A plethora of superstar comebacks could shake up the status quo at Melbourne Park next January in an intrigue-loaded Australian Open 2024.
Leading the charge is a trio of AO champions and fan favourites in Naomi Osaka, Angelique Kerber and Caroline Wozniacki. All are planning triumphant returns to the court following maternity leave and could potentially upset the newly-established order.
Plus, this means tennis fans could be set for an incredibly juicy array of possible early-round match-ups.
"We are delighted to welcome back these amazing women, Naomi, Angie and Caroline, who’ve lit up the Australian Open and impressed fans with their athleticism, resilience and their sportsmanship," Australian Open Tournament Director Craig Tiley said.
"We will welcome them – and their families - back to Melbourne with open arms and can’t wait to see what their next chapter brings.
"They will find the landscape has changed somewhat since they reigned supreme."
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Indeed, the sport’s newest major champion is a teenage star in Coco Gauff, who thrilled fans with her run to the US Open title. In that final she beat new world No.1 and AO defending champion Aryna Sabalenka.
Sabalenka recently assumed the No.1 ranking from Iga Swiatek, whose triumph at Roland Garros in June was her fourth Grand Slam title – a tally seeing her surpass Kerber and equal Osaka.
Also in the mix are reigning Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova, AO 2023 finalist Elena Rybakina, and fellow top-eight stars Jessica Pegula, Ons Jabeur and Karolina Muchova.
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"The combination of great champions of our game returning, combined with the emergence of exciting young talents, promises an Australian Open with unmatched unpredictability and excitement," Tiley said.
Osaka, Kerber and Wozniacki are not the only stars targeting 2024 comebacks, and we could see even more depth added to an already stellar women’s field.
Naomi Osaka
Along with Victoria Azarenka, Naomi Osaka is the only active player to have won the AO women’s singles title multiple times.
Her titles at Melbourne Park in 2019 and 2021 have helped her build a 24-5 win-loss record at the tournament – an 83 per cent winning rate that is her highest among the four majors.
Osaka came tantalisingly close to another deep run at the Australian Open in 2022, but could not convert her two match points against Amanda Anisimova, falling in the third round.
That was her last match at Melbourne Park; she missed the 2023 event as she was pregnant with daughter Shai, who was born in July 2023.
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Osaka said in an interview with ESPN at the US Open that she planned to start her season Down Under and play a fuller schedule of tournaments in 2024.
The former world No.1, with a game built around a huge serve and electrifying power, will be competing for the first time since Tokyo in September 2022.
Angelique Kerber
Like Osaka, Kerber has not competed since 2022, announcing her pregnancy in August that year and giving birth to daughter Liana in February 2023.
Kerber’s last appearance in the Australian Open was a straight-sets loss to Kaia Kanepi in the first round in 2022, but she has fond memories of the tournament.
It’s where she won her first of three major titles in 2016 – beating Serena Williams in a classic final – and where she returned to the semifinals in 2018.
Kerber, a former world No.1, is also a US Open and Wimbledon champion.
While she acknowledged the challenges of making a comeback at age 36, she has spent the second half of 2023 readying herself for an assault on the tour.
“I don’t want to come back just to play. That would be the wrong attitude," she told German media, in translated comments. "That's why I'm taking the time to get fit now.”
Caroline Wozniacki
Fellow mum Wozniacki is further along in her comeback than Osaka and Kerber, having returned to the tour in August.
After appearances in Montreal and Cincinnati, Wozniacki progressed to the fourth round of the US Open, falling in three sets to eventual champion Gauff.
“I think there's a lot of things that I can take away with me from playing this Slam, and obviously I beat some great players along the way,” said the 33-year-old mother-of-two.
“There's a lot of positives to take with me going forward. I'm on the right track. I'm finding my form, I'm finding my feet. I know what I'm doing on the practice court is the right thing.
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“So I'm excited to take on more events, more players out there.”
Wozniacki is a former world No.1 who broke through for her first Grand Slam title at Australian Open 2018.
Two years later at the same tournament she farewelled the sport at age 29; her last match was a tight three-set loss to Ons Jabeur.
In June 2021 she became a mother with the birth of daughter Olivia, and a year later, she welcomed son James into the world.
Later in 2022, the itch to hit, and compete, returned.
Elina Svitolina
Another mother who has taken steps back to the professional circuit is Elina Svitolina, who reminded everyone in 2023 what a force she could be.
The former world No.3 married ATP pro Gael Monfils in July 2021 and in October 2022 they became parents to daughter Skai.
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After 13 months away, Svitolina returned to the tour this year in April at the WTA event in Charleston. The 29-year-old quickly made a huge impact at the Grand Slams, reaching the quarterfinals at Roland Garros and the semifinals at Wimbledon.
As a result she has soared back into the world’s top 25 and will earn direct entry into Australian Open 2024 – her first appearance at Melbourne Park in two years.
Garbine Muguruza
Another former world No.1, Garbine Muguruza, could also be back in the fold.
The AO 2020 finalist has not played since January this year, deciding instead to take an extended break from the game after a run of dispiriting results.
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“Spending time with family and friends and it's really been healthy and amazing, so I am going to lengthen this period till summer,” the 30-year-old Spaniard wrote on Instagram in April.
Muguruza, a Roland Garros and Wimbledon champion, subsequently revealed she would not play for the rest of the season.
In Spanish press, she clarified that her “sabbatical” was not “a definitive goodbye”, and that she was targeting a return – with the Australian Open, US Open, and an Olympic medal on her list of goals.
Emma Raducanu
In recent months, Emma Raducanu has been spotted training after multiple surgeries ruled her out for the bulk of 2023.
The British star, who broke through with her triumph at the 2021 US Open, played just 10 matches in 2023, and none since April, thanks to surgeries on both wrists and one of her ankles.
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Raducanu, 20, documented on Instagram her return to the practice court in August, and has also posted about hitting the gym.
While a comeback date is not confirmed, the former world No.10 told the BBC: "Next season I'll be back.”
Ajla Tomljanovic
Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic has played even less than Raducanu, restricted to just two matches in 2023 due to a persistent knee injury.
Tomljanovic, a three-time major quarterfinalist, made her return at the US Open in August and scored a heart-warming first-round win – only to have to pull out of the tournament ahead of her second-round match.
“My body still needs time to adjust to the intensity of high level tennis,” the 30-year-old wrote on social media. “I’m proud of the work we did to get here but it was just a little too early.
“Back to work for me.”
In an encouraging sign, Tomljanovic has since been selected for Australia’s Billie Jean King Cup team for the finals in Seville, scheduled for 7-12 November.
Daria Saville
Another popular Aussie, Daria Saville, is targeting a return to the AO for the first time in two years.
In 2022, she made a spectacular comeback to the tour after chronic heel and Achilles issues, soaring from outside the top 600 to inside the top 50. Cruelly, her progress was stalled in Tokyo in September 2022 when she ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament.
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Sidelined for another nine months, Saville returned to the tour in June 2023 and in just her fourth event back progressed to the WTA Hamburg semifinals. The 29-year-old dropped to world No.322 during the US Open but has since improved to 211th.
Saville reached the fourth round of the Australian Open in both 2016 and 2017 and is a former world No.20.