Defending Brisbane International champion Karolina Pliskova will be looking to regain her title next year, with the former world number one confirmed to be taking part in the tournament, which takes place during the opening week of the 2018 season.
Pliskova, currently ranked fourth, is set to be the second seed in Brisbane, with world number two and Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza also set to be in action as several women look to fine-tune their preparations for the Australian Open. Amongst the other notable names in action are top-ten players Elina Svitolina, Caroline Garcia, and Johanna Konta, US Open champion Sloane Stephens, 2011 champion Petra Kvitova, and 2017 runner-up Alize Cornet.
The tournament in Brisbane, a joint event between the WTA and the ATP, is the largest Women’s event in the opening week of the season, with more points available than in tournaments in Auckland and Shenzhen. There is undoubtedly a lot to play for across all three tournaments, with the rankings following the tournaments setting the seedings for the first Grand Slam of the year in Melbourne.
Pliskova, Muguruza amongst headliners when 2018 kicks off
The Brisbane International has been a popular choice for several big WTA names to kickstart their season in the past, with Serena Williams, Victoria Azarenka, and Maria Sharapova all having won the tournament in the past, and it is no different this year, with some of the biggest names in Women’s tennis set to be in action.
Pliskova and Muguruza, who both held the world number one ranking at some point this year, will be looking to start their season in fine style, with Garcia looking to continue her fine recent run of form and Svitolina looking to continue her progression at the top of rankings. Meanwhile, the likes of Konta, Stephens, and Kristina Mladenovic will be looking to start 2018 strongly after disappointing ends to the past seasons.
US Open finalist Madison Keys will be looking to continue her comeback from multiple wrist surgeries, whilst former world number two Kvitova will also start in Brisbane as she continues her comeback from injuries sustained in a knife attack. Meanwhile, home stars Ashleigh Barty and Samantha Stosur will be looking to thrive in front of their home crowd, with Indian Wells champion Elena Vesnina and Anastasija Sevastova also in action.
2017 runner-up Cornet will be looking for another strong run in Brisbane after failing to build on that result last year, whilst Australian Open semifinalist Mirjana Lucic-Baroni will be looking for a good run as she prepares to defend her points in Melbourne. Magdalena Rybarikova and Sorana Cirstea, both of whom had resurgent 2017 seasons, will be looking to continue that form as they start 2018, with Daria Kasatkina, Kiki Bertens, former top-ten star Carla Suarez Navarro, Anett Kontaveit, and Lesia Tsurenko rounding off the list.