Five women to watch out for in the Australian Open qualifying draw

The Australian Open gets underway next week on January 17. Yet for several players and a bunch of tennis fans, the season's first Grand Slam begins with the qualifying event on Monday, January 10.

128 women and 128 men will begin their campaign to qualify for the Australian Open main draw on Monday to assure themselves of a sizeable first-round cheque. Emma Raducanu won the U.S. Open after winning three rounds as a qualifier. It marked the first time in tennis history that a qualifier has gone on to win a Grand Slam title. Can someone do it at the Australian Open this time around?

For hardcore tennis fans, the qualifying draw is a feast - packed with the names of players who have dropped down the ranks due to injuries or loss of form, and brimming with youngsters fighting to take their place among the elite. Scanning through the qualifying draw at a Major is one of my favorite ways to get ready for a Grand Slam and without further ado, here are my picks of five women to watch out for in the 2022 Australian Open qualifying draw.

Rebecca Marino

12 months ago, 31-year-old Rebecca Marino enjoyed a renaissance at Melbourne Park. The Canadian, a former top 40 player who quit professional tennis after facing online abuse and consequently suffering from depression, won three matches in qualifying to enter the main draw. It marked the first time she had played a Grand Slam main draw match in eight years.

Boosted by that run, Marino scored a couple of big wins in her home event - the Canadian Open in August - beating Madison Keys and Paula Badosa before going down to Aryna Sabalenka. She also qualified for the US Open and won an ITF $25K title in 2021.

Now ranked 145th in the world, Marino lost in the first round of qualifying in Adelaide but will hope to do better in the Australian Open qualifiers where she faces 166th ranked Ylena In-Albon, of Switzerland, in her first match.

Sara Errani

34-year-old Sara Errani is a polarizing figure among tennis fans. Purists decry her soft serve and her doping-related ban in 2017. Others have applauded her courage to hang around and make up for her lack of serve with other weapons.

At No. 121 in the rankings, Errani is a long way off from her days as a top 5 player but the Italian continues to grind it out at the lower levels.

The former French Open finalist qualified and reached the third round of the Australian Open in 2021. She also reached the quarterfinals at WTA events in Bogota, Parma and Hamburg.

Errani reached the doubles final in Melbourne this week which should give her some confidence and, as the ninth seed, she will be hoping to get off the block quickly against Korea's Su Jeong Jang in round one.

Coco Vandeweghe

It's been an unfortunate period of injury for Coco Vandeweghe, who reached the semifinals of the Australian Open and the U.S. Open in 2017; results that helped her break into the world's top 10.

Vandeweghe, who also owns a US Open women's doubles title with Ashleigh Barty and a junior Grand Slam singles title, can hit the ball with a lot of power. But a virus-related illness and a serious ankle injury have seen the American's ranking drop to its current position of No. 174 (she had dropped out of the top 500 in 2019).

Vandeweghe started the new season by reaching the semifinals of the ITF 60K event in Bendigo, Australia this week. Her three wins there will serve as a big confidence booster as she meets 13th seed Qinwen Zheng in the first round. The 19-year-old Zheng is on the rise, having reached the semifinals at the WTA Melbourne Summer Set, where she lost to eventual champion Simona Halep.

Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva

Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva is among the most promising young prospects in the women's game. The Andorran won the 2020 Australian Open junior girls event and was the top-ranked junior that year. She has already made some impressive strides on the pro tour, with a ranking of No. 255 against her name.

Kasintseva won an ITF $25K and an ITF $60K event last year, and reached the semis at a WTA $125K event. She started the season by reaching the final in Bendigo which should see her close in on the 200 mark in the rankings.

The Andorran plays 19-year-old Russian Anastasia Zakharova in the first round and, barring injuries, there's plenty of upside in the coming years for this young left-hander.

Ankita Raina

There's interest for Indian fans as well in the women's qualifying draw. Ankita Raina, the country's top-ranked singles player for the past few years, played in the qualifiers at all four Majors for the first time in her career in 2021. She came closest to making the main draw at Melbourne Park, reaching the final round.

Raina, who has recently recovered from COVID-19, plays sixth seed Lesia Tsurenko in the first round. The Ukrainian may be ranked No. 118 in the world but she is a former World No. 23, with a US Open quarterfinal appearance to her credit.

Raina was away competing on the European indoor circuit in mid-December and hopefully she will be match fit, despite the short break, when she plays Tsurenko in the first round.

Besides these, there are plenty of noteworthy players to follow in the qualifying draw, including 2020 French Open quarterfinalist Martina Trevisan, young American Caty McNally, former top 40 player Christina McHale and former top 25 player Mihaela Buzarnescu.

By the end of the week, 16 women will have won three matches in qualifying to earn their spot in the Australian Open main draw. With that comes a chance to earn more money and glory that could keep them going for the rest of the season. Let the matches begin!!