With the new season looming on the horizon, tennis players are gearing up to battle for glory. January will usher in a lot of exciting tennis and will culminate with the first Grand Slam of the year, the Australian Open. Several stars are set to make their grand comebacks, including Emma Raducanu and Dominic Thiem.
Both Raducanu and Thiem are Grand Slam champions. However, owing to their injury struggles, they will have to play through the qualifying rounds. Raducanu used her protected ranking of 103 to enter the qualifiers, while Dominic missed the main draw by one spot.
Between the two of them, Emma has experience making it through the qualifiers and lifting the trophy. The young Brit made history as she became the only qualifier in the Open Era to win a Grand Slam. Raducanu will wish to fall back on this experience as some of the heavyweights return.
BIG names confirmed for AO 2024 qualifying 👀https://t.co/TsML21QoNX
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) December 22, 2023
The former US Open champion will grace the courts at the Auckland Classic after a long injury layoff. She is supposedly partnering up with her former coach, Nick Cavaday.
Thiem is on a similar boat as Emma, although he needs just one withdrawal to make the main round. The Austrian has historically done well at the Australian Open. He even reached the finals in 2020 before losing to Novak Djokovic. Dominic underwent major wrist surgery, and it has not been an easy road to recovery for him since, but Thiem will hope to replicate that successful run again.
As of now, both players will have to play through the qualifying rounds. Raducanu will hope to kick off her return in style and find that winning formula with her old coach.
When does the Australian Open begin?
The qualifying rounds for the slam will be played over four days, starting on January 8 and ending on January 11. As with every major tournament, players will have to win three rounds to make it to the main draw.
The main tournament commences on January 14, and the final will be played on January 28. This is the first time that the event will be played over 15 days instead of 14.
“Have you EVER seen anything like that?!” 😳 pic.twitter.com/Nl1e2rKM70
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) December 19, 2023
The anticipation around the Australian Open is very high. Rafael Nadal, Naomi Osaka, Caroline Wozniacki, and other former champions will be seen in action at Melbourne Park again. Novak Djokovic will take to the court as the defending champion in the new year. The Serb has won a record 10 titles, making him the most decorated player in the history of the tournament, and he will hope to add one more.