'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Tennis action returns to Melbourne Park for the 2022 Australian Open, scheduled to begin on 17 January. Headlining the women's draw at this year's tournament are defending champion Naomi Osaka and World No. 1 Asheligh Barty.
The two title favorites are joined by fellow Slam champions Garbine Muguruza, Simona Halep, Petra Kvitova, Emma Raducanu, Victoria Azarenka and Iga Swiatek, as well as the likes of Aryna Sabalenka and Paula Badosa who are gunning for their first Major.
Add in-form players like Anett Kontaveit and Maria Sakkari to the mix, and the Australian Open has an incredibly competitive field. With main-draw action set to begin on Monday, here is a look at the prospects of the top names in the fray.
Trending
1st quarter: Naomi Osaka on collision course with Ashleigh Barty; Ons Jabeur, Belinda Bencic, Maria Sakkari look to upset the apple cart
Top seeds: [1] Ashleigh Barty, [5] Maria Sakkari, [9] Ons Jabeur, [13] Naomi Osaka
Dark horse: Amanda Anisimova
Top seed Ashleigh Barty got her 2022 season off to a flying start, lifting a 14th career title in Adelaide. The World No. 1 will now head into the year's opening Slam brimming with confidence.
Barty opens her Australian Open campaign against a qualifier and has a rather straightforward path to the third round, where she could face her first real test in the form of mercurial Italian Camila Giorgi. Giorgi will, however, have to first find a way past Russia's Anastasia Potapova in her opening match.
Defending champion Naomi Osaka and Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic also feature in this section of the draw and could meet as early as the third round.
Osaka has a poor record against Bencic (1-3), but she did look in ominous form at the Melbourne Summer Set, winning three matches before withdrawing due to injury.
Australia has been a happy hunting ground for the Japanese and if she can find her rhythm early, especially on serve, she could set up a fourth-round showdown with Barty.
The next highest seeds in the first quarter are Ons Jabeur and Maria Sakkari. Jabeur had to withdraw from her Sydney semifinal with a lower back injury, but will be hopeful of recovering in time for the Slam. Jabeur has fond memories of the Australian Open, where she made the quarterfinals back in 2020.
The versatile Tunisian opens against Nuria Parrizas-Dias and could face a stern test from one of 2021's breakout stars, 21st seed Jessica Pegula, in the third round.
Sakkari, meanwhile, will have her work cut out. After opening against Tatjana Maria, the Greek could face Aliaksandra Sasnovich and Veronika Kudermetova in the second and third rounds. Sasnovich and Kudermetova are in fantastic form, having made the finals at warm-up events in Melbourne last week.
Prediction: Ashleigh Barty def. Maria Sakkari
2nd quarter: Barbora Krejcikova, Paula Badosa face challenge from former champions Sofia Kenin and Victoria Azarenka
Top seeds: [4] Barbora Krejcikova, [8] Paula Badosa, [11] Sofia Kenin, [15] Elina Svitolina
Dark horse: Victoria Azarenka
Fourth seed Barbora Krejcikova will take on former top-10 player Andrea Petkovic in her opening match. Both women made a strong start to 2022, with Petkovic reaching the quarterfinals at the Melbourne Summer Set and Krejcikova still playing in Sydney.
Krejcikova's potential fourth-round opponent, Elina Svitolina, will need to put her horrid start to the season behind her and raise her game if she is to stand a chance of coming through her section. The Ukrainian will face a tricky opening test against Fiona Ferro.
Two-time Slam champion Victoria Azarenka's presence in this section further complicates matters for Svitolina.
Eighth seed Paula Badosa has also been handed a tricky opener against home favorite Ajla Tomjlanovic. The Spaniard, who started her season with a loss to Azarenka, will need to be at her best against Tomjlanovic, who is capable of pulling off an upset.
Sofia Kenin, another former champion in this section, opens against the big-hitting Madison Keys in an all-American clash.
If she were to come through that encounter, she could run into another big striker of the ball, Jaqueline Cristian, in the second round, with 18th seed Coco Gauff potentially lying in wait in the third.
Prediction: Paula Badosa def. Barbora Krejcikova
3rd quarter: Garbine Muguruza, Anett Kontaveit on course for WTA Finals rematch
Top seeds: [3] Garbine Muguruza, [6] Anett Kontaveit, [12] Elena Rybakina, [14] Simona Halep
Dark horse: Danielle Collins
The year's first Slam could throw up a rematch of the 2021 WTA Finals summit clash, with Garbine Muguruza and Anett Kontaveit on a collision course.
Muguruza has been handed a relatively easy draw, with 29th seed Tamara Zidansek and Alize Cornet the only players capable of testing the Spaniard before the fourth round. Muguruza could face former World No. 1 Simona Halep in the last 16.
The Romanian, however, will first need to find a way past the winner of the blockbuster opening-round match between Emma Raducanu and Sloane Stephens. Halep showed glimpses of her best tennis during her title run at the Melbourne Summer Set and will hope to carry that momentum into the Australian Open.
For Anett Kontaveit, the challenge would be to sustain the level that she has been playing at for the last few months. The Estonian ended the 2021 season with a flourish, breaking into the top 10 and lifitng back-to-back titles before finishing runner-up at the WTA Finals.
The Estonian, however, has never been seeded as high as No. 6 in a Grand Slam and there is bound to be some pressure.
With a number of dangerous floaters, including the resurgent Ana Konjuh and American duo Shelby Rogers and Danielle Collins, crowding her section, she will have to be cautious at every stage.
Kontaveit's projected opponent in the fourth round, Elena Rybakina, is another player to keep an eye on. The Kazakh's power-packed game is tailor-made for hardcourts and she could well give the top names a run for their money.
Prediction: Simona Halep def. Elena Rybakina
4th quarter: Aryna Sabalenka, Petra Kvitova, Iga Swiatek, Angelique Kerber crowd a packed section
Top seeds: [2] Aryna Sabalenka, [7] Iga Swiatek, [10] Anastasia Pavlyuvchenkova, [16] Angelique Kerber
Dark horse: Petra Kvitova
Second seed Aryna Sabalenka should be able to come through her opening couple of matches without much trouble. Sabalenka opens against Storm Sanders and could use the encounter to fine-tune her game. Her first real test could come against Marketa Vondrousova in the third round.
The winner of that encounter could take on either 16th seed and former champion Angelique Kerber or 2021 US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez for a spot in the quarterfinals.
Kerber, who had a renaissance of sorts during the back end of 2021, opens against the ever-dangerous Kaia Kanepi and is likely to run into Fernandez in the third round.
The two southpaws played a competitive match at the US Open, and could provide another classic in the third round at Melbourne Park.
Elsewhere in the quarter, Iga Swiatek, Petra Kvitova and Anastasia Pavlyuvchenkova lead a field of power-hitters.
Swiatek will play a qualifier in the first round, but could face Sabalenka's conqueror from Melbourne, Rebecca Peterson, in the second round. Things will not get any easier for the Pole as experienced players like Daria Kasatkina and Anastasija Sevastova potentially lie in wait.
Pavlyuvchenkova, meanwhile, will play her first match of the season against Anna Bondar. Kvitova, the Russian's potential third-round opponent, opens against Sorana Cirstea.
The Czech hasn't had the best of times playing in Australia since her run to the final in 2019 and will need to find her best tennis in order to put up a fight against a number of in-form players in her section.
Prediction: Iga Swiatek def. Angelique Kerber
Prediction for semifinals
Ashleigh Barty def. Paula Badosa
Simona Halep def. Iga Swiatek
Prediction for the final
Ashleigh Barty def. Simona Halep
Notable first-round encounters
Barbora Krejcikova vs Andrea Petkovic
Sofia Kenin vs Madison Keys
Emma Raducanu vs Sloane Stephens
Petra Kvitova vs Sorana Cirstea
Who is Naomi Osaka's boyfriend? All you need to know about the tennis star's dating history timeline
