And battle lines have been drawn.
Filipina sensation Alexandra “Alex” Ella will face the United States' “fastest server” Alicia Park in her highly anticipated main draw debut at the Australian Open (AO) in Melbourne this weekend.
It will be a tough test for the 20-year-old Filipina, pitting her against the American top player who currently shares the distinction of the fastest serve by a female tennis player in history, according to Thursday's official draw for the head of 128-players.
Ms Parks, 25, equaled Venus Williams (2007) record for the fastest women's serve with a speed of 129 mph in a 6-3, 7-5 loss to No. 68 Olga Danilovic of Serbia in the first round of the 2021 US Open.
Although now ranked as low as No. 100 in the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), this should serve as ample warning of the tall order Ms Ella, WTA No. 49, needs to hurdle to reach the second round.
With a total of three WTA titles, Ms Parks also claims her career-highest ranking of No. 40 in 2023, higher than Ms Ella's current position after becoming the first Filipina at that level after resetting her previous best of No. 50 last month.
Game time is on Sunday, 8:30 am (Manila time) on yet-to-be-determined courts at Melbourne Park, which include Rod Laver Arena, John Cain Arena, Margaret Court Arena and the newly-built Kia Arena.
Mses. Eala and Park are in the upper half of the bracket, listed as 22.Ra The pair are in the round of 64, which means a possible clash against some of the world's greats.
Ms Ella's victory, which could be her second win in any Slam main draw after last year's US Open, would pit her against Czech No. 19 seed and WTA No. 19 Karolina Muchova or Romania's WTA No. 37 Jacqueline Cristian.
World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, No. 3 Coco Gauff of the United States, No. 7 Jasmine Paolini of Italy and No. 8 Mira Andreeva of Russia are expected to wait in the later rounds, making it tougher from there.
Other top seeds World No. 2 Iga Swiatek, No. 4 Amanda Anisimova of USA, No. 5 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan and No. 6 Jessica Pegula of USA round out the bottom half of a stacked AO cast.
Expectations are high for Ms Ella to do well at the AO after making several qualifying rounds since turning professional after winning the AO Girls Doubles crown with Indonesian friend Prisca Madeline Nugroho in 2020.
The AO is the only Slam main draw that Ms. Ella has not played in after the US Open, Wimbledon and the French Open. And it's here now and Ms Ella is making sure to be as ready as ever after a solid buildup at the ASB Classic in Auckland and the Kooyong Classic in the same city.
Ms Ila, as the No. 4 seed, reached the last four in Auckland to break into the top 50 rankings after defeating Croatia's Paris Olympic silver medalist and 2024 Wimbledon semi-finalist Donna Vekic, WTA No. 70, 6-3, 6-4 at the Kooyong Classic.
“For me, being able to win the junior girls doubles with one of my good friends was a priceless memory,” Ms. Ella said in an AO promotional video featuring herself and her mentor Rafael Nadal of Spain. “It's kind of my home slam and I have a lot of good memories there.”
Ms. Ella's campaign at the AO will set her sights on her first home tournament at the Philippine Women's Open, where she has been listed as a wildcard into the main draw from January 26 to 31.
She will not make it home if she gets past the third round or first week at the AO, which will feature a total of 24 players who will compete in the historic Manila staging of the WTA Tour for the first time in history. — John Brian Ulande