Serena Williams will aim to equal Margaret Court’s record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles when the Australian Open begins on Monday after Maria Sharapova withdrew from the tournament with a shoulder injury.
Williams, 39, needs one more major to draw level with Court, who won 11 of her Slams in the amateur era before the Open era began in 1968.
The American is the top seed in Melbourne and will open her campaign against Germany’s Laura Siegemund in the first round. She could face her sister Venus in the third round and Naomi Osaka, the defending champion, in the semi-finals.
Sharapova, a five-time Grand Slam champion, has not played competitively since last February and has been struggling with a persistent shoulder problem. She had been due to face Rebecca Peterson of Sweden in the first round but her withdrawal means Peterson will now face lucky loser Kaja Juvan of Slovenia.
Williams has won the Australian Open seven times, including the last two editions, and is the clear favourite to add another title to her collection. However, she will face a tough challenge from a host of in-form players, including Osaka, Simona Halep, Karolina Pliskova and Ashleigh Barty.
The Australian Open is the first Grand Slam of the year and will be played from January 20-February 2. The tournament will be held behind closed doors due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Here is the full draw for the women’s singles:
**Top half**
* [1] Serena Williams (USA) vs. Laura Siegemund (GER)
* [8] Naomi Osaka (JPN) vs. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS)
* [4] Simona Halep (ROU) vs. Madison Brengle (USA)
* [5] Elina Svitolina (UKR) vs. Marie Bouzkova (CZE)
**Bottom half**
* [2] Karolina Pliskova (CZE) vs. Kristina Mladenovic (FRA)
* [6] Ashleigh Barty (AUS) vs. Danka Kovinic (MNE)
* [3] Petra Kvitova (CZE) vs. Salma Djoubri (FRA)
* [7] Aryna Sabalenka (BLR) vs. Viktorija Golubic (SUI).
