MELBOURNE, Australia - A trio of talented home favorites round out the wildcard entries for the 2020 Australian Open.
Tennis Australia awarded the final three wildcards to Lizette Cabrera, Priscilla Hon and Astra Sharma on Friday, in the tournament's second wildcard announcement of the week.
On Thursday, former champion and five-time major winner Maria Sharapova was announced as the recipient of a wildcard.
Read more: Sharapova awarded Australian Open wildcard
A pair of debutants for the Australian Fed Cup team in 2019, Hon and Sharma will be making return trips to the Melbourne main draw after they faced off in the first round a year ago.
The 21-year-old Hon, the Aussie No.5 at World No.122, will be making her third Australian Open appearance, while Vanderbilt University alumna Sharma, who reached the mixed doubles final in Cinderella fashion with compatriot John-Patrick Smith last year, makes her second.
Thank you @TennisAustralia! Can’t wait to get out there! 😎💪🏽 https://t.co/1tRELaVHGB
— Astra Sharma (@astrasharma) January 10, 2020
The 24-year-old Sharma is currently ranked World No.111 as the country's No.4, behind World No.1 Ashleigh Barty, Ajla Tomljanovic and Samantha Stosur, making her the highest-ranking Aussie who did not receive direct entry to this year's main draw.
Cabrera enjoyed a stellar second half of 2019, which saw her win three ITF Pro Circuit titles and cut her ranking in half. Ranked outside the Top 250 after Wimbledon, the 22-year-old won 26 of her last 34 matches to rise to a career-best World No.127.
Set to be the No.2 seed at last month's Australian wildcard playoff, ultimately won by Arina Rodionova, Cabrera was forced to withdraw due to personal reasons -- but nonetheless will return for a third career main draw appearance Down Under.
Hey guys, to those who don’t know why I pulled out of the wc playoff it was due to a family emergency. And for those who have reached out and shown their love and support, I really appreciate it. Grateful to have an amazing support network. ❤️ (1/2)
— Lizette Cabrera (@lizzycabrera97) December 11, 2019
The full list of wildcard entries is as follows:
1. Astra Sharma
2. Priscilla Hon
3. Lizette Cabrera
4. Maria Sharapova
5. Arina Rodionova (AO Playoff winner)
6. Na-Lae Han (Asia-Pacific Wildcard Playoff winner)
7. Pauline Parmentier (FFT reciprocal)
8. CoCo Vandeweghe (USTA reciprocal)
So excited and grateful to be awarded a main draw wildcard into AO! Thank you @TennisAustralia for the opportunity so excited to get after it 💃🏽💃🏽 https://t.co/sMR1cwxowb
— Lizette Cabrera (@lizzycabrera97) January 9, 2020