Zheng Qinwen drawn into same bracket as Aryna Sabalenka at Australian Open

Fifth-seeded women's singles player Zheng Qinwen of China has been drawn into the same bracket of the Australian Open with reigning champion and No. 1 seed, Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus. If both keep winning, the two will face each other in the quarterfinals.

Zheng's first round opponent hasn't been confirmed yet and she will face either a qualifier or a lucky loser. Sabalenka will play world No. 84 Sloane Stephens of the U.S. in her first match.

Other matchups to watch include an all-American clash between No. 3 seed Coco Gauff and seventh-seeded Jessica Pegula, a 2024 French Open quarterfinals rematch for Kazakhstani No. 5 seed Elena Rybakina against Italian No. 4 seed Jasmine Paolini, and a revenge contest between eighth-seeded American Emma Navarro and No. 2 seed Iga Swiatek of Poland.

Zheng aside, there are another six women from Chinese mainland who have qualified for the main draw of women's singles at the Australian Open. Wang Xinyu will play No. 11 seed Paula Badosa of Spain in the first round. Yuan Yue will challenge 27th-seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of the Russia. Wang Yafan will face Anna Bondar of Hungary with a 1-0 lead of their head-to-head record.

Wang Xiyu's opponent in the first round will be Julia Grabher of Austria. Thirty-five-year-old veteran Zhang Shuai will play McCartney Kessler of the U.S.. Zheng Saisai is set to face Erika Andreeva of Russia.

In the men's singles category, No. 1 seed and reigning champion Jannik Sinner of Italy are in the same section with local favorite, No. 8 seed Alex de Minaur. Fourth-seeded American Taylor Fritz may face three-time Australian runner-up, fifth-seeded Daniil Medvedev of Russia.

Serbian superstar, No. 7 seed Novak Djokovic, may face his first major challenge on his way to his 25th Grand Slam trophy in the last eight against No. 3 seed Carlo Alcaraz of Spain. Second-seed Alexander Zverev of Germany might also be a potential quarterfinals opponent for No. 6 seed Casper Ruud of Norway.

A total of three men from Chinese mainland will participate in the men's singles event. Zhang Zhizhen will face No. 13 seed Holger Rune of Denmark. Shang Juncheng will play Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain. Bu Yunchaokete will wait for his opponent to be confirmed after qualifying competitions end.