MELBOURNE - Chinese players have been handed a favorable draw for the 2025 Australian Open, with most avoiding seeded players in the opening round.

Of the 10 Chinese players who have qualified for the men's and women's singles at the Australian Open, seven were on Thursday drawn against unseeded opponents in the first round.

Fifth seed Zheng Qinwen will open her tournament against a qualifier. She was drawn in the same quarter of the draw as top seed and two-time reigning champion Aryna Sabalenka, meaning the two could play in a quarterfinal replay of the 2024 final.

Before that, Zheng could face compatriot Yuan Yue in the third round.

Yuan will play 27th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the first round. She was one of three Chinese players drawn against seeded opponents, with Wang Xinyu to face Spanish 11th seed Paula Badoso and Zhang Zhizhen to play Danish 13th seed Holger Rune in the men's draw.

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Rising Chinese star Shang Juncheng will play against Spain's Alejandro Davidovich Fokina while Bu Yunchaokete was drawn against a qualifier.

Wang Yafan was drawn against world No 97 Anna Bondar, Zhang Shuai against American McCartney Kessler, Wang Xiyu against 413th-ranked Julia Grabher and Zheng Saisai against Erika Andreeva.

Sabalenka, who is aiming to become the first woman to win three straight Australian Open titles since Martina Hingis in the late 1990s, was drawn to face 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens in the first round.

Men's top seed and reigning champion Jannik Sinner was also dealt a difficult first round draw against world No 34 Nicolas Jarry.

Novak Djokovic was dealt a possible quarterfinal draw against Carlos Alcaraz as he seeks a record-extending 11th Australian Open title.

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The 2025 Australian Open will begin at Melbourne Park on Sunday, with the first round match schedule expected to be released on Friday.