Australian Open 2024: Former Wimbledon runner-up Nick Kyrgios and 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu are conspicuous omissions from the roster.
Rafael Nadal, Naomi Osaka, and Angelique Kerber are all likely to return to the circuit after the Australian Open announced the entry list for the 2024 tournament on Thursday. Caroline Wozniacki has been handed one of the first wild cards for the 2024 Australian Open, joining the trio of Grand Slam winners at Melbourne Park. Former Wimbledon runner-up Nick Kyrgios and 2021 US Open winner Emma Raducanu, on the other hand, are significant omissions from the list.
Kyrgios, the former world No. 13, missed the Australian Open due to knee surgery in January. He was set to return to action in Wimbledon after a couple of matches, but he was forced to retire due to a strained ligament in his wrist. The Australian has subsequently left the tour. Craig Tiley, the Australian Open’s director, remains optimistic that Kyrgios will be present in Melbourne for the Slam in “some form,” and he may be granted a wildcard.
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Raducanu, who has been sidelined since April due to various operations, failed to make the automatic entry list despite having a protected ranking of 103. The 21-year-old was also not selected among the first group of wild cards distributed by the Australian Open on Thursday, implying that she will have to compete in qualifications.
Wozniacki, the 2018 Australian Open women’s winner, was one of six Australian players to receive the first wild cards for the 2024 Australian Open. The 33-year-old had returned to the tour following a three-year hiatus in August, playing in Montreal and Cincinnati before reaching the fourth round of the US Open.
After competing in the Brisbane International, Nadal and Osaka are expected to make a grand slam comeback. The Spaniard, who has a protected ranking of nine, has been out of action since January of this year after suffering a hip injury in his second-round loss. Osaka, on the other hand, has been out of WTA action since September 2022 after giving birth to daughter Shai in July. The two-time Melbourne Park champion has a special rating of 46, which the WTA uses for players returning from maternity leave.
The Australian Open 2024 will begin on January 14, with Novak Djokovic defending his men’s championship and Aryna Sabalenka defending her women’s title.
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