- Emma Raducanu enters the Australian Open main draw.
- Raducanu missed direct entry due to low ranking.
- Davis’ shoulder injury opens a spot for Raducanu.
Due to a shoulder injury, American Lauren Davis withdrew from the first Grand Slam of the year, forcing Emma Raducanu, a former US Open winner, to enter the main draw of the Australian Open this month. The announcement was made on Wednesday by the tournament organizers.
At the Auckland Classic on Tuesday, Raducanu made her comeback and defeated Elena-Gabriela Ruse. Her protected ranking was insufficient for direct entry into the Australian Open, and she fell to number 301 in the world while sidelined by surgery on her ankle and wrist.
The 21-year-old did not receive a wildcard either, and her journey to the 2021 US Open, where she became the first player in the Open Era to win a grand slam title after beginning in the qualifying rounds, was anticipated to be similar.
But with Karolina Muchova, Petra Kvitova, Irina-Camelia Begu, and Caty McNally also withdrawing, Davis’ withdrawal made room for Raducanu in the main draw of the major on January 14–28.
“I feel reborn in a way. I feel fresh, ready, happy, excited. Overall I’m feeling positive and lighter. I actually think I’m a better tennis player than I was before the break. In practice over the last few weeks, I’m hitting the ball really well,” Raducanu remarked earlier.
“Physically I’m pushing things that I wasn’t doing before. In my body, I actually have confidence, which is really nice, and tennis-wise I feel good, too. It was so hard, especially the first few months.
“When you’re so used to being active and moving around all the time, then to all of a sudden have everything just cut off from you. I had two wrists and one foot injured, so I couldn’t even use crutches. It was difficult being that immobile. But it reignited the fire to get back out there competing.”
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