WORLD number one Ash Barty will make her return to the WTA Tour after 10 months off, coming in as top seed at the brand new 2021 Yarra Valley Classic. The 54-player event will feature four Top 10 players, and 16 inside the Top 50, in what is expected to be an entertaining week of action. The WTA 500 event is running on par with the Gippsland Trophy – another WTA 500 event and 54-player draw – whilst the Grampians Trophy will take place a few days later for all those WTA players stuck in extended quarantine.

Looking at the Yarra Valley Classic, the story of the tournament is the return of Barty, who finished the 2020 year on top despite not playing for the vast majority of it. Breaking her home tournament title drought in Adelaide last year after being a two-time finalist in Sydney, the world number one has had the luxury of an extended warm-up to the Australian summer having been based here all year. Whilst her match fitness will undoubtedly be a huge question mark, she is too good not to be considered a huge contender at the event.

The second seed is Australian Open reigning champion Sofia Kenin, who returns Down Under to try and defend her crown that included defeating Barty in the semi-finals. Kenin is ranked fourth in the world, and has opted to join Barty in the Yarra Valley Classic draw. Also making a Roland Garros final where she suffered defeat to the red-hot Iga Swiatek, Kenin comes into this tournament off a quarter finals effort at Abu Dhabi, and picking the right flight to avoid extended quarantine.

Rounding out the top four players are Czech duo, Karolina Pliskova and Petra Kvitova, making it a strong quartet. Pliskova won in Brisbane last year, so has good form in Australia, but had a forgettable year by her standards. Whilst minimal data to go off in 2021, a straight sets loss to Russian qualifier Anastasia Gasanova in Abu Dhabi might be a cause for concern. Kvitova on the other hand has opted for an extended break, having not played since Roland Garros, where she reached a semi-final and eventually lost out to Kenin. She only played the three tournaments since the COVID-19 break, so is coming in relatively fresh, though also down on match fitness compared to some others.

Among the other players entering the Yarra Valley Classic, Grand Slam winners Serena Williams and Garbine Muguruza will be of concern to the top talents. Both are known stars on the Australian hard courts at Melbourne Park, and whilst neither dominated in the back half of the year, they can never be discounted. Looking down the entry list of 49 players, Danielle Collins performed strongly here in Australia 12 months ago, whilst Roland Garros semi-finalist Nadia Podoroska has shot up the rankings thanks to that effort. Petra Martic is the other Top 20 talent named in the draw, while 2019 Roland Garros finalist, Marketa Vondrousova is also competing.

The qualifiers who have made it into the main draw include Italian young gun Elisabetta Cocciaretto, US Open quarter finalist Tsvetana Pironkova, and the lowest ranked one in the draw, Great Britain’s Francesca Jones. Picking a winner will be difficult given the layoff for some players, though Kenin is a good shout, with potentially Anastasia Sevastova another one to keep an eye on as a dark horse at the event.

Picture credit: Darren Carroll/USTA