Wozniacki Awarded Australian Open Wildcard, Raducanu Misses Out
Former champion Wozniacki to return to Melbourne Park with her children; Raducanu's protected ranking not enough for wildcard spot.
One of the first wild cards for the Australian Open in 2024 has been given to former No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki, who intends to bring her two small children to witness her greatest grand slam victory.
However, Emma Raducanu of Britain was not included in the first round of wild card entries. Due to her extended absence from the tour after surgery on both wrists and one ankle, the former US Open champion has a protected ranking of 103, but that was insufficient to gain her a spot in the grand slam tournament scheduled for next month.
The first round of wild cards was awarded to six Australian players and Wozniacki, the 2018 Australian Open women's champion.
After spending more than three years away from the circuit, Wozniacki, 33, made her comeback to the top division of tennis in August. Before making it to the fourth round of the US Open, where she was defeated by eventual winner Coco Gauff, she competed in Montreal and Cincinnati.
Wozniacki, who is currently ranked No. 242 this week, told Australian Open organizers on Wednesday, "I have so many wonderful memories of Melbourne, and of course winning the Australian Open is an all-time career highlight."
Before quitting the sport in the early months of 2020 to raise a family, Wozniacki won her only Grand Slam singles championship in Australia a few years prior. After working for a while as a TV analyst, she is now a mother of two children with former NBA player David Lee.
Wozniacki stated that she would be taking her son James and daughter Olivia to the Melbourne Park competition. She exclaimed, "I can't wait to share it with my family and my kids."
Three past Australian Open champions, Naomi Osaka, Caroline Wozniacki, and Angelique Kerber, were scheduled to return to the year's first major after taking maternity leave, according to a statement released by tournament director Craig Tiley in October.
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