Casey Dellacqua says Australian women’s tennis is doing just fine, thank you very much.

With young guns Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis hogging the limelight as they lead a wave of exciting new young talent in the men’s game, Dellacqua says the girls are by no means lagging behind.

“I don’t think the women are struggling too much. We have two women inside the top 30, which I know the men don’t have,” Dellacqua said as she and Samantha Stosur powered into the second round of the Australian Open on Tuesday.

“So I think sometimes the women get a little bit of a hard time. We’ve got Sam and myself who day in and day out try and perform as athletes the best we can.

“We’re both inside the top 30. We’ve both had great years. I don’t think Sam had a disappointing year by any means last year.

“I think she had a great year. It’s funny how people perceive things.”

Dellacqua and Stosur are Australia’s only two seeds at Melbourne Park this year.

While Australia’s Davis Cup team had to survive a playoff to retain its status in the World Group, Dellacqua also pointed out the Fed Cup team made the semi-finals last year.

“Jarka (Gajdosova) is playing great tennis, too. So I think we’ve got a good crop of girls coming through as well with Daria (Gavrilova) and obviously Ajla Tomljanovic.

“There is talent there.”

Dellacqua insisted she wasn’t particularly annoyed by the women’s lack of recognition.

“We know what we do. We’re proud of what we achieve. That’s kind of all that matters,” she said.

Dellacqua and Ashleigh Barty made three grand slam doubles finals together in 2013 and said Australia’s women’s stocks could soon be boosted further by the return to the tour of her former partner.

A Wimbledon junior champion at just 15, Barty decided to take an indefinite break from tennis last year.

“I’m sure we’ll see her back firing in no time,” Dellacqua said.

“I’m in touch with her. She’s doing great. She’s up in Brisbane, spending lots of time with her family.

“I know she’s got a new puppy – important things in life.

“Yeah, she’s going great. I miss her a lot on tour. She was my go-to person on tour. She kept me young.

“So I really hope to see her back soon … in time, I think she’ll be back and ready to go.”