Former US Open champion Emma Raducanu has been granted a spot in the main draw of the Australian Open due to Lauren Davis's withdrawal through injury.
The 21-year-old was originally scheduled to play in the qualifying tournament for the first Grand Slam of the year, having missed the majority of the 2023 season due to wrist and ankle problems.
Raducanu dropped to 301st in the WTA standings as she recuperated from surgery, but she was eligible to enter the preliminary rounds with a protected ranking of 103, which would have forced her to come through three qualifying games in order to reach the first round.
However, the Briton has now been awarded a place in the main draw thanks to a spate of withdrawals, the latest of which has seen American world number 72 Davis pull out with a shoulder problem.
Davis has become the fifth women's singles player to withdraw from the upcoming Australian Open, a list which also includes two-time Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova, who is pregnant with her first child.
Karolina Muchova - the 2023 French Open runner-up - has also ceded her place in the main draw due to a wrist injury, while Irina-Camelia Begu and Caty McNally will not compete in the first major of the year either.
Raducanu - who reached the second round of the 2022 and 2023 Australian Opens - enjoyed a triumphant return to the WTA Tour with a three-set win over Elena-Gabriela Ruse in the first round of the ASB Classic on Tuesday.
The former British number one will now take on Ukrainian second seed Elina Svitolina on Thursday for a spot in the quarter-finals.
Ben Knapton
