Black, Harkleroad Star in Women's Qualifying
Emerging young female players and a sprinkling of seasoned players
will be vying for 12 available positions in the women's main draw of
Australian Open 2006 when qualifying begins at Melbourne Park on
Thursday.


Emerging young female players and a sprinkling of seasoned players
will be vying for 12 available positions in the women's main draw of
Australian Open 2006 when qualifying begins at Melbourne Park on
Thursday.

Doubles specialist Cara Black, American Lilia Osterloh and Thailand's
Tamarine Tanasugarn headline the experienced players in the
qualifying tournament who are seeking a berth in the main draw of 128
players.

Estonian No.1 seed Kaia Kanepi, 20, is the leading youngster involved
in qualifying, while 20-year-old American Ashley Harkleroad, who
reached the third round at Roland Garros in 2003, has earned the
number two seeding.

Harkleroad was one of the emerging players on the women's tour three
years ago but she has been unable to improve on her third round
showing at the French Open when she achieved a personal best ranking
of 39. Harkleroad was eliminated in the first round at Wimbledon and
the US Open, leaving her with a year-end ranking of 118.