Emma Raducanu will make her grand slam return against American Shelby Rogers at the Australian Open.
Rogers was one of the players Raducanu, who is playing her first major tournament for a year following surgery on both wrists and one ankle, beat on her way to the US Open title in 2021.
Raducanu made a positive return in Auckland last week, pushing Elina Svitolina in the second round before tiring, but alarm bells began ringing when she pulled out of first an exhibition match at Melbourne Park on Tuesday and then another exhibition at the Kooyong Classic on Thursday.
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However, Raducanu’s team insisted both were precautionary after she felt some soreness following a practice session on Monday and she practised for two hours at Melbourne Park on Thursday.
Raducanu looked relaxed and happy hitting with fellow British player Lily Miyazaki under the guidance of coach Nick Cavaday, with no strapping or obvious signs of discomfort.
Rogers is a kind draw on paper with the 31-year-old also coming off a long break having not played since Wimbledon and ranked down at 156.
All the British women avoided seeds in the first round, with Katie Boulter drawing China’s Yuan Yue and Jodie Burrage taking on German Tamara Korpatsch.
An intriguing women’s draw was headlined by top seed Iga Swiatek taking on 2020 champion Sofia Kenin, with the winner to play either another past winner in the returning Angelique Kerber or former finalist Danielle Collins.
Four-time grand slam champion Swiatek is the only one of that quartet who is yet to reach the final in Melbourne, although she will be a strong favourite to come through.
Naomi Osaka, who like Kerber is returning after having a baby, makes her grand slam comeback against 16th seed Caroline Garcia while reigning champion Aryna Sabalenka faces a qualifier.
Caroline Wozniacki’s first match in Melbourne since her retirement here in 2020 will be against 20th seed Magda Linette, with the Dane having returned to the sport last summer, reaching the fourth round of the US Open.
Andy Murray was the only British player to draw a seed, with the five-time former finalist taking on 25th-rated Argentinian Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
Should the Scot make the third round, he would expect to find himself up against top seed Novak Djokovic, who will open against a qualifier.
Cameron Norrie, the only British seed at 19, faces Peru’s Juan Pablo Varillas, with Jack Draper meeting American Marcos Giron and Dan Evans playing Italian Lorenzo Sonego.
Fourth seed Jannik Sinner was drawn in the top half as a potential semi-final opponent for Djokovic while Carlos Alcaraz and third seed Daniil Medvedev are in the bottom half.
Coco Gauff's emergence as arguably the biggest star of American tennis since Serena Williams is great for the women's game, says former British number one Laura Robson.
Gauff captured the imagination of the American public by winning the US Open last September, the 19-year-old fighting back to beat Aryna Sabalenka in a memorable final at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
That made the teenager the first American – male or female – to win the tournament since Williams, who won the event for the sixth time in 2014. Gauff, Williams and her sister Venus are the only American women to claim the trophy in the 21st century.
Gauff will look to back up that success at the Australian Open when the first major of the year begins on Sunday, and Robson is delighted to see her thriving after being criticised earlier in 2023.
"I love what she's done in the last three months in particular, because over the clay courts and the grass-court season, everyone was writing her off," Robson told Stats Perform.
"She just went back to the drawing board, got a new team around her, played unbelievably at the Cincinnati Masters and came into the US Open with confidence.
"You could tell, with the way that she played the longer matches, she just felt so good about her game. You could see how she was moving out there.
"She is definitely the fastest out on tour at the moment on the women's side. I'm just super pumped for her.
"To be in the stadium and to feel the energy when she won the US Open was crazy.
"I'd say 99.99 per cent of the stadium was going for her and it's going to be a huge boost for women's tennis to have an American superstar like her."
Asked whether Gauff was the natural successor to Williams – who finished her glittering career one major title shy of Margaret Court's record of 24 – Robson said other players' efforts to push American tennis forward should not be overlooked.
"I definitely feel like Jessica Pegula and Madison keys and people like that don't quite get enough credit for how much they've pushed American tennis," Robson continued.
"Even going into the US Open, Pegula was the number one American, but Coco definitely had more attention on her, which is great because their different profiles are being raised, but at the same time they were still pushing each other along and playing doubles together almost every week.
"It's just fantastic to see and the fact that there's now another name that you're throwing into the mix just makes everyone feel better."
Gauff currently sits a career-high third in the world rankings, though she has plenty of ground to make up on the top two, with Iga Swiatek currently edging out Sabalenka.
Robson expects that duo to trade places often as they battle to dominate the women's game, saying: "You definitely struggle to see Swiatek losing at Roland Garros, with the way that she goes on clay.
"I think it's going to be quite nice because they each have different strengths. You would almost say Sabalenka goes slightly better on a hard court and Iga is better on clay.
"I can see it almost swapping back and forth over the next few years, but Iga is going to be right in there, for sure."
Coco Gauff has every chance of adding to her 2023 US Open triumph by winning further grand slam titles in the coming years.
That is the view of former world number four Johanna Konta, who also believes it is "only a matter of time" before the American rises to the top of the WTA rankings.
Having lost the French Open final to Iga Swiatek as an 18-year-old in 2022, Gauff went one step further on home soil last September, becoming the first American teenager to win the US Open title since Serena Williams in 1999.
Gauff is looking to add to that triumph when the Australian Open begins on Sunday, and she is considered one of the favourites to claim the trophy after making a flying start to 2024.
The teenager captured her second straight Auckland Classic title on Sunday, fighting back to beat Elina Svitolina and make it seven wins from eight tour-level singles finals in her career.
Konta believes last year's US Open victory was just the start for Gauff, telling Stats Perform: "She's already a grand slam champion. So, she's got every possibility to win multiple grand slams.
"Once you're winning those tournaments, then it's only a matter of time before you get to world number one."
Gauff is up to third in the world rankings – the highest position of her career – though she has work to do to overhaul world number one Swiatek, who has won three of the last seven grand slams and is targeting her first Australian Open success after going out in the fourth round last year.
Konta, who failed to win a major during her own career despite reaching the last four at Melbourne Park, Roland Garros and Wimbledon, thinks the 22-year-old will be a force to be reckoned with for the foreseeable future.
"I think she's an incredibly consistent player, the level is just very consistent," Konta said of Swiatek.
"I think she will be one of the ones that will be there for a long time if she's just able to sustain that. I think she'll be one of the top handful."
Boris Becker would have loved to commentate with Nick Kyrgios at the Australian Open, but has revealed the Eurosport pundits will be on opposite sides of the planet over the next fortnight.
It was confirmed earlier this week that injured former Wimbledon finalist Kyrgios will be part of Eurosport’s punditry team for the first grand slam of 2024.
This raised the prospect that Kyrgios, who was sidelined for most of last year with knee and wrist issues, could come face to face with six-time major winner Becker in Melbourne after their online exchange last month.
Kyrgios and Becker traded insults on X, formerly known as Twitter, over a succession of days in December with the recent jail sentence served by double Australian Open winner Becker referenced, but he has now confirmed they will be – unintentionally – kept apart during their media duties.
“I would have liked to see a match where we are both commentating next to each other. I think that would be more watched than the tennis match actually,” Becker said.
“Look, he joined the team of Eurosport International out of Melbourne and I joined the Eurosport German team out of Munich. So, unless we get connected into the cube where they beam you into the studio, I don’t think there is anything happening there.
“Ultimately we both love the game, we love tennis, we like to commentate on a good match and that’s the bond we have.
“We have a difference of opinion, but that’s normal. We agree we want to see great matches, we want to see a great tournament and this is why we do the job.”
Becker will not be in Australia for the first major of the year, but has a vested interest after he took up the role of Holger Rune’s coach in 2023.
While the German has backed the 20-year-old to do well at Melbourne Park, he cannot look beyond defending champion Novak Djokovic, another player he has coached in the past.
He added: “I have to mention my player Holger Rune, who reached the fourth round last year, he was also comfortable, he started the year well with the final in Brisbane. He had a good practice week and I am sure he is ready by Sunday.
“Holger is a very intense, very dynamic and a very explosive young player. He reminds me a little bit of a young Novak Djokovic.
“For me, the clear-cut favourite is Novak Djokovic. He won the tournament 10 times. Let me repeat, he won it 10 times. This is a really outstanding achievement.
“He is the clear-cut favourite but he is 36, he had a small injury on his hitting hand. I saw him practicing yesterday and today, he seemed fine but we have to watch this space because he is not getting any younger.
“Having said that, when the tournament starts, he is the number one player in the world, he is the defending champion and he is the top favourite.”
Becker is back on the tennis scene after he spent part of 2022 in prison for hiding £2.5million of assets and loans to avoid paying debts.
The 56-year-old, a three-time Wimbledon winner, believes he is a better coach for his recent battles with bankruptcy.
“I don’t want to go into details to what happened to me and how I came out of it, but I think I am a better man now than I was five years ago,” Becker reflected.
“Hopefully my family would agree with that but also because of the things I have experienced, I might even be a better coach. All the top guys, the difference is often their mentality, their attitude, how they deal with disappointment.
“This is my strong part. I can really talk to a player about overcoming adversity at any given time and I am much more credible now than I was five years ago.”
Novak Djokovic is the greatest male tennis player of all time, according to Marcos Baghdatis.
Djokovic is the most decorated player in the history of the men's game, boasting 24 grand slam triumphs over a magnificent career. Even with Djokovic turning 36 in 2023, the Serbian won three of the four majors on offer throughout the year.
Rival Rafael Nadal, who has the second most grand slam titles among male players with 22, recently conceded Djokovic is the greatest ever.
Baghdatis agrees with Nadal that Djokovic's numbers make him the best of all time, with the 2006 Australian Open runner-up telling Stats Perform: "I think that yes, Rafa is right. He's the GOAT [greatest of all time].
"I mean, statistically, he has the best history written in tennis. Of course, he has written more history than any other player.
"It's tough to say who is the best and who's not. I can say, the three players from Rafa, Roger [Federer] and Djokovic, I think he [Djokovic] is the most complete, if you understand what I mean.
"He's still there, he's still winning matches, still winning Grand Slams.
"So yeah, he's the best of all time because of the stats, but it's very hard to just get the other two out."
Djokovic, Nadal and Federer are often referred to as the 'big three', and Baghdatis believes the trio helped to move tennis forward. However, he also says Andy Murray deserves greater recognition despite failing to match his rivals' grand slam accomplishments.
"I cannot take Andy Murray out of there," Baghdatis said. "Because, you know, he was always taking them to their limits too.
"I think it's a package that these four people changed the sport for the better. Yeah, they helped each other improve themselves, but at the same time, they helped so many other players improve themselves and be better at what they do. So they left a legacy behind."
With Federer retired and Djokovic and Nadal in the latter stages of their careers, Carlos Alcaraz is seen by many as the next potential legend of the sport, having already claimed US Open and Wimbledon glory.
While Baghdatis feels Alcaraz is a great talent, he also believes other youngsters deserve credit, saying: "I'm not saying that Alcaraz cannot [become a legend], of course he has a shot at it.
"He's young. I think he's great for tennis, he has great energy on the court, a great personality.
"I think maybe right now he's the best of his generation, let's say, but Jannik Sinner, Holger Rune are coming up, [Daniil] Medvedev is still there.
"But it's going to be very tough. I think he has a shot. It's going to be very, very tough to achieve what they [the big three] have achieved."
Emma Raducanu will no longer take part in the Kooyong Classic on Thursday.
The former US Open champion was set to take on 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva in the Melbourne suburbs but is not featured on Thursday’s schedule of play.
She withdrew from a charity match earlier in the week and was reported to have been feeling “sore” following practice on Monday.
Raducanu will continue to prepare for the Australian Open, which will be just her second tournament back from wrist and ankle surgery which decimated her 2023 season.
The Brit, currently ranked 299 but using a protected ranking for the first grand slam of the year, made her comeback in Auckland last week, losing in the second round to Elina Svitolina.
Raducanu has had a raft of injury problems since her breakthrough win in 2021 and ended last week’s match with Svitolina with strapping on her right leg.
The 21-year-old has since trained at Melbourne Park ahead of next week’s tournament, where she is in the main draw.
Cameron Norrie continued his Australian Open preparations with victory over Frenchman Luca Van Assche in the second round of the ASB Classic in Auckland.
The British number one saw off his 19-year-old opponent 6-3 6-7 (6) 6-1 in just under two and a half hours to set up a quarter-final against Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo.
Having claimed the opening set, Norrie had match point in the tie-break before Van Assche came through to bring the match level.
He was then broken by Van Assche in the opening game of set three before hitting back emphatically, rattling off six games in succession to secure the win.
Norrie is seeded 19th for the Australian Open ahead of the draw taking place in Melbourne on Thursday.
Emma Raducanu and Andy Murray are among seven British players who have secured direct entry into the Australian Open.
Cameron Norrie is the only seed while Katie Boulter and Jodie Burrage are in the main draw on ranking for the first time.
Here, the PA news agency looks at the British contenders.
Cameron Norrie
The Mr Dependable of British tennis struggled during the second half of last season and admitted he felt a little burned out. Norrie does not have the luxury of a big weapon if his consistent game is not working but there were positive signs at last week’s United Cup, where he beat Alex De Minaur, that he may be close to finding his form again.
Dan Evans
Evans will be unseeded at a grand slam for the first time since 2019 after an inconsistent 2023 campaign ended prematurely by a calf injury. He is fit again and will be keen to try to climb back into the top 30. Now 33, Evans won the biggest title of his career in Washington last summer and also starred for Britain in the Davis Cup.
Andy Murray
It is 12 months since Murray’s extraordinary 4am victory over Thanasi Kokkinakis at Melbourne Park. His performances at the beginning of 2023 fuelled hope that he could push back towards the top of the game but it was largely a season of more frustration. There have been flashes of the old Murray but, at 36, time is very much running out.
Jack Draper
Could this be the year where Draper really makes a name for himself? The 22-year-old has been held back so far by injuries and missed a lot of last season but finished strongly and has all the tools to reach the very top of the game. A run to the fourth round of the US Open last summer is his best grand-slam showing so far.
Emma Raducanu
A raft of withdrawals have allowed Raducanu direct entry using the protected ranking of 103 from before her triple surgery. The hope is this can be a fresh start for the 21-year-old, who looked happy and relaxed on her return to the tour in Auckland last week, and showed in a close defeat to Elina Svitolina that she remains a high-class player.
Katie Boulter
Last season was by a distance the best of Boulter’s career. The 27-year-old won her maiden WTA Tour title in Nottingham and broke into the world’s top 50 for the first time. A supremely clean ball-striker, Boulter claimed the best win of her career over fifth-ranked Jessica Pegula at the United Cup last week for a dream start to 2024.
Jodie Burrage
Beaten by Boulter in the final in Nottingham, Burrage also achieved a long-term goal in 2023 by breaking into the top 100 for the first time. The 24-year-old will make her main-draw debut at Melbourne Park having fallen in the final round of qualifying 12 months ago.
Opportunities abound for returning stars and the usual suspects as the Australian Open kicks off the new grand-slam season.
Hopes that two of the highest-profile major champions would make their slam comebacks after long breaks were dashed when Rafael Nadal announced on Sunday that he had suffered another injury setback.
Having spent a year recovering from the hip injury he sustained in Melbourne 12 months ago, the hope is this latest blow will not prove to be nearly as serious and he can return within weeks.
The Spaniard impressed straight away with his level at the Brisbane International last week prior to a gruelling loss against Jordan Thompson.
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Question marks very much remain, though, over how well the 37-year-old’s body will hold up in the long term given the injury problems he has endured throughout his career.
“I have worked very hard during the year for this comeback and as I always mentioned my goal is to be at my best level in three months,” Nadal wrote on social media.
“Within the sad news for me for not being able to play in front of the amazing Melbourne crowds, this is not very bad news and we all remain positive with the evolution for the season.”
Naomi Osaka also returned in Brisbane, playing her first tournament since September 2022 following the birth of daughter Shai in July, and she will be a headline attraction in Melbourne.
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The 26-year-old, who won the Australian Open title in 2019 and 2021, was weighing up whether tennis was for her amid mental health struggles prior to her pregnancy but has returned to the tour with renewed desire.
She said after a narrow loss to Karolina Pliskova: “I think when I’m playing and I’m at my best, I’m just really putting my entire soul into every point. It was fun to play that and rediscover that feeling again.”
Also returning after having her first child is former Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open champion Angelique Kerber.
Emma Raducanu’s absence has not been as long as Nadal, Osaka or Kerber’s but it is still a chance for a fresh start for the 21-year-old.
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She snuck into the main draw using her protected ranking of 103 following withdrawals and will hope to build on a very promising return in Auckland last week.
“It’s pretty exciting for me,” said Raducanu. “I’ve only played two matches and also my court time has been pretty limited. To be back up to this speed after so little is a great sign. I’m looking forward to this season. It’s just the beginning. A lot more to come.”
Raducanu is one of seven British players in the main draw, with Cameron Norrie the only seed.
It was a difficult second half of 2023 for the British number one but victory over Alex De Minaur at the United Cup was a good way to start the year while Katie Boulter got off to a flyer with the best win of her career against Jessica Pegula.
The 27-year-old has reached the third round at the last two grand slams and will be looking for more of the same.
Andy Murray is a man in need of wins and must hope for a kind draw, while the same could lead to a big fortnight for 22-year-old Jack Draper, with Dan Evans and Jodie Burrage making up the British contingent.
Novak Djokovic will be favourite to claim an 11th Australian Open title, which would make him the first player in history to win 25 grand-slam singles crowns, although a wrist problem is a concern for the Serbian.
Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and Daniil Medvedev will be expected to provide the main opposition while in the women’s draw Aryna Sabalenka defends a slam title for the first time.
World number one Iga Swiatek is yet to lift the trophy in Melbourne and has begun 2024 in fine form, as has Coco Gauff, who is the most recent slam champion following her triumph in New York.
Emma Raducanu and Andy Murray are among seven British players who have secured direct entry into the Australian Open.
Cameron Norrie is the only seed while Katie Boulter and Jodie Burrage are in the main draw on ranking for the first time.
Here, the PA news agency looks at the British contenders.
Cameron Norrie
The Mr Dependable of British tennis struggled during the second half of last season and admitted he felt a little burned out. Norrie does not have the luxury of a big weapon if his consistent game is not working but there were positive signs at last week’s United Cup, where he beat Alex De Minaur, that he may be close to finding his form again.
Dan Evans
Evans will be unseeded at a grand slam for the first time since 2019 after an inconsistent 2023 campaign ended prematurely by a calf injury. He is fit again and will be keen to try to climb back into the top 30. Now 33, Evans won the biggest title of his career in Washington last summer and also starred for Britain in the Davis Cup.
Andy Murray
It is 12 months since Murray’s extraordinary 4am victory over Thanasi Kokkinakis at Melbourne Park. His performances at the beginning of 2023 fuelled hope that he could push back towards the top of the game but it was largely a season of more frustration. There have been flashes of the old Murray but, at 36, time is very much running out.
Jack Draper
Could this be the year where Draper really makes a name for himself? The 22-year-old has been held back so far by injuries and missed a lot of last season but finished strongly and has all the tools to reach the very top of the game. A run to the fourth round of the US Open last summer is his best grand-slam showing so far.
Emma Raducanu
A raft of withdrawals have allowed Raducanu direct entry using the protected ranking of 103 from before her triple surgery. The hope is this can be a fresh start for the 21-year-old, who looked happy and relaxed on her return to the tour in Auckland last week, and showed in a close defeat to Elina Svitolina that she remains a high-class player.
Katie Boulter
Last season was by a distance the best of Boulter’s career. The 27-year-old won her maiden WTA Tour title in Nottingham and broke into the world’s top 50 for the first time. A supremely clean ball-striker, Boulter claimed the best win of her career over fifth-ranked Jessica Pegula at the United Cup last week for a dream start to 2024.
Jodie Burrage
Beaten by Boulter in the final in Nottingham, Burrage also achieved a long-term goal in 2023 by breaking into the top 100 for the first time. The 24-year-old will make her main-draw debut at Melbourne Park having fallen in the final round of qualifying 12 months ago.
Opportunities abound for returning stars and the usual suspects as the Australian Open kicks off the new grand-slam season.
Hopes that two of the highest-profile major champions would make their slam comebacks after long breaks were dashed when Rafael Nadal announced on Sunday that he had suffered another injury setback.
Having spent a year recovering from the hip injury he sustained in Melbourne 12 months ago, the hope is this latest blow will not prove to be nearly as serious and he can return within weeks.
The Spaniard impressed straight away with his level at the Brisbane International last week prior to a gruelling loss against Jordan Thompson.
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Question marks very much remain, though, over how well the 37-year-old’s body will hold up in the long term given the injury problems he has endured throughout his career.
“I have worked very hard during the year for this comeback and as I always mentioned my goal is to be at my best level in three months,” Nadal wrote on social media.
“Within the sad news for me for not being able to play in front of the amazing Melbourne crowds, this is not very bad news and we all remain positive with the evolution for the season.”
Naomi Osaka also returned in Brisbane, playing her first tournament since September 2022 following the birth of daughter Shai in July, and she will be a headline attraction in Melbourne.
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The 26-year-old, who won the Australian Open title in 2019 and 2021, was weighing up whether tennis was for her amid mental health struggles prior to her pregnancy but has returned to the tour with renewed desire.
She said after a narrow loss to Karolina Pliskova: “I think when I’m playing and I’m at my best, I’m just really putting my entire soul into every point. It was fun to play that and rediscover that feeling again.”
Also returning after having her first child is former Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open champion Angelique Kerber.
Emma Raducanu’s absence has not been as long as Nadal, Osaka or Kerber’s but it is still a chance for a fresh start for the 21-year-old.
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She snuck into the main draw using her protected ranking of 103 following withdrawals and will hope to build on a very promising return in Auckland last week.
“It’s pretty exciting for me,” said Raducanu. “I’ve only played two matches and also my court time has been pretty limited. To be back up to this speed after so little is a great sign. I’m looking forward to this season. It’s just the beginning. A lot more to come.”
Raducanu is one of seven British players in the main draw, with Cameron Norrie the only seed.
It was a difficult second half of 2023 for the British number one but victory over Alex De Minaur at the United Cup was a good way to start the year while Katie Boulter got off to a flyer with the best win of her career against Jessica Pegula.
The 27-year-old has reached the third round at the last two grand slams and will be looking for more of the same.
Andy Murray is a man in need of wins and must hope for a kind draw, while the same could lead to a big fortnight for 22-year-old Jack Draper, with Dan Evans and Jodie Burrage making up the British contingent.
Novak Djokovic will be favourite to claim an 11th Australian Open title, which would make him the first player in history to win 25 grand-slam singles crowns, although a wrist problem is a concern for the Serbian.
Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and Daniil Medvedev will be expected to provide the main opposition while in the women’s draw Aryna Sabalenka defends a slam title for the first time.
World number one Iga Swiatek is yet to lift the trophy in Melbourne and has begun 2024 in fine form, as has Coco Gauff, who is the most recent slam champion following her triumph in New York.
The new year’s first grand slam kicks off in Melbourne on Sunday.
The Australian Open has a new timetable and plenty of familiar faces returning to its blue courts.
Here, the PA news agency picks out five talking points.
Late nights a thing of the past?
For the first time, the tournament will mimic the French Open and start on a Sunday, becoming a 15-day event. Organisers insist the primary motivation is to prevent matches going on until the early hours, which has become routine, with fewer contests scheduled across the day on Rod Laver Arena and Margaret Court Arena. But there will still be two per night session and, with matches lasting ever longer, it seems unlikely to make a big difference.
Former champions return
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No fewer than three past winners at Melbourne Park were due to make their comebacks after long absences. An untimely muscle injury suffered on his return to action in Brisbane has unfortunately sidelined Rafael Nadal, who has not played in a grand slam since sustaining a hip problem in Melbourne 12 months ago. But two-time champion Naomi Osaka returns following the birth of daughter Shai last summer with an apparent renewed hunger for life on tour while 2016 winner Angelique Kerber is another new mother back for more.
Raducanu revitalised
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Could Emma Raducanu’s eight-month break following surgery on both wrists and one ankle turn out to be the making of her? Stepping out of the whirlwind that engulfed following her 2021 US Open win has given the 21-year-old the chance for a fresh start and will hopefully allow her to establish a more solid base. She has turned to childhood coach Nick Cavaday for guidance but continues to travel without a full-time physio or fitness trainer. She gave a reminder of her talent in an encouraging first tournament back in Auckland last week but the major question mark remains whether her body can hold up to the rigours of the professional game.
Last hurrah for Murray?
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Andy Murray conjured up two of his more memorable wins in Australia last year, seeing off Matteo Berrettini in five sets and then somehow fighting back to defeat Thanasi Kokkinakis at 4am. The Scot played at his best level since hip surgery in 2023 yet it was another season of frustration and near misses rather than the sort of achievements he craves. Murray cut a particularly unhappy figure at the end of the year and is openly talking about how long he has left. If this is the 36-year-old’s last appearance at Melbourne Park, hopefully it will be one to remember for the right reasons.
Swiatek v Sabalenka
The battle for supremacy in the women’s game rolls into a new year. Aryna Sabalenka is the defending champion having lifted her first grand slam title 12 months ago and she outperformed Iga Swiatek at the majors in 2023 by reaching two finals and two semi-finals. But the Pole reclaimed the world number one ranking with a dominant performance at the WTA Finals and remains the player to beat. Throw Coco Gauff into the mix, now a grand slam champion after defeating Sabalenka in New York, and an intriguing fortnight awaits.
Several familiar faces will return to grand-slam action at the Australian Open after extended breaks.
Injury has unfortunately postponed Rafael Nadal’s slam comeback but fellow former champions Naomi Osaka and Angelique Kerber return along with Britain’s Emma Raducanu.
Here, the PA news agency looks at the returning players.
Naomi Osaka
Osaka’s opening-round match in Brisbane last week was her first since September 2022. It was last January when the Japanese player revealed she was expecting her first child and would miss the season. Baby Shai arrived in July and the break appears to have given Osaka, who missed major chunks of 2022 because of her mental health, a new perspective and a fresh hunger for the sport. Melbourne Park’s courts suit the 26-year-old well, and the 2019 and 2021 champion will be a name other players will hope to avoid in the draw.
Emma Raducanu
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While not sidelined for as long as Nadal or Osaka, Raducanu has not played a grand-slam match since a second-round loss to Coco Gauff in Melbourne 12 months ago. After battling consistent niggling injuries since her US Open triumph, in May the 21-year-old opted to have surgery on both wrists and one ankle and was not seen on the match court again in 2023. While strong opinions abound regarding Raducanu’s approach to her career, her talent is not in doubt and the biggest question mark remains whether her body can hold up to the rigours of professional tennis.
Angelique Kerber
Tennis fans could have been forgiven for thinking former Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open champion Kerber had retired. Instead, after being off the tour since Wimbledon 2022 and nearly a year after the birth of daughter Liana, the German is back. Kerber will turn 36 this month and her grand slam winning days are surely behind her but she joins a growing gang of mums on tour.
Marin Cilic
Another veteran on the comeback trail is 35-year-old former US Open champion Cilic. The Croatian, a finalist in Melbourne in 2018, only played two matches in 2023 because of a knee injury.
Amanda Anisimova
A tennis prodigy who reached the French Open semi-finals as a 17-year-old in 2019, Anisimova’s career understandably stalled following the untimely death of her father and coach Konstantin later the same year. In May last year, the American, who is still only 22, announced she was taking an indefinite break from the sport, citing burnout and mental health issues. “I slowed my life down and that’s something that I really needed,” Anisimova told the WTA on her return in Auckland last week.
Emma Raducanu’s exhibition match ahead of her return to grand slam action at the Australian Open has been cancelled.
The 21-year-old Briton had initially been due to play her fellow former US Open champion Naomi Osaka in a charity match inside Rod Laver Arena as part of her preparations for the first major of the year.
Japan’s Osaka, who herself recently returned to action for the first time since giving birth to daughter Shai last summer, then withdrew from the match and was replaced by world number 25 Donna Vekic.
Australian Open officials later announced the match was off, with Raducanu reported to have pulled out due to feeling “sore” following practice on Monday.
The former British number one is due to make her comeback at a major tournament in Melbourne after being sidelined for eight months following wrist and ankle operations.
Raducanu, who won at Flushing Meadows in 2021, reached the second round of the ASB Classic in Auckland last week before losing to Elina Svitolina.
Rafael Nadal will miss the Australian Open after sustaining an injury during the Brisbane International earlier this week.
The 37-year-old Spaniard, who had surgery on the psoas tendon in his left hip in June, was making his comeback at the Brisbane tournament.
Nadal required medical treatment during his quarter-final loss to Jordan Thompson, and the 22-time grand slam champion said in a post on X: “During my last match in Brisbane I had a small problem on a muscle that as you know made me worried.
“Once I got to Melbourne I have had the chance to make an MRI and I have micro tear on a muscle, not in the same part where I had the injury and that’s good news.
“Right now I am not ready to compete at the maximum level of exigence in five sets matches. I’m flying back to Spain to see my doctor, get some treatment and rest.”
He added: “I have worked very hard during the year for this comeback and as I always mentioned my goal is to be at my best level in three months.
“Within the sad news for me for not being able to play in front of the amazing Melbourne crowds, this is not very bad news and we all remain positive with the evolution for the season.
“I really wanted to play here in Australia and I have had the chance to play a few matches that made me very happy and positive. Thanks all for the support and see you soon!”
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