Sports Call- The opening women's tennis tournament of 2020 offers a first, a farewell and a glimpse of the future in Auckland.
Serena Williams, Julia Goerges and Petra Martic will play at the upcoming women's tennis event in Auckland. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
There will be tennis stars aplenty on show when the 2020 ASB Classic gets underway, in a tournament that will be a mix of the old and the new on and off the court.
Former world number one Caroline Wozniacki will be back at the Auckland tournament for a sixth time.
This will be a farewell for the fan favourite as Wozniacki will retire from professional tennis after next month's Australian Open to focus on family.
Caroline Wozniacki Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Tournament director Karl Budge has credited the Danish woman with helping to raise the profile of the Auckland event over time.
And she has offered a parting gift.
Wozniacki made international headlines this month when it was announced that she would team up with Serena Williams to play doubles together for the first time at the tournament in Auckland.
Together the duo have 102 WTA singles titles, 24 grand slam titles and spent a combined 390 weeks at number one.
Their friendship off court is said to be behind their decision to play together in New Zealand.
Even if it is just friends playing together for fun, tennis fans from around the world will take notice when Williams and Wozniacki take the court together.
The pairing will be short-lived but whether it is successful is less certain.
Cori Gauff Photo: PHOTOSPORT
At the other end of the experience scale, 15-year-old American sensation Cori 'Coco' Gauff and her 18-year-old doubles partner Catherine 'Caty' McNally - a combination known as McCoco - will challenge for the title.
The first WTA event of 2020 could offer a preview into a year in which the young players further disrupt the established stars.
Budge called the 2020 tournament singles line-up "staggeringly strong" and it is hard to disagree.
Even with the withdrawal of top seed Bianca Andreescu, the talent on show in the new year will be worth watching from the newly refurbished Yock Stand - which now has seats rather than concrete steps.
Two-time defending champion Julia Goerges, Williams, Wozniacki and Russian legend Svetlana Kuznetsova have 127 WTA titles between them.
Throw in 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko, world number 15 Croatian Petra Martic and Roland Garros semi-finalist Amanda Anisimova and there are plenty of title contenders.
With so many stars committed to play, the loss of Andreescu does not diminish the draw too much.
Bianca Andreescu Photo: PHOTOSPORT
The Canadian teenager had to play in the qualifiers to get into the main draw of the 2019 tournament.
The then world ranked number 152 went on to reach the final after beating Wozniacki and Venus Williams.
Her first WTA final in Auckland, where she lost to Goerges, was the start of a big year in which she won the US Open.
Now ranked world number 5, Andreescu announced on December 24 she would not be returning due to lingering knee injuries.
The withdrawal of top players has blighted the men's competition in the past, with 20 players dropping out of the last seven tournaments.
However, the women's side of the Auckland draw has mostly been immune from the loss of big names.
The most high profile woman to opt out was Venus Williams in 2017 with a injury sustained during the opening rounds of the tournament.
With Andreescu out and so many top ranked players still in, it is unlikely the 2020 Auckland Classic title will be won by a bolter.
The upcoming tournament will be held a week later than usual, starting on January 6, and as the tournament draws closer organisers will be keeping a close eye on the weather forecast.
Rain and wind has disrupted play in previous tournaments, and the tennis centre still has no roof, so Budge and his team will be hoping any wet weather stays away so spectators can witness the best women's field they have put together.