Superseries badminton action will shift from Jakarta to Sydney as Australia Open kickstarts at the Sydney Olympic Park from 20 June with top stars from across the globe battling for glory.
Defending singles champions Hans Kristian Vittinghus and Saina Nehwal have failed to earn a seeded-entry to the competition. World number one Son Wan Ho will start as Men's singles top-seed, while in-form Tai Tzu Ying begins campaign as Women's singles top seed.
All eyes will be on India's Kidambi Srikanth as the 25-year-old shuttler clinched glory at last week's Indonesia World Superseries Premier. With Malaysian legend Lee Chong Wei not featuring in the tournament, Chinese superstars Lin Dan and Chen Long will be looking to make amends after their poor show in Jakarta.
Top seed Son has been in the first quarter and is likely to face an early second-round test against Indonesia Superseries Premier Srikanth, to whom he lost in the semi-final in Jakarta.
Sixth seeded Chou Tien Chen and Singapore Superseries winner Sai Praneeth are also in the first quarter, making it a very competitive top-eight. Fourth seed Shi Yuqi of China, drawn in the second quarter, has a smoother passage to the quarter-final with his main threat coming from seventh seed Ng Ka Long.
Star-studded third quarter
Reigning Olympic champion Chen, drawn in the third quarter, has a possible second-round clash against fifth seed Jan O Jorgensen. In the same quarter are Lin and third seed Viktor Axelsen, both of whom will meet as early as in the first round.
PV Sindhu drawn in tough quarter
World number one Women's singles shuttler Tai begins campaign against Thailand's Pornpaweee Chochuwong. Also, in the first quarter are Olympic silver medallist PV Sindhu, who will start against Indonesia Open winner Sayaka Sato, and former world number Ratchanok Intanon.
Tough opening-round test for Saina
Third seed Akane Yamaguchi headlines the second quarter and is likely to face world junior champion Chen Yufei [8] in the quarter-final. Two-time champion Saina will start her campaign against fourth seed and Indonesia Open runner-up Sung Ji Hyun and either of the two is likely to face sixth seed Sun Yu of China in the quarter-final.
Second seed Carolina Marin, who is headlining the last quarter, faces tough opening-round test against Japan's Nozomi Okuhara. Seventh seed He Bingjiao is also a possible quarter-finalist from the last-eight of the draw.
Seeding information
Men's singles | Women's singles |
1. Son Wan Ho (Kor) | 1. Tai Tzu Ying (Twn) |
2. Lee Chong Wei (Mas) Withdrawn | 2. Carolina Marin (Esp) |
3. Viktor Axelsen (Den) | 3. Akane Yamaguchi (Jpn) |
4. Shi Yuqi (Chn) | 4. Sung Ji Hyun (Kor) |
5. Jan O Jorgensen (Den) | 5. PV Sindhu (Ind) |
6. Chou Tien Chen (Twn) | 6. Sun Yu (Chn) |
7. Ng Ka Long (Hkg) | 7. He Bingjiao (Chn) |
8. Tian Houwei (Chn) | 8. Chen Yufei (Chn) |
For daily schedule of matches, click here.