Tennis - WTA 500 - Stuttgart Open - Porsche Arena, Stuttgart, Germany - April 18, 2023 Britain's Emma Raducanu reacts during her round of 32 match against Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko REUTERS/Angelika Warmuth/ File photo
(Reuters) - Former U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu moved into the main draw of the Australian Open after American Lauren Davis pulled out of the year's first Grand Slam with a shoulder injury, organisers said on Wednesday.
Raducanu, who beat Elena-Gabriela Ruse at the Auckland Classic on Tuesday in her return to action following wrist and ankle surgeries, has slipped to number 301 in the world and her protected ranking was not good enough for direct entry to the Melbourne Park Grand Slam.
The 21-year-old Briton was also overlooked for a wildcard and was set to take a similar path as her 2021 Flushing Meadows run when she became the first player in the Open Era to win a major after starting out in the qualifying rounds.
However, the exit of Davis, which followed withdrawals by Karolina Muchova, Petra Kvitova, Irina-Camelia Begu and Caty McNally, opened up a spot for Raducanu in the main draw of the Jan. 14-28 major.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
