Emma Raducanu among five Grand Slam champions dealt French Open wildcard snub
Five tennis stars will have to go through qualifying to compete at the upcoming French Open.
The second Grand Slam of the year kicks off this month at Roland-Garros, and it promises to be a hugely exciting affair as Novak Djokovic and Iga Swiatek bid to defend their respective crowns.
Emotional scenes are likely to be on the cards, with 14-time winner Rafael Nadal set to bid farewell to the Paris major, after he announced that 2024 will likely be his last year in the sport.
And while Nadal will be joined by some of the game's best performers of late, there is also a host of high-profile players who could miss out on the tournament altogether.
The French Tennis Federation (FFT) recently revealed the players who will receive wildcards for the event, with five Grand Slam champions among those to miss out on a ticket to the first round.
Which Grand Slam winners will not receive a wildcard for the 2024 French Open?
Emma Raducanu
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The 2021 US Open champion was not awarded a wildcard for the clay court major, having returned from an eight-month injury lay-off at the start of the year, and experienced mixed results since then.
Raducanu is likely to enter qualifying after pulling out of the Internationaux de Strasbourg, which coincides with the preliminary stages in Paris.
Currently fourth on the main draw alternates list, the 21-year-old could still earn a place in the first round if at least three players withdraw from the tournament.
The Brit is no stranger to the qualifying rounds, having won her one and only Grand Slam title at the US Open as a qualifier, becoming the first player in the Open Era to do so in the process.
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Venus Williams
With seven Grand Slam titles to her name, Williams is widely considered one of female tennis' all-time greats, having dominated the sport alongside sister Serena after turning professional in 1994.
Unfortunately for the now 43-year-old, she has been unable to return to her former level for some time now, with her last major final appearance coming at the 2017 Australian Open.
Williams holds a current world ranking of 454, having only made her comeback to the sport in March after a six-month absence due to a knee injury sustained at the 2023 US Open.
Given her lack of recent match practice, it is hardly surprising that the 2002 finalist has not been handed an invitation to compete at Roland-Garros.
Simona Halep
Of the five big names to be snubbed by the French Open, two-time major winner Halep is the only one to have tasted glory in Paris, when she won the her first Grand Slam in 2018.
Despite being a major force for several years, including winning Wimbledon a year after her success at Roland-Garros, the former world number one's career then hit rock bottom.
The Romanian was suspended from the WTA Tour in October 2022 after testing positive for a banned substance, before receiving a four-year ban in 2023 for breaching anti-doping rules.
Although Halep returned to the court in March after a successful appeal saw the ban reduced, it remains to be seen whether she will look to enter into the French Open via qualifying after failing to receive a wildcard.
Dominic Thiem
Thiem's omission from the French Open wildcard list is arguably the most controversial, after the Austrian announced that he would be retiring at the end of the 2024 season.
Since winning his only Grand Slam at the 2020 US Open, the former world number three has seen his progress hampered by persistent wrist injuries.
In an posted earlier this month, Thiem cited the ongoing problem as the reason for his career ending prematurely.
With fans furious that the two-time finalist must now compete to earn a spot in the main draw, Thiem will be desperate to deliver some big performances in his final appearance at Roland-Garros.
Caroline Wozniacki
Wozniacki made the quarter finals in Paris in 2010 and 2017, but was not invited to compete at this year's edition having made her return to tennis last year after a three-year maternity break.
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The 33-year-old's exclusion appears a harsh decision, given the Dane has enjoyed some impressive results of late, including a run to the quarter-finals of prestigious tournament Indian Wells.
A wildcard entry at the Australian Open in January, where she was a champion in 2018, Wozniacki may well feel hard done by on this occasion, and has reportedly not entered qualifying for the French Open.