Emma Raducanu in Australian Open

Although Spain’s Rafa Nadal has had to pull out of the Australian Open this year due to a muscle tear, Emma Raducanu returns to play her first Grand Slam for a year.

After busting onto the tennis scene and winning the US Open as a teenager, she suffered an apparent loss of form and then was side lined for much of 2023 due to wrist and ankle injuries.

For much of her career she seems to have had a struggle holding onto coaches but it now appears that she and Nick Cavaday who worked with her before she turned professional are working together in Melbourne.

Can she do well in Australia?

If all goes well in her two exhibition matches prior to the start of the Grand Slam and then she does well in that tournament it looks as if the two of them will carry on during 2024.

Bookies favourites

Bookies overwhelming favourite is Novak Djokovic for the men’s title although Spanish fans will be shouting out for their latest star Carlos Alcaraz.

As far as the women are concerned it looks like Polish sensation Iga Swiatek is odds on to add to her collection of titles from 2023.

Now ranked at 299 in the world, Emma Raducanu will have quite a job to re-establish herself but if she does well in this tournament then it could be her year now she is fully recovered, provided her head is in the right place.