Five of the WTA Top 10 are in action at next week's Sydney Tennis Classic, a WTA 500 event that begins on Monday, Jan. 10.
The Sydney field includes a bevy of notable returns to action. 2021 WTA Finals champion Garbiñe Muguruza, 2021 Roland Garros champion Barbora Krejcikova and WTA Finals runner-up Anett Kontaveit are all set to kick off their seasons at Sydney Olympic Park. Also set to play their first tournaments of the new season are US Open champion Emma Raducanu, World No.10 Ons Jabeur and Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic.
Week 2 Draws: Sydney (WTA 500) | Adelaide 2 (WTA 250)
World No.1 Ashleigh Barty's withdrawal from the tournament due to a change in schedule on Monday resulted in a slight shuffle in the draw, with No.3 seed Barbora Krejcikova moving to take Barty's spot at the top of the draw. Krejcikova, who was set to face Bencic in the first round, now has a bye into the second round. Bencic will face a qualifier or lucky loser.
Also in the top half of the draw are No.4 seed Kontaveit, No.7 Jabeur and No.9 Elena Rybakina, with Petra Kvitova, Raducanu and Jessica Pegula also floating as unseeded threats. Kontaveit, who finished the 2021 season on an incredible tear, will open her 2022 campaign against China's Zhang Shuai. Jabeur takes on Australia wildcard Astra Sharma.
Iga Swiatek, who was slated to face Raducanu in the first round, withdrew due to a rib injury after her semifinal run in Adelaide. Raducanu will open against Adelaide finalist Rybakina.
The bottom half of the draw features a pair of marquee opening matches. No.5 seed and Indian Wells champion Paula Badosa takes on Jelena Ostapenko in the first round, with the winner facing either Ajla Tomljanovic or a qualifier in the second round. And No.8 seed Sofia Kenin continues to pave her way back with a first-round match against Daria Kasatkina.
Aryna Sabalenka takes a wildcard into Adelaide 2
World No.2 Aryna Sabalenka tops the field at the Adelaide International 2, a WTA 250 event that includes No.2 seed Elina Svitolina and No.3 seed Coco Gauff.
Main draw of the Adelaide International 2 (WTA 250), where Aryna Sabalenka, Elina Svitolina Coco Gauff, and Tamara Zidansek are the top seeds. #AdelaideTennis pic.twitter.com/2zwn7IueMF
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) January 8, 2022
Looking to bounce back from a first-round loss to Anastasia Gasanova last week in Adelaide, Svitolina will face Madison Keys in the first round.
Gauff, who led Barty by a set and a break in second round of Adelaide before losing in three sets, will face Katerina Siniakova in the first round.
