Like Kyrgios, Tokyo 2020 gold medallist Belinda Bencic can also be set to make use of her protected rating to enter the Australian Open fundamental draw after lacking all of this 12 months’s Grand Slams following the start of her daughter Bella in April.
British primary Draper has by no means gone past the the second spherical on the Australian Open however will likely be hoping to construct additional momentum after reaching the semi-finals of the US Open in September.
Kartal, 23, will make her fundamental draw debut in Melbourne, whereas Burrage, 25, had a first-round exit in 2024.
Defending champions Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka, who high the lads’s and ladies’s rankings, are each on the primary draw checklist, whereas 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic, who’s concentrating on a file eleventh Australian Open crown, can also be confirmed for the occasion.
Former world quantity 4 Kei Nishikori is one other participant utilizing his protected rating to return to the Australian Open for the primary time since 2021.
