The 2022 Australian Open men's and women's singles draws were revealed on Thursday, setting the stage for the first Grand Slam of the new year. Play in Melbourne will begin on Monday (Sunday evening in the U.S.), as reigning US Open champions Emma Raducanu and Daniil Medvedev both look to back up their maiden major titles.
Rafael Nadal will make his return to Grand Slam action after missing the 2021 US Open with a foot injury, while home favorite and women's world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty seeks her first title Down Under.
Ahead of the action, we break down some of the highlights in the two singles draws.
US Open champions square off in women's opening round
Raducanu's first major following her New York fairytale will begin with a marquee matchup against another surprise US Open champion from the recent past. The 19-year-old Brit will take on the newly married Sloane Stephens, who was unseeded when she won the 2017 New York title in her comeback from a foot injury.
Neither woman has seen much competitive action in the new year, with Raducanu losing to Elena Rybakina in her only match, and Stephens idle since Indian Wells in early October. At the Australian Open, the pair find themselves in world No. 3 Garbine Muguruza's quarter of the draw.
Barty, fresh of a WTA 250 title in Adelaide, sits atop both the women's draw and the women's rankings. The Aussie will face qualifier Lesia Tsurenko in the opening round as she seeks her third major title and first in her home nation. Looking ahead to the Round of 16, a potential showdown with reigning AO champ Naomi Osaka looms.
World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka, in search of major title No. 1, anchors the bottom of the draw and will face Storm Sanders (who won the Adelaide doubles title with Barty) in her opening match. The Belarusian will look to get back on track after an 0-2 start to the season, with back-to-back first-round losses over two weeks in Adelaide.
US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez is also in the bottom quarter, and the No. 23 seed could face Sabalenka in the last 16. The 19-year-old opens against Aussie wild card Maddison Inglis, and could face 2016 US Open champ Angelique Kerber in Round 3.
Finally, in world No. 4 and reigning Roland Garros champion Barbora Krejcikova's quarter, Americans Sofia Kenin and Madison Keys square off in Round 1. The winner could set up another intriguing all-American matchup in Round 3, where No. 18 seed Coco Gauff (who faces Qiang Wang in R1) could await.
Medvedev could face Kyrgios in R2; Nadal returns to Grand Slam action
Like Raducanu, Medvedev is preparing to compete in his first major as a Grand Slam champion. The Russian reached the Melbourne final one year ago before going all the way in New York. His AO campaign will start against Henri Laaksonen, with a potential popcorn match around the corner against Nick Kyrgios in Round 2. The unseeded Aussie will face qualifier Liam Broady in the opening round.
Looking one step further, the No. 2-seeded Medvedev could face a rematch against surprise US Open quarterfinalist Botic Van De Zandschulp in Round 3. The Dutchman was the only man to take a set of Medvedev at the 2021 US Open.
Stefanos Tsitsipas is also in the bottom half, with the opening-round match between wild card Andy Murray and No. 21 seed Nikoloz Basilashvili the most eye-catching contest in the Greek's quarter. Murray, who is through to the final at the ATP 250 in Sydney this week, could face No. 13 seed Jannik Sinner in Round 3.
Novak Djokovic, should he be permitted to compete in Melbourne, will face fellow Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic in the first round—with the prospect of a semifinal against Rafael Nadal further down the line. If the world No. 1 is removed from the draw as a result of his cancelled visa, No. 5 seed Andrey Rublev will take his place on the draw's top line. Rublev is currently in Medvedev's quarter at the bottom of the bracket.
Nadal, who was absent this summer in New York, faces American Marcos Giron in his return to Grand Slam competition. The No. 6 seed is in Alexander Zverev's quarter, and could face the German in the quarterfinals. Last year's shock semifinalist Aslan Karatsev returns to the scene of his Grand Slam breakthrough with a first-round test against Jaume Munar, while big men Reilly Opelka and Kevin Anderson also square off in a loaded second quarter of the draw.
For more from the Australian Open, visit the tournament's official website.
