Emma Raducanu, Dominic Thiem headline Australian Open qualifying ahead of first Grand Slam of 2024

Raducanu famously came through three qualifying rounds en route to clinching the 2021 US Open but has since struggled and been through several coaches in search of a return to form.

The Brit suffered an injury setback last year and had to undergo ankle and wrist surgeries in April, leaving her sidelined for the rest of the season.

Raducanu has a special ranking of 103 after missing the majority of 2023, which is five places outside the cut-off point for the main draw.

Joining Raducanu in the women’s qualifying event is Sam Errani. The Italian is a former world No. 5 and French Open finalist, losing in straight sets to Maria Sharapova in 2012.

Also in the women’s draw are Britain’s Harriet Dart and Heather Watson, Chinese veteran Hsieh Su-Wei, who has also used a special ranking to enter, and former top-15 players Alize Cornet and Kaia Kanepi.

Thiem, the 2020 men’s US Open, was also the victim of a serious wrist injury which forced him to miss the second half of the 2021 season.

The former world No. 3 was just one spot outside the cut-off for the main draw so only requires one withdrawal to avoid going through qualifying.

The Austrian has made nine previous appearances at Melbourne Park. He lost in the first round last year but has reached the final before, losing from two sets to one up against Novak Djokovic in 2020.

Thiem was last in action at the Moselle Open where he lost in three sets to Ugo Humbert in the last 16 of the ATP 250 event.

Also on the men’s qualifying entry list are Britain’s Liam Broady, David Goffin, Diego Schwartzman, Benoit Paire and Maxime Cressy.