"I'm extremely happy to be playing here again. The draw could be easier, but only good players play here, so I was expecting a tough first round. But I'm looking forward to the match against Anastasia and of course I'm hoping for the home support," said Grabher, who, together with Dayana Yastremska, the Australian Open semi-finalistn of the previous year, and Clara Tauson from Denmark was a guest at the draw. The players travelled to the hall in LINZ AG's new e-disposal vehicle and then took part in the draw.

"We always endeavour to present something special in the draws. LINZ AG has many different business areas and this year we deliberately chose the topic of sustainability and recycling. With our electric waste vehicle, we simply have our finger on the pulse of the times," explained Dr Jutta Rinner, CEO of LINZ AG.

The top seed is Czech Karolina Muchova (French Open finalist in 2023), who, like last year's finalist Ekaterina Alexandrova, Maria Sakkari and Australian Open quarter-finalistElina Svitolina has a bye in the first round. The quartet will therefore enter the tournament in the round of 16. Muchova could then face Lulu Sun from New Zealand, the WTA Newcomer of the Year 2024.

Eva Lys, the sensational German rising star at the Australian Open, will play a qualifier in her opening match. Lys had surprisingly reached the round of 16 at the first Grand Slam tournament of the year as a lucky loser and only lost to the former world number one Iga Swiatek.

If she wins, the German could face Katerina Siniakova. The Czech won the Australian Open doubles alongside Taylor Townsend on Sunday and is travelling from Melbourne to Upper Austria with her tenth Grand Slam title in her luggage. Linz is therefore looking forward to a freshly crowned Australian Open winner!