Australian Open 2023: Who is playing and who is missing out? Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Naomi Osaka, Emma Raducanu

The 2023 Australian Open starts on January 16 in Melbourne.

Rafael Nadal will be the defending men’s champion while Iga Swiatek will have her sights on the women’s title following the retirement of 2022 winner Ashleigh Barty.

Often the first Grand Slam of the new season is the best attended as players have had an off-season to recover from any injury issues. However, there will still be some star names who either won’t be in Melbourne in January or are still looking to get back to their best.

We look at the key names who will be playing the 2023 Australian Open and those who could miss out.

Novak Djokovic

Djokovic did not play last year after a 10-day visa saga ended with him being deported from the country. He has not lost a match at the Grand Slam since 2018 and will start as the favourite.

Djokovic has said he hopes he will also receive a warm reception at Melbourne Park.

“After obviously what happened earlier this year, hopefully I can have a decent reception there and hopefully that can help me play some good tennis.”

Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal will be back to defend his Australian Open title.

Nadal beat Daniil Medvedev in a thrilling 2022 final to claim victory at the opening Grand Slam of the year for the first time since 2009. This time last year he had not played in five months due to injury, and ahead of the 2023 Australian Open he also appears short of competitive action.

Nadal returned late in the season in 2022 and lost three straight matches before ending with a win over Casper Ruud at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin.

Carlos Alcaraz

Carlos Alcaraz will be playing his first Grand Slam as world No. 1.

The youngest No. 1 in ATP history has not had the ideal preparation for the Australian Open as he missed the Nitto ATP Finals at the end of the 2022 season with an abdominal injury. He is not going to play any competitive tournaments before the Australian Open and will instead take part in an exhibition at the Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club in Melbourne.

“I’m just going to see myself better, trying to push myself to a high level,” he said in December.

“The expectations, the ranking, and the tournament is apart from that. Right now I’m focused on myself, on recovering my level and I would say little by little I’m recovering.”

Naomi Osaka

The Australian Open has been the scene of some of Naomi Osaka’s most memorable triumphs. She has won the tournament twice (2019 and 2021) and her most recent Grand Slam victory was in Melbourne.

But since that win Osaka’s form has dipped. She did not have a vintage 2022, playing just 25 matches and winning only 14 of them. In total she only entered 11 tournaments.

“She just needs to play,” tennis legend Martina Navratilova told the WTA in December. “For every major, you should play at least five tournaments, that’s a good ratio. For me, it was like 10. You can’t talk yourself into winning – you just have to go out and do it.”

Osaka is on the Australian Open entry list but is not currently scheduled to play anywhere beforehand.

Venus Williams

Venus Williams will be back for a 22nd Australian Open appearance.

Williams is a two-time runner-up at the Grand Slam, most recently in 2017, and has taken a wildcard to play. She will be appearing 25 years after her debut at the tournament.

“It will be an honour to play for the fans again and I’m looking forward to making more memories at the tournament this year,” said Williams, who lost all four singles matches she played in 2022.

Williams is currently ranked outside the top 1000.

Emma Raducanu

Emma Raducanu will be playing the Australian Open for a second time.

Raducanu made her debut in Melbourne last year as the reigning US Open champion and lost in the second round. She is starting her preparations for the Grand Slam in Auckland.

Nick Kyrgios

Kyrgios is Australia’s highest-ranked men’s singles players and also won the doubles title at the Australian Open in 2022. He has reportedly been dealing with an ankle injury which he suffered at an exhibition event in Dubai in December.

He is entered to play the Adelaide International 2 ahead of the Australian Open.

Ashleigh Barty

Defending Australian Open women’s champion Ashleigh Barty will not be back on court. Barty made the shock decision to retire shortly after her victory in Melbourne in 2022.

Sofia Kenin

Sofia Kenin was a surprise winner at the 2020 Australian Open but her form has dropped since. She is now ranked at No. 149 in the world and had a 5-8 win-loss record in 2022 after missing time due to injury.

She will be using her protected ranking to play the 2023 Australian Open.

Gael Monfils

Gael Monfils made the Australian Open quarter-finals in 2022 but will not be back this year.

He only played in eight tournaments last season due to injury and has said that 2023 will be a “year of transition” as he looks to get back to full fitness in time for the Paris 2024 Olympics.

He also plans to use his protected ranking for the French Open.

Dominic Thiem

Dominic Thiem, who was runner-up at the Australian Open in 2020, will be playing the Grand Slam again. Thiem has been on the comeback trail after a wrist injury and has only played two of the last Grand Slam tournaments.

He showed improvement over the second half of the 2022 season but did not earn enough ranking points to secure an automatic spot at the Australian Open.

He has though got a wildcard to play the tournament.

Stan Wawrinka

Now ranked at No. 148 in the world, Stan Wawrinka will be using a protected ranking to play the Australian Open.

The 2014 champion has dropped down the rankings after undergoing foot surgery and only returning an 8-14 win-loss record in 2022.

Given he will be turning 38 in March it could be the last time that he plays the Australian Open.

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