Rising Australians Kaylah McPhee, Talia Gibson and Petra Hule all featured in finals at ITF World Tour events this week.
Australia, 3 June 2024 | Leigh Rogers
Alex de Minaur and Thanasi Kokkinakis have dominated headlines with their impressive performances at Roland Garros this week.
Their efforts meant that for the first time in nine years, two Australian men featured in the third round at the clay-court Grand Slam tournament. De Minaur has kept winning too, becoming the first Aussie men through to the fourth round in 17 years.
> READ: De Minaur battles into fourth round at Roland Garros 2024
Across the globe, many other Australian players recorded great results too. This includes a trio of Australian women – Kaylah McPhee, Talia Gibson and Petra Hule, who all featured in ITF finals.
Heath Davidson scooped his second ITF wheelchair tennis doubles title in as many weeks, while some promising junior athletes celebrated major breakthroughs at an ITF J30 tournament in Darwin.
This week’s most outstanding performers include:
Calum Puttergill: The 30-year-old advanced to the doubles quarterfinals at an ATP Challenger tournament in Vicenza (Italy) with Chinese Taipei’s Ho Ray.
Talia Gibson: The 19-year-old was a singles finalist at an ITF 50 tournament in Montemor-o-Novo (Portugal). This was Gibson’s 12th career singles final appearance and her second this season.
Destanee Aiava: The 23-year-old was a singles quarterfinalist at the ITF 50 tournament in Montemor-o-Novo. Aiava also advanced to the doubles quarterfinals alongside fellow Aussie Elena Micic.
Kimberly Birrell: The 26-year-old continued her good form to reach the singles quarterfinals at the ITF 50 tournament in Montemor-o-Novo (Portugal). This improved Birrell’s record to 10 wins from her past 14 matches.
Maya Joint: The 18-year-old advanced to the singles semifinals at an ITF 50 tournament in Otocec (Slovenia), improving her season record to 36 wins from 48 singles matches. Joint was also a doubles quarterfinalist with American Rasheeda McAdoo.
> READ: Joint becomes second Australian teen inside the world’s top 200
Petra Hule: The 25-year-old finished runners-up in singles at an ITF 35 tournament in Changwon (Korea) and was a doubles quarterfinalist alongside Japan’s . This was Hule’s second ITF singles final appearance and first since November 2022.
Gabriella Da Silva Fick: The 23-year-old was a singles quarterfinalist at the ITF 35 tournament in Changwon. Da Silva Fick also teamed with compatriot Lizette Cabrera to reach the doubles quarterfinals.
Kaylah McPhee: The 26-year-old advanced to the doubles final at an ITF 35 tournament in Klagenfurt (Austria) alongside Slovak Nina Vargova. This was McPhee’s fourth doubles final appearance this season, all of which have been with different partners.
Alexandra Bozovic: The 25-year-old progressed to the singles semifinals at an ITF 35 tournament in Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic). Bozovic was also a doubles semifinalist alongside Hong Kong’s Wong Hong Yi Cody.
Adam Taylor: The 32-year-old was a doubles semifinalist at an ITF 25 tournament in Kiseljak (Bosnia and Herzegovina) alongside New Zealand’s Finn Reynolds.
Jake Delaney and Jesse Delaney: The Australian brothers advanced to their first professional doubles final as a team at an ITF 15 tournament in Karuizawa (Japan). This was 27-year-old Jake’s sixth career doubles final appearance and 25-year-old Jesse’s fourth.
Heath Davidson: The 37-year-old won the quad doubles title at an ITF wheelchair tennis tournament in Royan (France) with Canadian Robert Shaw. This is the duo’s second consecutive title and their third of the season. Davidson was also a singles semifinalist.
Hugh Winter: The 17-year-old was a boys’ singles semifinalist at an ITF J300 tournament in Charleroi-Marcinelle (Belgium). This was the South Australian’s career-best result at that level.
Michael Smith and Alice Stevens celebrate winning ITF J30 singles titles in Darwin.
Michael Smith: The 16-year-old was crowned the boys’ singles champion at an ITF J30 tournament in Darwin (Australia). The wildcard entry defeated three seeded opponents to win his first ITF junior title. Smith teamed with 16-year-old Bryan Dickson to win the boys’ doubles title as well.
Alice Stevens: The 16-year-old edged out in an all-Australian girls’ singles final at the ITF J30 tournament in Darwin. This is Stevens’ third career ITF junior singles title. The Western Australian also won the girls’ doubles title with 14-year-old compatriot Vesna Marinkov.
> READ: Leading Australian juniors ready to shine at Roland Garros 2024