MEET THE SEEDS
BARBORA STRYCOVA
Strycova had another solid year on the circuit, winning the tournament in Linz, Austria, in October. But what paid off for her in 2017 was continually getting past the first round at tournaments, and picking up enough ranking points to stay in the top 20.
YULIA PUTINTSEVA
Putintseva made the quarterfinals of the French Open last year and clearly favours the clay. 2017 was a step backwards for her, although she did do well in St Petersburg, Russia, defeating Svetlana Kuznetsova and Dominika Cibulkova on her way to the final.
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI
Finalist in 2015
Wozniacki has become the David Ferrer of the women’s Classic, making the tournament a regular part of her yearly schedule. Although she’s never won the Auckland event, her final against Venus Williams was one of the best matches in the Classic’s history. By winning the season ending WTA Finals in Singapore demonstrated she’s getting back to her best.
AGNIESZKA RADWANSKA
Don’t judge Radwanska on her ranking, she’s a far better player than that suggests. She is renowned for starting the year well and without Victoria Azarenka in the field, becomes the second biggest star at the tournament.
MONA BARTHEL
Barthel had to battle through qualifying at the 2017 Classic and this time she’s the fifth seed. Although Barthel hasn’t got past main draw first round since 2013 she keeps coming back. An aggressive baseliner with a big serve, she can be a dangerous opponent, winning the tournament in Prague this year.
JULIA GEORGES
While Georges has often done well at the Classic, inconsistent form had lead to her being ranked outside the top 40 for most of the last four years. However, she got a new lease of life in 2017, winning two tournaments, as well as making it to three other WTA finals.
LAUREN DAVIS
Few would have picked the diminutive American to win the last ASB Classic, but she played superbly to defeat Ana Konjuh in the final. Unfortunately for her, the rest of the year didn’t match up to the week in Auckland and she’s only won one of her last 10 main draw matches.
DONNA VEKIC
It is perhaps an indication that the field for this year’s women’s Classic isn’t that strong, when a player like Vekic is seeded. She has lost her last five matches and should be consigned to the outside courts at the Classic. Vekic did beat Eugenie Bouchard this year, although that doesn’t mean a lot these days.