Australian Open 2023: when is tennis tournament draw? Qualifying schedule and is Emma Raducanu playing?

We are only a few days away from the start of the first Grand Slam of the year and with the qualifiers well underway, it will not be long before we find out who will be playing whom in the opening round of the competition.

Novak Djokovic will be returning to the Melbourne courts after his visa ban was overturned at the end of last year. Djokovic missed last year’s tournament due to his vaccination status and he was ultimately deported from the country only a few days before the Slam was set to start.

This year, however, he will hope to win his tenth title in Melbourne and match Rafael Nadal’s record of 22 Grand Slam titles. Nadal will, of course, be keen to extend his own record and retain his 2022 title as he enters the competition as the top seed. His Serbian rival will be the number fourth seed while current world number one Carlos Alcaraz has had to pull out due to a hamstring injury.

Here is all you need to know ahead of the Australian Open 2023 draw...

When is the Australian Open 2023?

The tournament proper starts on Monday 16 January 2023 and will conclude with the women’s singles final on Saturday 28 January and the men’s final on Sunday 29 January. The qualifiers are currently under way and will finish on Wednesday 11 January.

When is the Australian Open draw 2023?

Following the end of the qualifying rounds, the Australian Open draw will then take place on Thursday 12 January 2023.

Katie Boulter, Lily Miyazaki and Jodie Burrage are the remaining Brits left in the qualifying rounds following their first match wins. Boulter, the British number three, fought off USA’s Caroline Dolehide but fellow compatriots Liam Broady, Katie Swan, Ryan Peniston, Heather Watson and Paul Jubb all fell at the first hurdle.

Boulter, Miyazaki and Burrage will hope to join Harriet Dart, Emma Raducanu, Cameron Norrie, Jack Draper, Dan Evans and Andy Murray in the main draw.

How to watch the Australian Open 2023?

Eurosport has the broadcasting rights for the Australian Open this year and all the action will be available to watch on Discovery+ for £6.99/month or £59.99/year. Alize Lim, Mats Wilander and Tim Henman will lead the coverage and are set to be joined by Barbara Schett, Laura Robsonand John McEnroe.

Who is in the Australian Open draw?

With two more round of qualifier still to go, it has not yet been confirmed who has entered the main draw. However, here are the top 20 seeds for both the men and women’s tournament:

Men top 20 seeds:

1. Rafael Nadal
2. Casper Ruud
3. Stefanos Tsitsipas
4. Novak Djokovic
5. Felix Auger-Aliassime
6. Daniil Medvedev
7. Andrey Rublev
8. Taylor Fritz
9. Hubert Hurkacz
10. Holger Rune
11. Alexander Zverev
12. Pablo Carreno Busta
13. Cameron Norrie
14. Jannik Sinner
15. Matteo Berrettini
16. Marin Cilic
17. Denis Shapovalov
18. Frances Tiafoe
19. Karen Khachanov
20. Roberto Bautista Agut

Other mentions include Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios at 21 and Andy Murray at 47.

Women’s top 20 seeds:

1. Iga Swiatek
2. Ons Jabeur
3. Jessica Pegula
4. Caroline Garcia
5. Aryna Sabalenka
6. Maria Sakkari
7. Coco Gauff
8. Daria Kasatkina
9. Veronika Kudermetova
10. Madison Keys
11. Belinda Bencic
12. Paula Badosa
13. Danielle Collins
14. Beatriz Haddad Maia
15. Petra Kvitova
16. Anett Kontaveit
17. Jelena Ostapenko
18. Ekaterina Alexandrova
19. Liudmila Samsonova
20. Elena Rybakina

Other honourable mentions include Victoria Azarenka at 25, Ajla Tomljanovic at 32 and Britain’s Emma Raducanu at 73.