The betting online for the 2024 Australian Open has Iga Swiatek (11/4), Aryna Sabalenka (9/2), Elena Rybakina (6/1) and Cori Gauff (8/1) as the favourites, but if Osaka does secure a wild card, she will surely be amongst the main protagonists. The Japanese star has announced her return to the sport in 2024, so can she recapture her crown as the queen of women’s tennis? But then she decided to take a break from the sport – leading to the great diversity of champions that has followed since. With four major wins between 20, Naomi Osaka seemed to be the most likely player to build a dynasty in the vein of Serena Williams or Martina Navratilova. Since the start of 2021, eight different ladies have won the 12 available Grand Slam titles – clearly, it’s been very difficult to create a monopoly on the silverware. There is, undoubtedly, a power vacuum at the summit of women’s tennis.