifying underway
Qualifying action has kicked off today at Memorial Drive, with South Australian 17-year-olds Edward Winter and Charlotte Kempenaers-Pocz set to star.
Winter plays Japan’s Taro Daniel while Kempenaers-Pocz battles Rebecca Marino of Canada.
Also hoping to progress a step closer to the main draw is Daria Saville (formerly Gavrilova), who takes on American Caty McNally for a place in the final round of qualifying.
Saville and Kempenaers-Pocz are among five Aussie women in the 16-player qualifying draw – the others are Maddison Inglis, Abbie Myers and Alexandra Bozovic – while Winter is joined in men’s qualifying by countrymen Matt Ebden, John-Patrick Smith and Henry Lamchinniah.