Top seed Jessica Pegula faces the likelihood of a couple of stiff early roadblocks in her bid to capture the 2026 Adelaide International women's crown.
Following a first-round bye, the American is on a collision course with Paula Badosa, the former world No.2 who was a semifinalist at last year's Australian Open.
If Pegula gets through that tough match-up, she could potentially then be facing either fifth-seeded Clara Tauson or Australian Open 2020 champion Sofia Kenin in the quarterfinals.
Pegula has a 3-1 head-to-head record against Badosa, and leads Kenin 4-2.
Fellow American and second seed Madison Keys faces the prospect of a rough obstacle in the early throes of her title defence.
The No.2 seed, who took out the Adelaide-Melbourne double 12 months ago, looks set to cross swords in the second round with Jelena Ostapenko, the 2024 victor at The Drive.
Eighteen-year-old third-seed Mirra Andreeva will take on Canada's 2021 US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez, while seventh-seeded Liudmila Samsonova's road begins in tricky fashion, coming up against WImbledon 2023 champion Marketa Vondrousova.
Davidovich Fokina, Korda, Kokkinakis takes the stage
In the men's draw, No.1 seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, bidding to break his ATP title drought, will launch his Adelaide campaign against Tristan Schoolkate or Rinky Hijikata. A round-of-16 engagement against the winner of a box-office opening-round stoush between two-time finalist Sebastian Korda and local hope Thanasi Kokkinakis could follow.
Adelaide-born Kokkinakis claimed his sole title at his hometown event in 2022 but the wildcard's encounter with Korda will be his first competitive singles hit-out since undergoing pectoral reattachment surgery last February.
Korda has won all three meetings between the pair, but Kokkinakis held a match point the last time they played, at Washington in 2024.
Home hopes for Aussie stars
A host of Aussie hopefuls, headlined by Kokkinakis, were dealt tough early hands.
Alexei Popyrin will take on American powerhouse Reilly Opelka in the first round. If successful, Popyrin will book a date with No.2 seed Tommy Paul.
Opelka's towering 211cm, 108kg frame and thunderous serving will always pose issues, but Popyrin, the second-ranked Australian, emerged victorious the only time the pair previously met, prevailing in straight sets at Miami in 2021.
Lurking in Paul, Popyrin and Opelka's quarter of the draw is dangerous seventh seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Aussie wildcards and doubles partners Schoolkate and Hijikata meet in the opening round, while fellow wildcard entrant James Duckworth faces a difficult first-up assignment in eighth-seeded Tomas Machac.
Ajla Tomljanovic, who also received a wildcard and looked in good touch at the Brisbane International, will tackle Tauson first up in Adelaide, while Maya Joint, who won two titles last year, kickstarts her Australian summer against Kenin.
Gold Coast teenager Emerson Jones was involved in the draw herself and landed herself a first-round date with eighth-seeded Emma Navarro, who reached the Australian Open quarterfinals last year.
Fellow Aussie Daria Kasatkina will face experienced Greek wildcard Maria Sakkari, a former world No.3.
Don’t miss out on the chance to be part of one of the most exciting tournaments of the year. Tickets for the Adelaide International are on sale via Ticketmaster.