It is the time of year when athletes cool off from a hectic schedule of non-stop tennis to recuperate and prepare for the upcoming season. 2024 holds many accolades up for grabs for hungry athletes, and it all begins with the season-opening grand slam, the Australian Open 2024.
The hard-court mega event will see many top stars worldwide, like Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner participate. Still, the Melbourne crowd will be eager to witness some homegrown athletes succeed at the elite level. We have gathered a list of Aussie wildcards who will look to cause upsets and progress in the tournament.
Which six Aussies get 2024 Australian Open wildcards?
Seven athletes have been awarded wildcards with six of them being Australians and the other being Caroline Wozniacki, a former world no.1 WTA player. The Aussies on the list consist of three men and three women, all of whom are upcoming talents who are eager to use their wildcard to bring success and glory to Australian Tennis at the Australian Open 2024.
Kimberly Birrell, Olivia Gadecki, Taylah Preston, James Duckworth, Marc Polmans and Adam Walton are the athletes from the land down under who will participate in the event.
All six players have had excellent 2023 seasons. Olivia Gadecki, who broke into the spotlight when she won her first grand slam match by beating Polina Kudermetova, was excited at the opportunity and thanked her nation’s tennis board.
“I’m so grateful for the opportunity that Tennis Australia has given me. I can’t wait to kick start the year playing in front of a home crowd,” the 21-year-old said.
Perth’s Taylah Preston is the youngest player of the lot and the 18-year-old has had a season to remember as she soared from world no.836 to the top 200s thanks to four WTA tour level titles.
“I’ve dreamed of playing the Australian Open since I first started playing tennis so to be given this opportunity is amazing and I am extremely grateful and excited,” said Preston.
Wozniacki, who is the biggest name in the wildcard list of tennis players, was also extremely excited to take part in Australian Open 2024.
“I hope that I get a nice welcome back when I see everyone there – and I’m sure I will; it really is a special place,” she said.
The Australian Open 2024 is a huge event in a tennis player’s calendar year and the event will kickstart a season of many accolades for stars and upcoming players alike.
Australian Open 2024: Date, Time, Location
If you are in and around the Oceanic island of Australia, book your dates for the Australian Open 2024. The mega event will take place January 15-28 in Melbourne.
This is the 112th edition of the Australian Open and the venue to host the event is Melbourne Park in the namesake city. A total of 128 singles matches and 64 doubles matches will be contested overall.
January 12-15 will witness the qualifying round of matches after which the main draw begins on January 15th. Day 1 will see two sets of round 1 matches, with the morning matches beginning at 11:00 AM AEST(Australian Eastern Standard Time). The night matches will begin at 7:00 PM AEST and both men and women will play their first round matches on January 15th.
The women’s singles final and men’s doubles final will take place on Saturday, January 27 at 7:30 PM AEST. The following day will see the men’s singles final and women’s doubles final at the same time.
Novak Djokovic will be defending his title as number one seed and tennis fans will be eager to see Rafael Nadal in his first grand slam since last year’s Australian Open. The stage is set for a crackerjack of an event and hopefully fans will have a fortnight to remember.
What are your thoughts on the chances of the Australian wildcards next year at Melbourne Park? And Are you planning to catch the tournament live? Let us know in the comments section below.
