There will be two Quebecers among the seeds at the Australian Open in 2024: Félix Auger-Aliassime and Leylah Annie Fernandez.

Auger-Aliassime will be the 27th seed in the men’s draw, while Fernandez will be the 32nd seed in the women’s draw.

Unsurprisingly, defending champions Novak Djokovic and Iga Swiatek will be the favorites for the first major tournament of the season which begins on Sunday at Melbourne Park.

The men’s seeds Nos. 1 through 32 reflect the ATP rankings as of Wednesday, as 24-time Grand Slam title holder Djokovic will be followed by Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz, the only player to have beaten in a Grand Slam in 2023.

Among the women, the top seeds respect the WTA world rankings from levels Nos. 1 to 8. Barbora Krejcikova was promoted to ninth seed due to the absence of the Czech Karolina Muchova, the finalist at the French Open. last year, who is injured.

Muchova has not played since losing in the semifinals to eventual U.S. Open champion Coco Gauff last September.

Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova is pregnant and will miss the first major of the season, while last year’s U.S. Open semi-finalist Madison Keys will sit out due to injury to one shoulder. As a result, the world’s 17th and 18th players will be conspicuous by their absence in Australia.

The seed tag means that the top 32 players in the world, on both the men’s and women’s sides, will avoid each other in the opening rounds of a major tournament. In addition, the top two seeds will not be able to face each other before the final.