Days before the Australian Open gets underway, fans were expecting an exciting showdown between Naomi Osaka and Emma Raducanu at the Rod Laver Arena on January 9. The former US Open champions were expected to play in a charity match before the year’s first Grand Slam. But the match was called off at the eleventh hour as both players withdrew for precautionary reasons.

Osaka was the first to pull out of the contest a day earlier and was replaced by the Croatian Donna Vekic. Britain’s Raducanu then decided to withdraw leading to the cancellation of the charity match.

Osaka and Raducanu have returned after lengthy layoffs

“Unfortunately, the charity match scheduled for (Tuesday) evening will not take place. The players have regretfully withdrawn for precautionary reasons,” said a statement from Tennis Australia. Both Raducanu and Osaka have recently returned to the tour after lengthy absences. Osaka withdrew having returned to the tour this month after giving birth in July 2023. She made her comeback to competitive tennis after a 15-month hiatus as she participated in the Brisbane International. Osaka, a former World No.1, is currently ranked No.833 in the world and will enter the Australian Open main draw with a special ranking

The BBC reported that the 2021 US Open champion Raducanu pulled out due to “a little soreness” following a two-hour practice session the previous day. She missed out most of 2023 following ankle and wrist surgeries in May last year. Raducanu made her return to the tour in Auckland last week winning her opening match before pushing eventual tournament runner-up Elina Svitolina to three sets.

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Raducanu, who has gained direct entry into this year’s Australian Open main draw following other players’ withdrawals, is scheduled to play the 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva at the Kooyong Classic on Thursday. The draw for the Australian Open also takes place that day. Following the cancelation of the match, fans were left disappointed, and the authorities confirmed that people who bought tickets would get their money back automatically from Ticketmaster within 3-5 days.

Even though the main match was canceled, Melbourne Park was still open. Fans could watch qualifying matches and even see some extended Open Practice sessions at Rod Laver Arena. Fans also have other three charity matches to look forward to.

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World number two Carlos Alcaraz will face Australian number one Alex de Minaur on Wednesday, January 10. On January 11, we will witness a mixed doubles match. 10-time AO winner Novak Djokovic will team up with the 2023 AO Women’s champion Aryna Sabalenka to take on homegrown talents Stefanos Tsitsipas and world No. 8 Maria Sakkari.

The last charity match on January 12, will see Carlos Alcaraz return to center court to take on world number 11 Casper Ruud before the Australian Open officially begins on January 14.

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