Though most eyes are on the singles draw, there's a lot more going on at the Australian Open--doubles, mixed doubles, juniors, wheelchair tennis, and legends. And one of the bigger stories, in my opinion, involves the quiet return of a retired player, Jiske Griffioen.
Former wheelchair number 1 singles player Griffioen retired in 2017, stating that she just wasn't up to competing anymore and wanted to transition to having a role in sports media. However, the Dutch star returned to competition last year. In Melbourne, Grififoen lost her quarterfinal match to Kgothatso Montjane, and she and partner Zhu ZhenZhen lost their semifinal match to the 2nd seeds. But it's nice to see her competing again. We've seen several former singles champions return, so this isn't a complete surprise.
Griffoen held the number 1 singles spot for 106 weeks. She is a two-time gold medal winner in the Paralympic Games, and a seven-time Masters doubles champion, and she won the Masters singles championship in 2012. Griffioen has won four majors (including two Australian Open titles) in singles, and fourteen (including five Australian Open titles) in doubles.
Meanwhile, top seed Diede De Groot will compete against 2nd seed Aniek Van Koot for the singles championship. De Groot and Van Koot, who are the top seeds in doubles, will play the doubles final against 2nd seeds Yui Kamiji and Lucy Shuker. Kamiji, who was seeded second in singles, was upset by Van Koot in the quarterfinals.
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