Ash Barty weighs up star-studded exhibition appearance

An exhibition in Adelaide in late January will feature the biggest names in the world of tennis and may yet draw Ash Barty.

World No 1 Ash Barty claimed a maiden title on Australian soil in Adelaide last summer and is keen to return. (Photo by Mark Brake/Getty Images)

An exhibition featuring the world’s best players in Adelaide later in January could yet feature an Australian flavour of the highest calibre.

World No 1 Ash Barty is understood to be weighing up the merits of making an appearance at Memorial Drive, which was the scene of her maiden title on Australian soil last January.

The star-studded exhibition on the eve of a delayed Australian summer features the biggest names in tennis.

American superstar Serena Williams, eight-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, the winner of 20 major titles, will play in the exhibition after quarantining in Adelaide.

Major champions Naomi Osaka, Simona Halep and Dominic Thiem have also been announced as competitors, which leaves two spots vacant for the event.

Barty was the inaugural champion of the Adelaide International, claiming the 2020 title with a win over Dayana Yastremska, who will miss the Australian Open due to a provisional suspension for a doping breach.

The 24-year-old reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open in her following event, but has not played since reaching the last four of a tournament in Doha in mid-February.

An appearance at the Adelaide exhibition would be enticing given it presents an opportunity for match play against the elite players in the world.

The 2019 Roland Garros champion, who has been training in Brisbane, will return to competitive play in one of the two WTA Tour events being held in Melbourne before the Australian Open.

Reigning Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin and Garbine Muguruza, the dual-major winner the American defeated in last year’s final in Melbourne, have started the season in good fashion in Abu Dhabi.

Alex de Minaur, who is Australia’s top-ranked man, shapes as another possible option for the Adelaide exhibition given he will be required to quarantine later this month.

The right-hander has returned to the tour in style this week at an ATP Tour tournament being held at a hotel resort in Antalya, Turkey.

The 21-year-old has dropped just seven games in victories over Malek Jaziri and Adrian Andreev and will play Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili for a semi-final spot on Monday.

De Minaur, who reached the quarterfinals of the US Open in September, withdrew from the Adelaide International last year due to a tear in his abdominal muscle.

The injury also forced the right-hander, who will lead the country’s team in the 12 nation ATP Cup in the first week of February, out of the 2020 Australian Open.

Adelaide will bookend the summer of tennis through February after earning the rights to host a WTA Tour 500 tier event the week after the Australian Open.