Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka are the top seeds ahead of the Australian Open main draw, with Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek the second seeds.

Alcaraz and Sinner could become the first men to play in four consecutive grand slam finals since Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal did so between 2011 and 2012. Alcaraz is bidding for his first Australian Open title – which would make the youngest man of all time to complete the career grand slam – while Sinner is on for a hat-trick of titles in Melbourne.

Sabalenka, the US Open champion, and Swiatek, the Wimbledon champion, have yet to meet in a grand slam final. Swiatek is also an Australian Open title away from completing the career grand slam while Sabalenka will be out to regain her crown after a shock defeat to Madison Keys in last year’s final.

Elsewhere, Coco Gauff comes into the opening grand slam of the year as the third seed, with defending champion Keys ninth on the women’s side. Djokovic, the record 10-time champion in Melbourne, will be seeded fourth on the men’s side and would expect to face one of Alcaraz or Sinner in the semi-finals if he gets there.

Venus Williams, 45, is set to become the oldest woman to compete in the Australian Open main draw after the seven-time grand slam singles champion accepted a wildcard.

Here’s everything you need to know

When is the Australian Open draw?

The draw will take place on Thursday 15 January at 2:30pm local time, which is 3:30am UK time. The final round of qualifying also takes place on Thursday 15 January.

Women’s confirmed seeds and entry list

1. Aryna Sabalenka

2. Iga Swiatek

3. Coco Gauff

4. Amanda Anisimova

5. Elena Rybakina

6. Jessica Pegula

7. Jasmine Paolini

8. Mirra Andreeva

9. Madison Keys

10. Belinda Bencic

11. Ekaterina Alexandrova

12. Elina Svitolina

13. Linda Noskova

14. Clara Tauson

15. Emma Navarro

16. Naomi Osaka

17. Victoria Mboko

18. Liudmila Samsonova

19. Karolina Muchova

20. Marta Kostyuk

21. Elise Mertens

22. Leylah Fernandez

23. Diana Shnaider

24. Jelena Ostapenko

25. Paula Badosa

26. Dayana Yastremska

27. Sofia Kenin

28. Emma Raducanu

29. Iva Jovic

30. Maya Joint

31. Anna Kalinskaya

32. Marketa Vondrousova

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Lois Boisson

McCartney Kessler

Daria Kasatkina

Ann Li

Jaqueline Cristian

Eva Lys

Karolina Pliskova

Jessica Bouzas Maneiro

Marie Bouzkova

Sorana Cirstea

Ashlyn Krueger

Tatjana Maria

Laura Siegemund

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova

Katerina Siniakova

Emiliana Arango

Anastasia Potapova

Maria Sakkari

Alexandra Eala

Janice Tjen

Cristina Bucsa

Magda Linette

Xinyu Wang

Beatriz Haddad Maia

Magdalena Frech

Elsa Jacquemot

Tereza Valentova

Hailey Baptiste

Anna Blinkova

Peyton Stearns

Barbora Krejcikova

Solana Sierra

Olga Danilovic

Viktorija Golubic

Sonay Kartal

Donna Vekic

Yulia Putintseva

Yafan Wang

Rebecca Sramkova

Antonia Ruzic

Francesca Jones

Anna Bondar

Varvara Gracheva

Camila Osorio

Renata Zarazua

Ajla Tomljanovic

Elisabetta Cocciaretto

Petra Marcinko

Caty McNally

Ella Seidel

Alycia Parks

Simona Waltert

Shuai Zhang

Elena-Gabriela Ruse

Suzan Lamens

Lulu Sun

Panna Udvardy

Sara Bejlek

Katie Volynets

Moyuka Uchijima

Julia Grabher

Oleksandra Oliynykova

Kamilla Rakhimova

Kimberly Birrell

Dalma Galfi

Oksana Selekhmeteva

Mananchaya Sawangkaew

Darja Semenistaja

Kaja Juvan

Leolia Jeanjean

Polina Kudermetova

Veronika Erjavec

Absentees

Qinwen Zheng, Ons Jabeur and Danielle Collins

Wildcards

Eight wildcards and 16 qualifiers will complete the 128-player field. The confirmed wildcards are:

• Emerson Jones (AUS)
• Zarina Diyas (KAZ)
• Elizabeth Mandlik (USA)
• Tiantsoa Sarah Rakotomanga Rajaonah (FRA)
• Priscilla Hon (AUS)
• Talia Gibson (AUS)
• Taylah Preston (AUS)
• Venus Williams (USA)

What to watch out for in the draw

British No 1 Emma Raducanu is seeded at the Australian Open, which means she cannot play another seed until the third round. However, if she gets there she could face any of the top eight, so will hope to avoid landing in the same section as the likes of Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek.

Two-time Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka, 16th, would be a dangerous fourth-round draw for one of the top seeds. As for the unseeded players, former grand slam champion Barbora Krejickova had a good run at the US Open and could be a dangerous floater in the draw, while Daria Kasatkina and Maria Sakkari could also be ones to avoid as they look to bounce back from difficult years.

Also, look out for Venus Williams’s first-round opponent as she accepts a wildcard at the age of 45.

Men’s confirmed seeds and entry list

1. Carlos Alcaraz

2. Jannik Sinner

3. Alexander Zverev

4. Novak Djokovic

5. Lorenzo Musetti

6. Alex de Minaur

7. Felix Auger-Aliassime

8. Ben Shelton

9. Taylor Fritz

10. Alexander Bublik

11. Daniil Medvedev

12. Casper Ruud

13. Andrey Rublev

14. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina

15. Karen Khachanov

16. Jakub Mensik

17. Jiri Lehecka

18. Francisco Cerundolo

19. Tommy Paul

20. Flavio Cobolli

21. Denis Shapovalov

22. Luciano Darderi

23. Tallon Griekspoor

24. Arthur Rinderknech

25. Learner Tien

26. Cameron Norrie

27. Brandon Nakashima

28. Joao Fonseca

29. Frances Tiafoe

30. Valentin Vacherot

31. Stefanos Tsitsipas

32. Corentin Moutet

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Tomas Machac

Ugo Humbert

Alex Michelsen

Jaume Munar

Sebastian Baez

Lorenzo Sonego

Gabriel Diallo

Alexandre Muller

Zizou Bergs

Grigor Dimitrov

Daniel Altmaier

Nuno Borges

Sebastian Korda

Camilo Ugo Carabelli

Reilly Opelka

Fabian Marozsan

Miomir Kecmanovic

Jenson Brooksby

Alexei Popyrin

Marton Fucsovics

Matteo Berrettini

Juncheng Shang

Damir Dzumhur

Valentin Royer

Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard

Tomas Martin Etcheverry

Zhizhen Zhang

Francisco Comesana

Aleksandar Kovacevic

Matteo Arnaldi

Kamil Majchrzak

Terence Atmane

Marcos Giron

Arthur Cazaux

Gael Monfils

Adrian Mannarino

Ethan Quinn

Jacob Fearnley

Mariano Navone

Hubert Hurkacz

Mattia Bellucci

Marin Cilic

Jesper De Jong

Botic Van De Zandschulp

Adam Walton

Filip Misolic

Cristian Garin

Alejandro Tabilo

Aleksandar Vukic

Hamad Medjedovic

Emil Ruusuvuori

Jan-Lennard Struff

Thanasi Kokkinakis

Juan Manuel Cerundolo

Raphael Collignon

Luca Nardi

Emilio Nava

Pablo Carreno Busta

Dalibor Svrcina

Eliot Spizzirri

Quentin Halys

Roberto Bautista Agut

Shintaro Mochizuki

Pedro Martinez

Benjamin Bonzi

Alexander Shevchenko

Hugo Gaston

Laslo Djere

Tristan Schoolkate

Thiago Agustin Tirante

Vit Kopriva

Carlos Taberner

Absentees

Jack Draper, Arthur Fils, Holger Rune

Wildcards

Eight wildcards and 16 qualifiers will complete the 128-player field. The confirmed wildcards are:

• James Duckworth (AUS)
• Bu Yunchaokete (CHN)
• Patrick Kypson (USA)
• Kyrian Jacquet (FRA)
• Rinky Hijikata (AUS)
• Stan Wawrinka (SUI)
• Jordan Thompson ( AUS)
• Chris O’Connell (AUS)

What to watch out for in the draw

Novak Djokovic’s projected quarter-final is always interesting, given it’s the last match before he would likely have to play one of Carlos Alcaraz or Jannik Sinner. Felix Auger-Aliassime would be difficult, Alex de Minaur, who so badly wants a first semi-final at home, could be fun, Ben Shelton, if he stays fit and gets there, could be explosive.

Flavio Cobolli, fresh from his Davis Cup exploits for Italy, could trouble one of the top players in the fourth round. Learner Tien and Joao Fonseca, a year on from their breakout runs at the Australian Open, would also be a tricky draw for any of the high seeds. Fonseca has yet to play Alcaraz or Sinner but could be drawn against them in round three.

As for the unseeded players, Grigor Dimitrov, who is back from the injury that forced him to retire during his Wimbledon quarter-final against Sinner and miss the US Open, is perhaps the most dangerous floater in the draw, or former Australian Open quarter-final Hubert Hurkacz, who is also returning from injury but impressed in Poland’s United Cup win.