Australian Open champion Serena Williams is aiming for her maiden Dubai Tennis Championships title as a star-studded field heads to the United Arab Emirates.
The 19-time grand slam champion competed at the Fed Cup for the United States last week in her first appearance since her success at Melbourne Park.
World number one Williams is sure to be hard to beat once more as she heads to the hardcourts for the WTA Premier event.
Williams did withdraw from one of her Fed Cup singles matches, citing illness.
Dubai has been an elusive title for the 33-year-old American, who has exited the event at the semi-final stage three times.
But if her powerful serve is working to its potential, Williams will be incredibly hard to stop.
She will have plenty of competition, but several of the world's top 10 are battling for form early in the year.
Romanian Simona Halep made a tame exit in the last eight at the Australian Open and is the second seed – with Maria Sharapova not at the event.
Petra Kvitova was a last-32 casualty at the year's first grand slam, while Caroline Wozniacki exited in the second round.
Canadian Eugenie Bouchard, who lost to Sharapova in the last eight in Melbourne, returned to action in Antwerp on Thursday.
But what followed was a surprise loss to German Mona Barthel, meaning she heads to Dubai in relatively lacklustre form.
Among the other top-10 seeds are Ana Ivanovic, Agnieszka Radwanska, Ekaterina Makarova, Angelique Kerber and Venus Williams.
Unlike her sister, Venus has very much enjoyed the tournament in Dubai.
The veteran is a three-time champion and returns looking to defend her title after an impressive run last year.
Radwanska (2012) and Wozniacki (2011) are also former winners.
Serena is clearly the one to beat at any tournament she enters but Dubai has proven hard to conquer.
At her best, she is unstoppable – yet even during her title run in Melbourne it was slow starts and a lack of energy that appeared most likely to be her downfall.