CHARLESTON/ MELBOURNE — Defending champion Ons Jabeur and World No.5 Jessica Pegula are set to return to the 2024 Charleston Open.
The WTA 500 event is the only clay-court Hologic WTA Tour tournament in North America and will played from March 30 to April 7 on Daniel Island in Charleston, South Carolina.
Pegula, a semi-finallist last year, and No.6 Jabeur headline the tournament’s early commitments, which also includes No.9 Maria Sakkari. Former champions Madison Keys (2019), Sloane Stephens (2016) and Belinda Bencic (2022) have also committed to play.
“We have an incredible field of tennis champions already committed to play in Charleston next year and ticket sales and demand for 2024 continue to outperform previous records,” said Bob Moran, Tournament Director of the Charleston Open according to wtatennis.
Elsewhere, Nick Kyrgios said he will miss his homeland Australian Open for the second straight year, this time due to a wrist injury.
Kyrgios pulled out of the 2023 Australian Open just prior to the start of the Grand Slam event due to a knee injury. He soon underwent surgery.
The 28-year-old also missed the other three 2023 Grand Slam events (French Open, Wimbledon, US Open) due to injuries.
“Obviously had a really tough year with injury, had that knee surgery and came back a little bit too soon and set me back a little bit, then obviously had some wrist issues,” Kyrgios said on his website.
“So this is a very disappointing time for me, but I won’t be able to compete at the 2024 Australian Open,” Kyrgios added according to Reuters.
The former World No. 13 played some of his best tennis in 2022 when he lost to Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final and reached the quarter-finals of the US Open.
At the time he was optimistic the lay-off would not be too long but it was June when he finally returned, and that proved a false dawn.
Kyrgios, who reached the Wimbledon final in 2022, then withdrew just before the Championships, this time citing a wrist injury, and he has not been seen on a match court since.
Meanwhile, British 14-year-old Hannah Klugman cemented her status as one of the most exciting prospects in the sport by winning the prestigious Orange Bowl title in Florida.
The historic under-18 tournament ranks alongside the grand slams as one of the biggest events in the junior game, with recent winners including grand slam champions Coco Gauff, Bianca Andreescu and Sofia Kenin.
Klugman defeated top seed Laura Samsonova in the quarter-finals and fourth seed Iva Jovic in the last four before a 6-3 6-3 success against American Tyra Grant in the final.
Emma Raducanu and Amanda Anisimova, meanwhile, will kickstart their comebacks at next month’s ASB Classic after receiving wild cards for the WTA 250 tournament, which begins on January 1.
Former US Open champion Raducanu has not competed since Stuttgart in April after undergoing multiple ankle and wrist surgeries, and is now ranked No.296. The 21-year-old Briton made her Auckland debut this year, sustaining an ankle injury in the second round against Viktoria Hruncakova.
Former Roland Garros semifinalist Anisimova announced an indefinite mental health break from tennis in May. The 22-year-old American, whose career-high is No.21, has not competed since a first-round loss to Arantxa Rus in Madrid.
Anisimova has previously enjoyed success in Auckland, reaching the quarterfinals on her tournament debut in 2019 and the semifinals a year later. She is currently ranked No.367.
The Auckland entry list is led by defending champion Coco Gauff, whose title here in January spearheaded a breakthrough year for the 19-year-old that saw her claim her first Grand Slam crown at the US Open.
Elina Svitolina and Caroline Wozniacki will also continue their comebacks from maternity leave here.
