Recent Performance Earns Wildcard for Casey Dellacqua

Written by: Staff on 14th December 2011

Recent Performance Earns Wildcard for Casey Dellacqua

epa02001406 Casey Dellacqua of Australia returns against Venus Williams of the USA in their third round match at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2010. Williams defeated Dellacqua 6-1 7-6(4). EPA/JOE CASTRO AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT |

Casey Dellacqua’s recent record-breaking run on the Challenger circuit has been rewarded with a wildcard not only into the Australian Open main draw, but the lead-in events held in Brisbane and Hobart.

Dellacqua, sidelined for most of 2009 and 2010 due to shoulder and foot injuries, both of which necessitated surgery, has since September enjoyed a 30-match winning streak with wins in Cairns, Darwin, Esperance, Kalgoorlie, Traralgon and Bendigo. Her uninterrupted run broke a nine-year record for consecutive wins on the ITF Pro Circuit.

“After missing most of 2010 with a foot injury I have spent this year building on my confidence and match practice,” said Dellacqua. “I now finally feel like I am playing some good tennis and with six Pro Tour event wins under my belt I have the confidence I needed going into the (Australian) summer.

“I feel good and I am looking forward to some tough competition in January. It is an amazing opportunity to be able to play the Australian Open, Brisbane and Hobart without having to worry about qualifying and it is really going to set me up for the year ahead.”

A further wild card has gone to James Duckworth, a member of the AIS (Australian Institute of Sport) Pro Tour program, on the back of constant improvement during 2011 which culminated in an appearance at the Australian Open Play-off final.

Topics: Casey Dellacua