Thirty-two players have qualified for the 2021 Australian Open and are set to head to Melbourne for the first grand slam of the year after qualifying events held in Doha and Dubai due to COVID-19 restrictions.
From a strong contingent in the men's and women's qualifiers, Bernard Tomic was the only Australian to qualify, beating fellow Aussie John-Patrick Smith in three sets to advance to his 11th Australian Open.
Including amoung the 16 women are two-time Australian Open and Roland Garros doubles champion Timea Babos; Australian Open 2012 quarterfinalist, former world number one doubles player and Roland Garros 2012 finalist Sara Errani; Wimbledon 2010 semifinalist and US Open 2020 quarterfinalist Tsvetana Pironkova and inspiring British star Francesca Jones.
The women's event was held in Dubai after quarantine and travel restrictions forced Australian Open organisers to adapt.
MORE: Everything you need to know about the Australian Open
On the men’s side, qualifiers include 17-year-old ATP Newcomer of the Year Carlos Alcaraz, former world number 12 Viktor Troicki, American Michael Mmoh, and Sweden's Elias Ymer.
After being forced out of qualifying for last year's Australian Open due to injury, Ymer joins brother Mikael in the main draw of a grand slam for the first time. Mikael earned huge praise from around the world after his four-and-a-half hour five-set thriller against Karen Kachanov in the second round of the 2020 Australian Open.
Ymer went down 2-6 6-2 4-6 6-3 6-7(8) in a back and forth epic, before Kachanov went on to lose to Nick Kyrgios in the next round.
While Tomic's showdown with fellow Queenlander Smith ensured at least one Aussie would qualify, wildcard Dane Sweeny lost his last match in three sets to Ukraine's Sergiy Stakhovsky.
Sweeny took a first set lead, but couldn't hold on as the more experienced Stakhovsky finished strong for a 2-6 6-3 6-1 win.
A further six women and six men will travel to Australia as lucky losers and undertake 14 days of mandatory quarantine with the rest of the international players.
The Australian Open draw will be conducted on Thursday 4 February.
AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2021 QUALIFIERS
WOMEN
Timea Babos (HUN)
Clara Burel (FRA)
Elisabetta Cocciaretto (ITA)
Olga Danilovic (SRB)
Sara Errani (ITA)
Mayo Hibi (JPN)
Francesca Jones (GBR)
Kaja Juvan (SLO)
Rebecca Marino (CAN)
Greet Minnen (BEL)
Whitney Osuigwe (USA)
Chloe Paquet (FRA)
Liudmila Samsonova (RUS)
Valeria Savinykh (RUS)
Mayar Sherif (EGY)
Tsvetana Pironkova (BUL)
MEN
Carlos Alcaraz (ESP)
Kimmer Coppejans (BEL)
Maxime Cressy (USA)
Frederico Ferreira Silva (POR)
Quentin Halys (FRA)
Aslan Karatsev (RUS)
Henri Laaksonen (SUI)
Tomas Machac (CZE)
Michael Mmoh (USA)
Roman Safiullin (RUS)
Sergiy Stakhovsky (UKR)
Bernard Tomic (AUS)
Viktor Troicki (SRB)
Botic Van de Zandschulp (NED)
Mario Vilella Martinez (ESP)
Elias Ymer (SWE)