December 28, 2024
Emma Raducanu and Amanda Anismova will open their 2025 Hologic WTA Tour seasons against two talented young Americans when the ASB Classic kicks off on Monday, Dec. 30 in Auckland, New Zealand.
The ASB Classic is the first WTA 250 event of the new season and will feature Madison Keys and Elise Mertens as the top two seeds. The popular event will also see Naomi Osaka make her return to Auckland for the first time since making the quarterfinals in 2017.
Top-seeded Keys, who will face Italy’s Lucia Bronzetti in the first round, leads the top half of the draw along with No.6 seed Raducanu. The British star, who has made the Round of 16 in back-to-back appearances, will open her season against 20-year-old left-hander Robin Montgomery.
The top half also features No.4 seed Lulu Sun, who returns to her home tournament for the first time since her remarkable run to the Wimbledon quarterfinals last summer. Sun will face Canada’s Rebecca Marino.
Also lurking in the top half are 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin and Ukraine’s Yuliia Starodubtseva. The Ukrainian finished the year ranked No.101 after tearing through September to make back-to-back quarterfinals as a qualifier in Monastir and Beijing.
No.2 seed Mertens anchors the bottom half of the draw along with No.3 seed Anisimova, No.7 seed Osaka, and No.8 seed Katie Volynets. A semifinalist in Auckland in 2020, Anisimova will face down Alycia Parks in the first round. Ranked No.78, Parks finished her 2024 season with a title at the WTA 125 in Angers, France, defeating a returning Belinda Bencic in three sets.
The bottom half also features an all-American clash between Sloane Stephens and Ann Li.
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