The draws for the first two WTA 500 tournaments of the Australian summer were held on Friday in Melbourne. The Yarra Valley Classic and the Gippland Trophy will kick off on Sunday 31 January 2021 and end on Saturday 6 February, two days before the Australian Open start on the same Melbourne Park venue. Each of the two tournaments features 54 singles players in the main draw. The top-10 seeds in the singles draws of these two tournaments receive first-round byes.
World number 1 and 2019 Roland Garros champion Ashleigh Barty is the number 1 seed at the the Yarra Valley Classic. The home star is on collision course for a potential quarter final against number 7 seed Petra Martic from Croatia. Samantha Stosur also features in the top quarter of the draw.
Twenty-three Grand Slam champion and number 5 seed Serena Williams could face in a potential blockbuster quarter final match against Karolina Pliskova in the top half of the draw. The winner of this match could potentially meet Barty in the semifinal.
Two-time Grand Slam champion and number 4 seed Petra Kvitova could take on 2019 Roland Garros finalist Marketa Vondrousova in a possible all-Czech quarter final clash in the bottom half of the draw.
In the bottom half of the draw Seven-time Grand Slam singles champion Venus Williams will start her Australian campaign against Netherlands’ Aranxta Rus in the first round and could face off Kvitova in a potential second round clash.
Last year’s Australian Open champion and Roland Garros finalist Sofia Kenin could face two-time Grand Slam champion Garbine Muguruza in the quarter final. It could be a potential re-match of the 2020 Australian Open final. Muguruza might face a potential Round of 16 clash against Russia’s Anastasya Pavlyuchenkova, who advanced to the quarter finals in three of the last four editions of the Australian Open.
Simona Halep leads the draw at the Gippsland Trophy
Reigning Wimbledon champion and number 2 seed Simona Halep leads the line-up at the Gippsland Trophy. The Romanian star is projected to face last year’s Roland Garros champion Iga Swiatek. The young Polish star upset Halep in the Round of 16 of the 2020 French Open en route to her maiden Grand Slam title.
Number 4 seed Aryna Sabalenka in the top name in the second quarter of the draw. The Belarusian player won three titles in Dubai, Ostrava and Linz last year and the first tournament of the 2021 season in Abu Dhabi and extended her winning streak to 15 consecutive matches. Sabalenka could face a potential quarter final clash against Czech Republic’s Karolina Muchova.
In the bottom half of the draw number 3 seed and 2018 WTA Finals champion Elina Svitolina could potentaiiy clash against number 7 and 2018 Australian Open semifinalist Elise Mertens from Belgium. This quarter of the draw also features former top 10 players Jelena Ostapenko, Sara Errani, Caroline Garcia and Andrea Petkovic. Ostapenko will face 2012 Roland Garros finalist and this year’s Australian Open qualifier Errani.
Two-time US Open champion Naomi Osaka could meet Coco Gauff in the Round of 16 is on collision course for a quarter final clash against three-time Grand Slam semifinalist Johanna Konta. Osaka defeated Gauff 6-3 6-0 at the 2019 US Open. The US teenager avenged this defeat with a 6-3 6-4 win over her Japanese rival at the 2020 Australian Open. The Grampians Trophy, a third WTA 500 tournament, will start on Wednesday. This additional tournament will feature by players, who had to spend 14 days of hard quarantine on their arrival to Australia. Canada’s Bianca Andreescu (US Open champion in 2019) will play in her first tournament since the 2019 WTA Finals in Shenzhen. The line-up will also feature two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka, three-time Grand Slam winner Angelique Kerber, former US Open champions Sloane Sloane Stephens and Svetlana Kuznetsova, 2019 US Open semifinalist Belinda Bencic and top 20 player Elena Rybakina.