2026 ASB Classic Auckland WTA Draw with Williams, Stephens, Eala & more

The 2026 ASB Classic in Auckland will be one of the most exciting WTA 250 tournaments of the season, with multiple major winners in the draw.

The ASB Tennis Centre in Auckland, New Zealand, will welcome some of the best players on the WTA Tour once again. The 2026 ASB Classic will run from January 5th to 11th, and it will be the first WTA 250 tournament of the season.

Traditionally, the first WTA 250 events of the year have some of the strongest draws, as players prepare for the opening Grand Slam of the year, the Australian Open.

This year, the ASB Classic will see two former major champions compete. Venus Williams received the wild card for the Australian Open, as well as the WTA 250 tournaments in Auckland and Hobart.

In Auckland, she will play against the fifth-seeded Magda Linette. It will be a proper test for the 45-year-old American, who seems interested in playing plenty of events in 2026, despite never playing more than four matches since 2024.

The other former Grand Slam winner in the draw is Sloane Stephens. The 32-year-old American player has missed the vast majority of the 2025 season, and she is currently on a 12-match losing streak, having last won in July 2024. She will try to end that streak in Auckland, taking on Renata Zarazua in the first round of the tournament.

Although Williams and Stephens will be among the biggest crowd magnets, they won't be the favorites to win the title in Auckland. That title will go to some of the highest-seeded players in the draw.

Elina Svitolina is the top seed in Auckland. She will try to start the new season with a title, but Varvara Gracheva will be against that. The Frenchwoman will be Svitolina's first round opponent. Whoever wins that match could play against Katie Boulter in the second round if she passes an early test against one of the qualifiers.

Emma Navarro is the second seed at the ASB Classic. She will face a challenging first-round test, as Francesca Jones, who had a great ending of the 2025 season, will try to beat her in the first match of the new season.

There will be plenty of young players trying to prove their qualities in Auckland. Iva Jovic is one of them. The 18-year-old American is already the third seed and will play one of the qualifiers.

Alexandra Eala, on the other hand, will face a proper first-round test. Former world No. 17 Donna Vekic will be Eala's first opponent of the 2026 season. Janice Tjen is also a young, talented player. She will play against Sonay Kartal in the first round.