The Australian Open 2022 it will mark the start of the Grand Slams season in tennis and will be marked by the absence of great figures. Some of the ATP and others of the WTA, will have to wait to return to the courts due to injury and other situations that pave the way for other items that don’t normally arrive as favorites.
The absences at the Australian Open 2022 that could make a difference
Roger Federer
Injuries have hit ‘Your Majesty’ for the past few years, so virtually all activity for 2021 was lost. He himself announced that he would return to the courts in 2022 and that he had the hope of contesting the Australian Open; however this will not be possible.
Roger Federer boasts the same 20 Grand Slam titles as Nadal and Djokovic (6 are from Australia) but you will have to wait to increase your account. In addition, the Swiss completely rules out withdrawal at this time.
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Dominic Thiem
The Austrian confirmed his withdrawal from the Australian Open 2022 since the end of December. The previous year was difficult for Dominic Thiem in terms of wrist injuries, which prevented him from playing the season normally. Among the matches that were lost was an exhibition in Mexico City.
“I will start in the Cordoba Open, in Argentina, at the end of January, and I will not play the Australian Open in Melbourne, a city that I love and of which I have great memories of unforgettable matches. I will miss the Australian fans but I will be back in 2023Thiem explained on social media.
Serena Williams
The female branch of tennis does not have a hegemony as marked as the male one and this allows us to see variety among the Grand Slam champions. Serena Williams is the top winner of these tournaments and of her 23 trophies, 7 are from the Australian Open But the bad news is that he will not be able to contest it in 2022.
Williams also suffered with injuries in 2021, especially since retiring from Wimbledon in the first round with a muscle discomfort on the right leg. Your style may or may not be to your liking; However, the American’s legacy in the WTA is unmatched and she will look to bounce back later to climb from 41st place in the rankings.
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Karolina Pliskova
The world number four was also unable to travel to the Australian Open due to injury shortly before 2022 began. The Czech injured her right hand during training, for which he was left out of the tour of Australian territory.
Karolina Pliskova could drop a few places in the WTA rankings because right now it has 5 thousand 135 points. Her closest pursuer is Barbora Krejcikova with 5,008 units and in recent years she showed a great game that led her to the Roland Garros title.
Bianca Andreescu
The reason for the Canadian drop refers directly to the COVID-19 pandemic. Andreescu explained that the quarantine and isolation affected her physically but also mentally: “Many days I didn’t feel like myself, especially while training or playing. I felt all the weight of the world on my shoulders. The chaos around took a toll on me“.
Champion of the US Open in 2019, she is willing to play later although it is unknown when her season will begin.
The doubts around the Australian Open
Novak Djokovic
The most controversial case at the moment continues its march and although it is practically a fact that Novak Djokovic will return to Serbia, he and his team have a legal battle so that he can play the Australian Open 2022. The goal is to win his Grand Slam number 20 and separate from both Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
The controversy around ‘Nole’ refers to his anti-vaccine stance and the rules of tournaments for COVID-19. The lawyers argue that the Serbian received a medical exemption because he had coronavirus in mid-December, although during the same days he was seen in public more than once.
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Naomi Osaka
The Japanese and current champion still does not know if she will be able to defend her title due to injury. Osaka withdrew from WTA Melbourne before playing semifinal, so Veronika Kudermetova automatically advanced.
However, there is still hope that rest and rehabilitation will help Naomi Osaka so that she can perform at the first Grand Slam of the year: “Sad to have to retire due to injury, my body suffered after the intense matches after the break I took. I’ll try to rest and see you soon“The tennis player wrote on her Twitter account.
Naomi Osaka withdraws from Melbourne tournament semi-final one week before Australian Open
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