The Australian Open begins Monday, with the main draw being revealed on Thursday ahead of the year’s first major.
The women's draw for #AO2022 has been revealed and @ashbarty and @naomiosaka are projected to meet in the fourth round.#AusOpen
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 13, 2022
World No. 1 Ash Barty will look to continue her winning ways, having won 17 of her last 18 matches against opponents ranked in the top 20. She’ll begin her campaign against a qualifier but could face off against 13-seed Naomi Osaka in the fourth round.
If she makes it past Osaka, fifth-seed Maria Sakkari could await her in the quarterfinals and fourth-seed Barbora Krejcikova in the semifinals.
Osaka will face off against Camila Osorio after withdrawing from a WTA Australian Open tune-up event with an abdominal injury. Before possibly meeting Barty, Osaka could see Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic in the third-round. She will be looking to defend her 2021 Australian Open win, her first time trying to defend a major.
The 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin could also have a difficult third-round matchup in 17-year-old Coco Gauff. But first, she faces a first-round test against fellow American Madison Keys. Currently, their head-to-head reads 2-1 in Keys’ favor.
Fresh off her US Open win, 17th seed Emma Raducanu will face off against 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens in the first round. The winner could face off against Simona Halep in the third round.