Several familiar faces will return to grand-slam action at the Australian Open after extended breaks.
Injury has unfortunately postponed Rafael Nadal’s slam comeback but fellow former champions Naomi Osaka and Angelique Kerber return along with Britain’s Emma Raducanu.
Here, the PA news agency looks at the returning players.
Naomi Osaka
Osaka’s opening-round match in Brisbane last week was her first since September 2022. It was last January when the Japanese player revealed she was expecting her first child and would miss the season. Baby Shai arrived in July and the break appears to have given Osaka, who missed major chunks of 2022 because of her mental health, a new perspective and a fresh hunger for the sport. Melbourne Park’s courts suit the 26-year-old well, and the 2019 and 2021 champion will be a name other players will hope to avoid in the draw.
Emma Raducanu
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While not sidelined for as long as Nadal or Osaka, Raducanu has not played a grand-slam match since a second-round loss to Coco Gauff in Melbourne 12 months ago. After battling consistent niggling injuries since her US Open triumph, in May the 21-year-old opted to have surgery on both wrists and one ankle and was not seen on the match court again in 2023. While strong opinions abound regarding Raducanu’s approach to her career, her talent is not in doubt and the biggest question mark remains whether her body can hold up to the rigours of professional tennis.
Angelique Kerber
Tennis fans could have been forgiven for thinking former Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open champion Kerber had retired. Instead, after being off the tour since Wimbledon 2022 and nearly a year after the birth of daughter Liana, the German is back. Kerber will turn 36 this month and her grand slam winning days are surely behind her but she joins a growing gang of mums on tour.
Marin Cilic
Another veteran on the comeback trail is 35-year-old former US Open champion Cilic. The Croatian, a finalist in Melbourne in 2018, only played two matches in 2023 because of a knee injury.
Amanda Anisimova
A tennis prodigy who reached the French Open semi-finals as a 17-year-old in 2019, Anisimova’s career understandably stalled following the untimely death of her father and coach Konstantin later the same year. In May last year, the American, who is still only 22, announced she was taking an indefinite break from the sport, citing burnout and mental health issues. “I slowed my life down and that’s something that I really needed,” Anisimova told the WTA on her return in Auckland last week.
Raducanu cruises into Nottingham Open quarter-finals after dominant Snigur win
Emma Raducanu cruised into the quarter-finals of the Nottingham Open with a straight-sets victory over Daria Snigur on Thursday.
After making her return from injury in the previous round, Raducanu made light work of the match, winning 6-2, 6-2 as her preparation for Wimbledon continued.
Despite a bright start from Snigur, which saw her break the Briton's serve in the opening game, she could not hold off Raducanu's challenge as she reeled off six games in a row to win the first set.
With her confidence back, Raducanu secured two breaks in the second set to ease through and will face Francesca Jones or Ashlyn Krueger in the next round.
Data Debrief: Raducanu easing back to full threat
After a slightly shaky first round against Ena Shibahara, Raducanu looked a confident figure on the court as she dispatched Snigur.
Her serve proved a highlight as she served 11 aces in the second set, and had a 70 per cent win rate on her first serve throughout the match.
Top seed Pegula out of Libema Open as De Minaur progresses
Top seed Jessica Pegula bowed out of the Libema Open following a three-set defeat by Aleksandra Krunic in s'Hertogenbosch.
The world number five was ousted 7-6 (7-3) 6-7 (3-7) 6-4 by the 2018 winner of this event, who claimed the fifth top-10 victory of her career and advanced to the quarter-finals.
Now ranked 400th in the world, Krunic recovered from an earlier break in the opening set to force a tie-break, in which she won five straight points to draw first blood.
The Serbian also cancelled out a break before heading into another tie-break, but Pegula reeled off five points on the spin this time to level.
The American was appearing in her first tournament since April, having missed the European clay-court season with a rib injury.
However, she saw two break-point opportunities go begging in the opening game of the deciding set, and Krunic crucially broke in game three before holding out for an impressive victory.
Later on, Alex de Minaur booked his place in the quarter-finals of the competition after a straight-sets victory over Zizou Bergs.
The world number nine had to work for his victory over the Belgian, overcoming his opponent 7-5 6-4 to earn his first triumph on a grass court this year.
Bergs matched his opponent in the opening exchanges, but the Australian would eventually prevail, winning a break-point and following up without dropping a point in the final game.
De Minaur would again endure a difficult set to confirm the victory as Bergs threatened to level the encounter, but the number one seed again showed his class, finishing the contest in style.
De Minaur will face either Roberto Bautista Agut or Milos Raonic in the next round.
Data Debrief: Krunic rekindles special memories as de Minaur earns maiden grass win
Krunic will forever have an affinity with s-Hertogenbosch, where she won her only career WTA title six years ago.
And the 31-year-old claimed an impressive scalp here to reach her first WTA quarter-final since 2022 - and first on grass since that 2018 triumph.
De Minaur impressed once again, winning 86 per cent of his first serve points against the Belgian.
Their meeting in s-Hertogenbosch was the first between the pair, with De Minaur able to overcome his quarter-final defeat to Alexander Zverev at the French Open.
Nadal confirms Wimbledon absence to focus on Olympics
Rafael Nadal confirmed he will miss Wimbledon in order to focus on competing at his "last Olympics" in Paris.
The Royal Spanish Tennis Federation confirmed on Wednesday the 22-time major winner will feature in the men's singles and men's doubles events, which will be played on the clay courts of Roland-Garros.
Nadal, who will partner Carlos Alcaraz in the doubles, played what was expected to be his final French Open campaign last month, where he said he was unlikely to play at Wimbledon following his first-round exit to Alexander Zverev.
And the 38-year-old confirmed his decision on his social media channels, opting to continue his preparations on clay rather than switching from grass at the All England Club, where he is a two-time champion.
"It was announced yesterday that I will play at the Summer Olympics in Paris, my last Olympics," said Nadal, who will prepare for the Olympics by entering the ATP 250 event in Bastad earlier in July.
"With this goal, we believe that the best thing for my body is not to change surfaces, and to keep playing on clay until then. It's for this reason that I will miss playing at the Championships this year at Wimbledon.
"I am saddened not to be able to live this year the great atmosphere of that amazing event that will always be in my heart, and be with all the British fans that always gave me great support. I will miss you all."
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