At the time of writing, Elena Rybakina, fresh off becoming the first WTA Tour titlist of the season remains entered into the Adelaide International in the coming week.
Rybakina will enjoy a bye into the second round as the top seed, but some might question the wisdom of entering the event, which wraps the day before the Australian Open main draw gets underway in Melbourne.
There might be concerns in her camp that she could become the victim of her own success if she manages to go deep or all the way to the title in Adelaide.
Rybakina does have the chance to set herself up to win three straight events in Australia to start her season with an emphatic statement of intent.
She has arguably already sent a message with her 6-0, 6-3 dismantling of Aryna Sabalenka in the final in Brisbane, but she was keen to downplay the scoreline in the post-match.
“I think the score doesn’t show the reality because all the games were quite tight, to be honest,” Rybakina told reporters afterwards.
“Couple of moments maybe I was a bit luckier. I knew no matter the score it’s going to still be difficult in the second set. It was just a few moments again where it could turn the other way around.”
Rybakina might only be pressed into action in Adelaide on Wednesday given that she has that first round bye and is in for quite the trip from Queensland down to South Australia.
She gave no indication that she might withdraw from Adelaide after taking the title in Brisbane.
“Yeah, really happy with the whole week here in Brisbane. Didn’t expect that it’s going to be like this, quite by the score,” Rybakina said.
“Just looking forward for the next weeks, especially in Melbourne.”
Her potential Round of 16 opponents in Adelaide are Italy’s Jasmine Paolini and Romania’s Cristina Bucsa.
Rybakina is seeded to meet Russian’s Veronika Kudermetova in the quarter-finals provided the No 8 seed can come through a tough section that sees her open against Ashlynn Krueger and bracketed alongside Poland’s Magda Linette and compatriot Ekaterina Alexandrova.
Potential semi-final opponents for Rybakina, should she reach that stage, include No 3 seed Marketa Vondrousova and No 6 seed Jelena Ostapenko.
Rybakina is a fan of the setup of the Adelaide International and said late last year that she was keen to stopping by again in 2024.
“I’m looking forward to returning to Adelaide,” Rybakina said.
“As players we have everything we need in close proximity to the venue, making it easy to compete. Adelaide as a city knows how to make us feel welcome and bring out our best tennis.”
United States No 1 Jessica Pegula will play her first regular WTA Tour event of the season as the second seed in Adelaide after starting her season at the United Cup. She also gets a bye into the second round of the 30-player main draw.R