The stage is set for the year's first Grand Slam event after the 2024 Australian Open main draw was made on Thursday in Melbourne.

The tournament will start off with some incredible first-round matches, including a rematch of the 2020 Roland Garros final between World No.1 Iga Swiatek and former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin.

Former Australian Open champions Naomi Osaka and Angelique Kerber are also making their Grand Slam returns after their respective maternity leaves, and they both have challenging first-round matches lined up against notable names.

View the full draw at the Australian Open website HERE!

Here is a quarter-by-quarter breakdown of some of the key players and storylines:

First quarter

No.1 seed Swiatek sits at the top of the table, but the draw still gave her one of the most difficult first-round opponents. Kenin is ranked just outside the seedings at World No.38, and she has proven she can win in Melbourne by taking the title Down Under in 2020.

Kenin also reached the Roland Garros final later that year, but then-unseeded phenom Swiatek beat her for the title. That match is the only previous meeting between the two major champions.

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Things will get no easier for the winner of that match: Swiatek or Kenin is guaranteed to face either 2016 Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber or 2022 Australian Open finalist Danielle Collins in the second round. Collins notably beat Swiatek in the 2022 Australian Open semifinals.

Former World No.1 Kerber returned to tour at United Cup last week as part of the victorious German team, and she will play her first Grand Slam event since 2022 Wimbledon. Kerber and Collins have split their two meetings -- but Collins' win over Kerber was a 6-0, 6-2 victory at the 2019 Australian Open.

No.19 seed Elina Svitolina could be a Round of 16 opponent for whoever comes out of that section. Svitolina, who returned from maternity leave herself just nine months ago, was an Auckland finalist last week.

At the other side of the first quarter is No.7 seed and reigning Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova. The Czech, who withdrew from this week's Adelaide event due to a hip injury, is slated to play a qualifier in the first round.

In Vondrousova's section sits two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka and former Roland Garros champion Jelena Ostapenko. No.18 Azarenka and No.11 Ostapenko would meet in the third round if seedings hold.

Second quarter

Another blockbuster first-round match kicks off the second quarter: No.3 seed Elena Rybakina, last year's Australian Open runner-up, will face former World No.1 Karolina Pliskova in the opening round.

Pliskova, who is the highest-ranked unseeded player at World No.37, was an Australian Open quarterfinalist last year. However, Rybakina has won all three of their previous meetings.

At the other end of this quarter is No.5 seed Jessica Pegula, who has made the Australian Open quarterfinals in each of the last three editions. Pegula will play a qualifier in the first round.

If seedings are maintained, Pegula would meet rising Chinese star Zheng Qinwen, the No.12 seed, in the Round of 16. Lurking in Zheng's section is 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu, who will play Shelby Rogers in the first round.

Third quarter

Moving into the bottom half of the draw, No.4 Coco Gauff is the highest seed in the third quarter, where she will face Anna Karolina Schmiedlova in the first round. Gauff is 2-0 lifetime against Schmiedlova.

Reigning US Open champion Gauff successfully defended her Auckland title last week and is 29-4 on hard courts since last July. Gauff could meet No.32 seed Leylah Fernandez in the third round.

In Gauff's section is another exciting first-round match between No.16 seed Caroline Garcia and two-time Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka. The winner of that match could meet Gauff in the Round of 16.

Osaka is also making her Grand Slam return from maternity leave, playing her first major since 2022. Osaka and Garcia's lone previous meeting came at the 2021 Australian Open, and Osaka won that match in straight sets.

No.8 seed Maria Sakkari holds down the other side of the third quarter, and she will play Nao Hibino in the first round. No.10 seed Beatriz Haddad Maia is also in Sakkari's section.

But yet another former Australian Open champion is in Haddad Maia's portion of the draw: Caroline Wozniacki, who won this title in 2018, returns to Melbourne for the first time since 2020. Former World No.1 Wozniacki will face last year's semifinalist Magda Linette, the No.20 seed, in the first round.

Fourth quarter

No.2 seed and defending champion Aryna Sabalenka rounds out proceedings at the very bottom of the draw. Sabalenka, who held the World No.1 ranking for eight weeks last year, will open against a qualifier.

No.6 Ons Jabeur is the highest seed at the other side of this quarter, and she will also face a qualifier in the opening round. Jabeur could face 2023 WTA Newcomer of the Year Mirra Andreeva in the second round, and No.9 seed Barbora Krejcikova is a potential Round of 16 opponent.