Ever since her participation in the 2023 Stuttgart Open, Emma Raducanu has not played any competitive games. The British tennis player, however, is now on the verge of her long-awaited comeback in the upcoming season, as she might also get to grace the courts during the first Grand Slam event, the Australian Open.

After undergoing surgery on her wrists and ankle, the 21-year-old will make a return at the ASB Classic in Auckland. Apart from the WTA 250 event, the tennis community might also get to witness Raducanu during the Grand Slam in Melbourne, as a recent withdrawal turned out to be advantageous for the Brit.

Emma Raducanu inches closer to her return at the Australian Open

Prior to the forthcoming Grand Slam tournament in Melbourne, some withdrawal news has caught the attention of the tennis community. The Austrian tennis player Julia Grabher has pulled out of the Australian Open, and her withdrawal has turned out to be favorable for Emma Raducanu.

Now that Grabher is out of the major event, the British tennis star will need four more withdrawals to get into the main draw of the Australian Open. The news was recently brought to light on twitter by a fan who stated, “Australian Open 2024: – Julia Grabher 🇦🇹 is out – Emma Raducanu will now need 4 more withdrawals to get into the main draw”

As she inches closer to direct entry to the Australian Open, the tennis community is also curious to find out if the Brit can use her ‘protected ranking.’ So let’s find out here.

Can Raducanu use her protected ranking to play at the Australian Open?

Protected Ranking is a system used to help players ease their way back into a tournament following a minimum injury period of six months. Notably, a fan was curious to know if Raducanu could also use her protected ranking in order to return to the Australian Open. The user commented, “She can use PR, why she doesn’t use it?

It later received a quick response from another fan who said, “Who Emma? Her pr is 103, the cut off is 99.”

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Do you think that the British tennis player will get to play in the first Grand Slam event of the season? Let us know in the comments section.

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