Melbourne is still a long way off, but it's already counting down to the Australian Open, and the first slam of the new year hopes to have Roger Federer struggling to recover from injury.
"We look forward to welcoming the best players in the world to Melbourne and what promises to be a spectacular Australian Open after a year of disruption on a scale none of us have experienced before," said the director of the Australian Open Craig Tiley tournament.
The tournament starts on February 8th, and will end on February 21st.
"The Australian Open will have a slightly different look: everyone's safety is our top priority. We have the opportunity to stage a very safe but also joyful Grand Slam, and give players the experience of competing in front of the crowd again. something they have been missing for most of this year. "
Serena Williams is aiming for her eighth Australian title, while world number 1 Novak Djokovic has an even more ambitious goal: record success number 9. "Roger Federer will be back from injury", announces Tiley.
All the top ten in the draw, including Matteo Berrettini, n.10 in the world Also competing in the women's tournament is the 2 of the world Simona Halep, the champion of the US Open 2020 Naomi Osaka, the reigning champion and number 4 of the world, Sofia Kenin , and again Elina Svitolina (UKR), [6] Karolina Pliskova, Bianca Andreescu, Petra Kvitova, Kiki Bertens and Aryna Sabalenka.
Two-time champion Victoria Azarenka returns, after missing the tournament in 2020, along with 19-year-old Iga Swiatek, the new women's Grand Slam champion who won Roland Garros in October.
A total of 104 players will have direct access to the main draw of the men's and women's singles and another eight will be assigned wildcards, while 16 places will be determined in the qualifying rounds from 10 to 13 January 2021, respectively in Dubai and Doha.