Olivia Gadecki, who recorded her career-best grass-court result, was among the most outstanding Australian players in the past week.
Surbiton, Great Britain, 10 June 2024 | Leigh Rogers
There’s been so shortage of exciting news to celebrate this week in Australian tennis.
From Alex de Minaur becoming the first Australian to progress to a men’s singles quarterfinal at Roland Garros in 20 years, to Matt Ebden advancing to his career-first Roland Garros men’s doubles semifinal.
Rising stars of the sport have shone too. Emerson Jones became the first Australian in 10 years to feature in a Roland Garros girls’ doubles semifinals, while Yassin Hill made his Grand Slam debut in the inaugural Roland Garros wheelchair boys’ singles event.
Away from Paris, Australian players recorded impressive results across multiple surfaces and continents too.
This week’s most outstanding performers include:
Aleksandar Vukic: The 28-year-old made an encouraging start to the grass-court season, beating former world No.10 and Wimbledon 2021 semifinalist Denis Shapovalov in the opening round at the ATP Challenger tournament in Surbiton (Great Britain).
Alexei Popyrin: The 24-year-old teamed with Estonian Mark Lajal to reach the doubles semifinals at an ATP Challenger grass tournament in Surbiton.
Maya Joint: The 18-year-old posted the first top-100 singles win of her career, beating world No.54 Anna Karolina Schmiedlova to reach the quarterfinals at a WTA 125 clay-court tournament in Makarska (Croatia).
Olivia Gadecki: The 22-year-old recorded her career-best grass-court singles result, advancing to the semifinals at an ITF 100 tournament in Surbiton (Great Britain). Gadecki tallied five wins to reach that stage after coming through qualifying.
Ajla Tomljanovic: The 31-year-old won four consecutive matches for the first time since November 2023 to reach the singles quarterfinals as a qualifier at the ITF 100 tournament in Surbiton. Tomljanovic’s winning run eventually ended against Olivia Gadecki in an all-Australian quarterfinal.
Kimberly Birrell: The 26-year-old also advanced to the singles quarterfinals as a qualifier at the ITF 100 tournament in Surbiton, beating Wimbledon 2022 quarterfinalist Jule Niemeier along the way to notch her career-first top-100 on grass. The in-form Birrell has now won 12 of her 15 past matches.
Taylah Preston: The 18-year-old scored one of the biggest wins of her career, eliminating world No.58 Zhu Lin in the opening round of the ITF 100 tournament in Surbiton. It was Preston’s third career victory against a top-100 opponent.
Elena Micic and Alana Parnaby: The Australian pair combined to win the biggest doubles title of their respective careers at an ITF 50 tournament in Montemor-o-Novo (Portugal). This is 19-year-old Micic’s second ITF doubles title and 29-year-old Parnaby’s sixth.
Blake Bayldon: The 25-year-old won the biggest doubles title of his career at an ITF 25 tournament in Cordoba (Spain) with
Adam Taylor: The 32-year-old advanced to the doubles final at an ITF 25 tournament in Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina) alongside New Zealand’s Finn Reynolds. This was Taylor’s first doubles final appearance since August 2023.
Edward Winter: The 19-year-old, who is playing US college tennis at Pepperdine University, won the singles title at an ITF 15 tournament in Daegu (Korea). This is Winter’s second ITF singles title and first since November 2022.
Jake Delaney: The 27-year-old claimed his first professional singles title at an ITF 15 tournament in Harmon (Guam). Delaney had lost his two previous finals appearances, which were both recorded last year.
Lily Fairclough: The 18-year-old was a doubles finalist at an ITF 15 tournament in San Diego (USA) with American
Jeremy Jin: The 19-year-old, who is playing US college tennis at the University of Florida, advanced to his first professional-level doubles final at an ITF 15 tournament in San Diego (USA) with Brit
Georgia Campbell: The 15-year-old scooped the girls’ singles title at the ITF J60 tournament in Darwin (Australia), beating fellow Australian Audrey Aulia in the final. It is Campbell’s first ITF junior singles title.
Ashton McLeod: The 16-year-old won the boys’ singles title at an ITF J60 tournament in Darwin, beating Cameron Burton in an all-Australian final. This is McLeod’s second ITF junior singles title.
Georgia Campbell and Ashton McLeod celebrate winning ITF J60 singles titles in Darwin.
Alice Stevens and Ava-Monet Sycamore: The 16-year-old Stevens and 16-year-old Sycamore won the girls’ doubles title at the ITF J60 tournament in Darwin. It is Stevens’ seventh ITF junior doubles title and Sycamore’s third.
Bryan Dickson and Michael Smith: The 16-year-old Dickson and 16-year-old Smith combined to win the boys’ doubles title at the ITF J60 tournament in Darwin. This is the pair’s second title in as many weeks.
Find your way to play: Visit play.tennis.com.au to get out on court and have some fun!