Ajla Tomljanovic is the one non-wildcard Aussie within the girls’s foremost draw on the Australian Open after making a profitable comeback from harm to enter the match with a protected rating.
The 2022 Wimbledon and US Open quarter-finalist, who missed out on a homecoming at Melbourne Park in January because of a knee harm that required surgical procedure and subsequently dominated her out of Roland Garros and Wimbledon, is one in all 15 confirmed Australian starters.
World No.12 Alex de Minaur leads the cost of 11 Aussie males, together with wildcards, within the singles draw, with Tomljanovic joined by three extra wildcard compatriots to swell the native contingent that might enhance by way of extra wildcards and qualifying.
Tomljanovic’s Open return comes on the again of the 30-year-old capturing the most important singles title of her profession in Brazil final month when she trumped Argentina’s Martina Capurro Taborda 6-1, 7-5 to win the MundoTenis Open in Florianopolis.
Tomljanovic was one in all 9 female and male gamers to enter the singles foremost draw with a protected rating, match organisers confirmed on Thursday.
Among the protected entrants embody former Australian Open champions Angelique Kerber and Naomi Osaka, who gave start in February and July respectively.
Players can request a protected rating for between 9 and 12 tournaments relying on the size of their absence from competitors however will need to have missed greater than six months to obtain the direct entry.
Former males’s world No.3 Milos Raonic will return to Melbourne Park for the primary time since 2021 after two years tormented by calf and achilles accidents.
The hulking Canadian is ranked 318 on this planet however might come near a seeding after receiving a protected rank of 33 together with American Reilly Opelka, who missed all 4 grand slams in 2023 because of wrist surgical procedure.
Queenslanders Kimberly Birrell and Olivia Gadecki and West Australian Taylah Preston will be part of Tomljanovic within the girls’s foremost draw after receiving wildcards on Wednesday, whereas 2018 champion Caroline Wozniacki was additionally issued a wildcard after ending an absence of greater than three years in August on the way in which to a fourth-round look on the US Open.
Preston, 18, was the youngest Australian wildcard recipient after lifting her rating 630 locations from No.836 to 206 as she collected 4 trophies, together with November’s 60K Australian Pro Tour title in Brisbane.
“I’ve dreamt of playing the Australian Open since I first started playing tennis, so to be given this opportunity is amazing and I am extremely grateful and excited,” Preston mentioned.
“I’m working hard on and off the court to prepare and I can’t wait to get out on court and play.”
AUSTRALIANS IN THE OPEN
Men’s singles
Alex de Minaur
Alexei Popyrin
Jordan Thompson
Aleksandar Vukic
Thanasi Kokkinakis
Christopher O’Connell
Rinky Hijikata
Marc Polmans (WC)
James Duckworth (WC)
Adam Walton (WC
Women’s singles
Ajla Tomljanovic
Kimberly Birrell (WC)
Olivia Gadecki (WC)
Taylah Preston (WC)
Source: www.news.com.au
