Emma Raducanu secures 2024 Australian Open main draw spot after withdrawals

Ewan West
Emma Raducanu in action
Emma Raducanu on court

Emma Raducanu has earned direct entry into the main draw at the 2024 Australian Open following the withdrawal of American player Lauren Davis.

The 21-year-old overcame world No 134 Elena Gabriela Ruse 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 in the first round of the of the WTA 250 tournament in Auckland on Tuesday in her first match since April last year.

The 2021 US Open champion, who is currently ranked 301st, earned the only break to take the first set, before losing a tight second set featuring five breaks.

The former world No 10 took a 5-2, double break lead in the deciding set and eventually closed out a hard-fought victory on her third attempt at serving out the match.

The Brit missed most of the 2023 season due to injury, having undergone surgery on both her wrists and her ankle after playing just 10 matches across five tournaments and posting a 5-5 record.

It had seemed that Raducanu may either need to receive a main draw wildcard or play the qualifying event for the 2024 Australian Open due to her protected ranking of 103 not being high enough.

The Australian Open announced in a post on X / Twitter on Wednesday, however, that the world No 301 would replace Davis in the main draw after the American withdrew due to a shoulder injury.

Two-time Wimbledon champion and 2019 Australian Open runner-up Petra Kvitova has will not feature at the tournament after announcing she is pregnant with her first child.

French Open finalist Karolina Muchova, Irina-Camelia Begu and Caty McNally have also withdrawn from the Melbourne Grand Slam.

Following her win over Ruse at the ASB Classic in Auckland, Raducanu expressed that she was grateful to be healthy again and able to compete.

“It’s pretty amazing to just be out here and playing and I’m just really happy to be back on the tour and can’t wait to start this season and carry on hopefully injury-free and healthy,” the 21-year-old said in her on-court interview.

“Thank you to everyone for coming out and staying late and cold, I really appreciate the support throughout. It was a match with ups and downs and always difficult playing a friend in Gabi. I love being back in Auckland, I’m having a blast so far, so thank you and see you in the next round.”

In an interview with Sky Sports, Raducanu looked ahead to her second round clash with second seed and world No 25 Elina Svitolina in New Zealand.

“I think the first one is always difficult. But the adrenaline that you get playing a match, it can’t be replicated doing anything in training or anything else in life really. So I’m looking forward to getting another dose of it,” she said.

“We’ve never played before, but she’s been at the top of the game for so long and I’m really looking forward to it because now that I’ve got my first match out of the system, I’m not saying the second one will be easy because it’s still relative and compared to all the other players I’m very light on matches.

“I think that I’m just really excited to test myself against one of the best. And I have nothing to lose, so I’m looking forward to it.”

READ MORE: Emma Raducanu explains career approach that will ‘get the best out of’ herself in comeback

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