Plenty of attention has been devoted to the imminent returns of several women’s superstars at Australian Open 2024.
Former champions Naomi Osaka, Angelique Kerber and Caroline Wozniacki, plus others such as Emma Raducanu, Jennifer Brady and Amanda Anisimova, will infuse an already-strong women’s field with even more star power and talent in January.
Less attention, however, has been devoted to predicting how they might fare once the summer of tennis is underway.
"It's going to be really tough next year, and especially right off the bat starting in Australia. Because they all play well there, and they're all really great hard-court players as well,” Jessica Pegula told ausopen.com, specifically referring to Osaka, Kerber and Wozniacki.
“They're not going to be seeded, I don't think, so that's going to be really tricky. They're going to be floating around the draw – that's kind of scary (laughter).
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“No matter how long they haven't played for, they're experienced, they're all Grand Slam champions, they know what it takes to win, and that's going to be really tough.
“I pray I get a decent draw – hopefully no-one comes at me too early (smiling). But you’ve got to be ready for anything. So I think there'll be a lot of drama, in a good way.
“Caroline seemed to be playing some great tennis at the US Open, so she seemed to snap back pretty quickly.”
In Wozniacki’s case, she does not begin her Australian comeback completely cold. She returned to the tour as a mother-of-two in August, playing a swing of three tournaments culminating in New York, where she reached the fourth round.
Her loss to eventual champion Coco Gauff gave her a clearer idea of what she needed to work on going forward, and she has been “hunkering down” ever since, preparing physically for a strong Aussie summer.
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“I actually watched part of her match against Jen Brady on the court there (at Arthur Ashe Stadium),” Sam Stosur told ausopen.com, referring to Wozniacki’s third-round victory at the US Open.
“I thought her level straight up was phenomenal, given how quick her comeback was, and now she's taken another couple of months off, getting ready for the summer.
“Who knows what we'll see from Osaka and Kerber? Let's say Osaka: if she came out and won AO, I think that would be incredible.
“It's tough; the level up there is hard. And it should be – it's the best players of the sport.
“So if someone manages to take all that time out, and then come back and win a Slam straight up, it's a phenomenal effort.”
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Osaka has not hit a competitive ball since September 2022, and won the most recent of her four major titles almost three years ago, at Australian Open 2021.
After giving birth to daughter Shai in July 2023, she begins her 2024 season against Tamara Korpatsch at the Brisbane International.
Kerber’s last Grand Slam triumph came more than five years ago at Wimbledon, and she hasn’t played tennis for 18 months. She will begin by playing for Team Germany at the United Cup in Sydney, where she meets Jasmine Paolini first up on Saturday 30 December.
She acknowledged her comeback would represent possibly the biggest challenge of her career.
“It will be a long road and I will need patience, which is not one of my strengths,” she laughed during an interview with the Bad Homburg tournament website, almost a year after becoming a mother to daughter Liana.
“I have to be realistic and give myself time to get back into the swing of things after the long break. A lot of things will be different when I come back, not least my role as a mother, but I want to try everything and accept the challenge.”
While Wozniacki at least has some matches under her belt, she has not played in Australia for four years. When she last competed at Melbourne Park, the WTA top 10 was entirely different – not a single player from that time resides in that bracket today.
WTA TOP 10 DURING AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2020
*Week of 20 January 2020
Into the breach have stepped intensely powerful, athletic and consistent players such as world No.1 Iga Swiatek – now a four-time major winner – plus Gauff, reigning AO champion Aryna Sabalenka and 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina.
Pegula rounds out this top five, completing her second straight season inside the elite group in 2023.
The American star said she was intrigued by what would happen if – or when – the game’s current generation of top players clashed with several former champions.
“When you're used to playing certain players, you kind of know what to expect. Now all of a sudden, I don't think anyone really knows what to expect,” Pegula said.
"Even though they’re great players, I mean, it's still probably going to be a process for them to come back, I'm sure.
“It’s dependent on how much they're going to want to play, how it goes at the beginning, if they're staying healthy, what they want to do now that a lot of them are mothers… I'm sure they're going to be travelling on tour with a different routine or schedule as well now.
“I'm sure it will definitely be a learning curve for them because they're coming back into a totally different tour with different goals in their life, as well.
“They're all great players, I think they're going to come back pretty strong. It might take some time, or it might happen right away – I don't know. We'll see.”
Pegula and Stosur both know how beneficial these comebacks are for the women’s game.
Stosur believes it is exciting for the Australian Open and the sport as a whole, adding an extra dimension to the group of marquee names generating discussion and media headlines.
Pegula says it’s a bonus for fans, too.
“(US Open 2021 champion) Emma Raducanu is coming back too, so add her into the mix. There's so many young girls, there's the older ones who have been experienced. Players are coming back as mothers, or they're coming back older (after) retiring,” she noted.
“There's so many different storylines that every fan can relate to… You never kind of know what you're going to get, which makes it fun. But you still have a lot of fan favourites that are still there that you can root for.
“A lot of nostalgia, and a lot of young superstars. So it's pretty cool.”