As the 2012 Australian Open commenced yesterday at Melbourne Park today, four of Australia’s hottest tennis prospects found themselves in the open singles draw for the first grand slam of the New Year.

The Australian Institute of Sport quartet of Ashleigh Barty, Olivia Rogowska, Ben Mitchell and James Duckworth all were entered in the men’s and women’s event respectively as they continued their promising young careers.

Rogowska shone on Day 1 as she defeated Sweden’s Sofia Arvidsson 6-3, 6-1, setting up a second round match up against Chinese number 5 seed Na Li.

Barty lost in two tight sets to Georgian Anna Tatishvili, while Mitchell played well against John Isner before succumbing in a third set tie break.

Duckworth will take to the court today as he faces Estonia's Jurgen Zopp.

The AIS Pro Tour Tennis program, through its partnership with Tennis Australia, has placed a large emphasis on developing Australia’s teenage tennis players, providing them with a performance pathway to reach their potential on the international stage.

Early signs of the success of this program were realised last year when both Barty, and fellow Australian Luke Saville, claimed the junior girls and junior boys’ titles at Wimbledon.

Success for these four players this week will not be measured by wins or losses, but by the experience they gain playing the world’s best players.

Following a refocus by Tennis Australia (TA), the AIS program is now recognised as TA’s pinnacle program as it aims to create another golden era for Australian tennis.

The Federal Government supports Australian tennis with over $1.4 million in annual funding, while TA is a strong contributor towards the AIS Pro Tour Tennis program, providing over $3.5million to help in the development of Australia’s finest young tennis players.