Australia’s world No.1 Ash Barty to play in key WTA lead-in tournament ahead of Australian Open

Australia’s tennis darling world No.1 Ash Barty is set to return to the court for her first tournament in 11 months. Here is her plan.

Ash Barty will play a warm up tournament in Melbourne before the big how. Picture: Mark Stewart

World No.1 Ash Barty will kickstart her bid for Australian Open glory at one of the WTA 500 tournaments in Melbourne the week before the grand slam.

It will be Barty’s first competitive hitout since losing in the semi-finals in Doha, Qatar, in late February last year after choosing not to travel during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic at last year’s Australian Open. Picture: Lukas Coch/AAP

Just one player is missing from the world’s top 50 among those contesting the women’s events at Melbourne Park, with another Australian, Ajla Tomljanovic, also a direct acceptance.

There will be three men’s events there in the same week, including the ATP Cup and two ATP 250 tournaments, with Australians Nick Kyrgios and Jordan Thompson entered but in different events.

Alex de Minaur, John Millman, John Peers and Luke Saville will represent Australia at the second ATP Cup, between February 1 and 5.

The lead-in tournaments to the Australian Open, starting on January 31, will be named to recognise key Victoria regions impacted and still facing the challenges of bushfires and the coronavirus pandemic.

Nick Kyrgios will be one of the biggest drawcards in the Australian summer of tennis. Picture: William West/AFP

The women’s events will be called the Gippsland Trophy and Yarra Valley Classic, while the men’s tournaments are the Great Ocean Road Open and the Murray River Open.

Phillip Island will be attached to the WTA event being held in the second week of the Australian Open.

Barty, who famously won the 2019 French Open, is a traditionally strong performer in the lead-in tournaments.

The 24-year-old won the inaugural Adelaide International title last year before becoming the first local woman to reach the Australian Open semi-finals since Wendy Turnbull in 1984.

Barty’s rivals include 23-times grand slam champion Serena Williams, world No.2 Simona Halep and previous AO champions Sofia Kenin, Naomi Osaka, Victoria Azarenka and Angelique Kerber.

Both WTA events will be 64-player draws, with the top-32 ranked players split across them.

The men’s fields were divided earlier in the week, with Kyrgios pitted against the likes of Stan Wawrinka and Grigor Dimitrov, while Thompson’s competition includes David Goffin and Karen Khachanov.

Most of the world’s top-20 players are competing in the ATP Cup, but a combined 19 top-40 players are in title contention across the two ATP 250s.

Melbourne Park will be separated into three zones for all tournaments this summer, with fans able to buy a corresponding ticket.

Ticket details are still to be announced.