The young superstars will take part in the Melbourne Summer set event that will start on January 3rd and go on until the 9th of January. They join a packed field of players that include Halep among others. The British US Open champion ended her competitive season at the Upper Austria Ladies Linz in November, but has since played an exhibition event in London and has another in Abu Dhabi on 16th December.
Osaka meanwhile has been away from competition since the US Open in September as she took time to mentally reset from the tour. Despite being on the same entry list they might meet in the event as the Melbourne Summer Set will see the entry list split into two WTA 250 draws on the week of 27th December. Another entrant of note is world number 11 and 2021 Roland Garros finalist and Tokyo Olympics mixed doubles gold medallist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.