2018 champion Caroline Wozniacki earns main draw wildcard for Australian Open in first batch announced
WTAWednesday, 06 December 2023 at 17:30
As the Entry Lists continue to head towards being announced and the cogs start to whir when it comes to the Australian Open, the first batch of wildcards for the showpiece tournament in Melbourne have been confirmed with Caroline Wozniacki heading up the list
This is no surprise despite most of these players being from Australia who were first announced. A 2018 champion, Wozniacki technically doesn't have much of a ranking with only a short stint back in the sport during the US Hard Court swing. So unlike Naomi Osaka, Angelique Kerber among others, she has to rely on wildcards.
Also being a former champion in this tournament which was seen as her finest hour before also then retiring. She had the crowd singing Sweet Caroline after winning the title back in 2018 and will look to recapture some of that Aussie magic.
The Dane returned after becoming a mother twice. This after she played her last tournament at the 2020 Australian Open. She reached the fourth round of the US Open before losing to Coco Gauff. But it was an anti-climax as fans looking for the Dane to continue playing were left disappointed as she confirmed she was curtailing her season then.
Like alluded to other players to be confirmed were mostly Australian. Kimberly Birrell who lost to Wozniacki in the latter's first match back, Olivia Gadecki who is known as the protege of Ashleigh Barty, Taylah Preston, James Duckworth, Marc Polmans and Adam Walton are in the initial allocation.
Emma Raducanu is one player likely hoping for the nod given that she will likely have to play qualifying otherwise, while Osaka, Kerber among others have entered in using Special Rankings from when they were previously on the tour. Main misses so far include Bianca Andreescu and Petra Kvitova who did not enter before Monday's deadline.
Samuel GillEditor-in-Chief
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.
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