The excitement is palpable as the Australian Open draw signals the imminent arrival of the Grand Slam tennis season!
Canada’s tennis stars—Felix Auger-Aliassime, Denis Shapovalov, Gabriel Diallo, Leylah Fernandez, and Rebecca Marino—discovered their first-round matchups during the draw held in Melbourne on Thursday.
Seeded 30th, Fernandez is set to clash with Ukraine’s world No. 100, Yuliia Starodubtseva, marking their inaugural encounter on the court.
Meanwhile, the 98th-ranked Marino earned a late entry into the main draw and will face No. 22 seed Katie Boulter from Great Britain, who currently leads their head-to-head series 2-0.
On the women’s side, two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus holds the top seed and will go up against seasoned American Sloane Stephens in her opening match.
For the men, 87th-ranked Diallo is poised to make his main-draw debut against Italy’s world No. 90, Luca Nardi, in a matchup that has never occurred in ATP history.
Auger-Aliassime, seeded 29th, will take on Germany’s world No. 42, Jan-Lennard Struff, with the two having divided their four previous encounters evenly.
Shapovalov, currently ranked 58th, faces Spain’s world No. 51, Roberto Bautista Agut, with the Canadian holding a commanding 3-0 advantage in their series.
The defending champion Jannik Sinner from Italy stands as the top seed and is set to compete against Chile’s Nicolas Jarry in the first round.
Mark your calendars—the tournament kicks off on Sunday (or Saturday night for those in Canada)!
