Simona Halep, Naomi Osaka, Elina Svitolina and Aryna Sabalenka are about to finally start their campaign in Australia after enduring a quarantine. Simona and Naomi had the opportunity to train in a more “relaxed” environment in Adelaide with the chance to also play an exhibition in front of a crowd.
The WTA has arranged 3 tournaments for next week with the players that will star at the Australian Open as a warm-up. Halep and Osaka will be the top 2 seeds in the so-called Yarra Valley Classic.
Simona Halep in 2021
Ranked world no.2, the Romanian played her last match on the 4th of October 2020 when she surrendered to Iga Swiatek 6-1 6-2 in the 4th round of the French Open (draw).
Naomi Osaka in 2021
Now the world no.3, Naomi played her last match on the 29th of January when she was overcome by Serena Williams 6-2 2-6 10-7 in the semifinal in Adelaide (draw).
Simona Halep and Naomi Osaka clashed against each other 5 times. Their actual record is 4-1 for Halep. Previously, the last time they played, Simona Halep won 6-1 6-0 in the 2nd round in Rome (Internazionali BNL d’Italia) in May 2018.
Elina Svitolina in 2021
Ranked world no.5, the Ukrainian played her last match on the 11th of January when she was defeated by Veronika Kudermetova 5-7 6-3 7-6(3) in the quarter in Abu Dhabi (draw).
During this season the Ukrainian has a 3-1 match record.
Aryna Sabalenka in 2021
Ranked no.7 (career-high), Sabalenka played her last match on the 13th of January when she defeated Veronika Kudermetova 6-2 6-2 in the final in Abu Dhabi to win her 9th career title.
Currently, during this season the Belarussian has a 6-0 match record. Aryna has won 1 title in Abu Dhabi.
Elina Svitolina and Aryna Sabalenka played each other twice. The head to head is 1-1. The last time they locked horns, Elina Svitolina won 6-2 4-6 6-4 in the semifinal in Strasbourg (Internationaux de Strasbourg) in September 2020.
You can see them in action in the following highlights.
