Three Grand Slam winners will begin their 2022 seasons competing in the Melbourne Summer Set: four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka (13th in the world), two-time Grand Slam winner Simona Halep (20) and current US Open monarch Emma Raducanu (19).
The trio are among the top 20 players in the world on the entry list for the two WTA 250 tournaments scheduled for January 3-9.
Osaka will play for the first time since losing in the third round of the US Open to eventual finalist Leylah Fernández. Halep, who suffered an injury in 2021, will be looking to capitalize on a fall revival that saw her reach the Cluj-Napoca final in her homeland. Raducanu, 19, will compete in her fourth tournament since winning the US Open as a qualifier in September, and only her eighth WTA-level event overall.
However, the Japanese is not the top favorite. The Roland Garros finalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova is 11 in the world and dawns as the best placed in the ranking.
Montreal champion Camila Giorgi, three-time Grand Slam quarter-finalist Yulia Putintseva, Berlin winner Liudmila Siamsonova, world number 1 doubles Katerina Siniakova and Egypt pioneer Mayar Sherif. Former Top 10 players Daria Kasatkina, Madison Keys and Caroline Garcia too.
The entry list will be divided between the tournaments of the week of December 27.
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