Unfortunately, Emma Raducanu was not included in the first group of wildcard selections for the upcoming Australian Open. Despite being a former US Open champion, her ranking of 103 is not sufficient to guarantee her a spot in the grand slam event in Melbourne due to her recovery from surgeries on her wrists and ankle.
Reworded: The fact that the 21-year-old British player has previously won a grand slam title and is well-known in the sport works in her favor, but typically, wildcards are given to players from the host country.
If Raducanu does not receive a wildcard, and there are not enough higher-ranked players withdrawing to guarantee her spot, she will have to go through the qualifying process. This is the same path she took to achieve her sensational victory at the 2021 US Open.
Fortunately, despite previous concerns about her healing progress, she has intensified her training in recent weeks and seems to be on schedule to come back at the beginning of the upcoming season. Raducanu has not competed in a tournament since the WTA event in Stuttgart back in April and her current ranking has dropped to 296.
This is 54 spots lower than Caroline Wozniacki, the previous world No. 1 and winner of the Australian Open, who will receive a wildcard entry. Wozniacki returned from a break of three-and-a-half years to play again last summer after having two children.
Additional players selected for the tournament, starting on January 14th, include Kimberly Birrell, Olivia Gadecki, and Taylah Preston from Australia.
