The establishment of the Brisbane International in 2009 saw the city of Adelaide miss out on continuing to host an ATP or WTA lead-up event to the Australian Open. Over the next ten years Adelaide hosted the World Tennis Challenge, an exhibition event played featuring past players. The unveiling of the multi-city ATP Cup competition, held around the same time, resulted in the abolition of the Hopman Cup and the condensing of other tournaments, thereby allowing sufficient room in the calendar for the Adelaide International.[1] In February 2019, the South Australian Government announced it would invest $10 million to construct a canopy-roof structure over the Memorial Drive Tennis Centre, after securing a five-year deal with Tennis Australia to host the new event at the upgraded facility.[2] The new tournament was launched later that year,[clarification needed] with then-world number four and two-time Grand-Slam champion Simona Halep being confirmed as the first player to play in the 2020 Adelaide International.[3] The new international tournament was a combined WTA Premier and ATP 250 event.[4]
In 2021, a WTA-only tournament will be held after the Australian Open, from February 22–27.
Andrey Rublev
Ashleigh Barty
Máximo González
Fabrice Martin
Nicole Melichar
Xu Yifan
Lloyd Harris
Dayana Yastremska
Ivan Dodig
Filip Polášek
Gabriela Dabrowski 