Pavlyuchenkova, who also competed in mixed doubles with Thiem in Dubai on Tuesday, says she has no expectations for her first few tournaments of 2023. The Russian had to relearn how to play tennis in order to minimize the impact on her knee while rehabbing the injury.
“I feel like I’m playing good even right now and I can do well,” she said. “But you never know, because I haven’t played for more than half a year, and basically this year I only played three tournaments.
“So who knows, I don’t know what to expect… I just want to enjoy this, really.”
Pavlyuchenkova is set to start the seasons at the Adelaide International 2, using her world No. 21 protected ranking for direct entry into the stacked WTA 500-level event that features Swiatek and Ons Jabeur as the top two seeds.
She is also entered into the 2023 Australian Open main draw in singles and women’s doubles, as well as a WTA 250 event in Lyon the following week.