2014 Australian Open men’s champion Stan Wawrinka and local favorite Ajla Tomljanovic lead the wildcards for the first Grand Slam tournament of 2025, which begins on January 12 in Melbourne.
Wawrinka beat Rafael Nadal to win the first of three Grand Slam titles in 2014. He is joined on the men’s side by three Australians. World No. 175 Li Tu, who took Carlos Alcaraz to four sets at this year’s US Open, and world No. 168 Tristan Schoolkate, who was one tiebreaker away from reaching the third round at New York, join world No. 256 James McCabe, who played the main draw in Melbourne in 2024.
The remaining spots go to world No. 416 Kasidit Samrej, who won the Asia-Pacific wildcard qualifier; world number 138 Nishesh Basavareddy, winner of the US Tennis Association (USTA) Wildcard Challenge and a French player, as part of a reciprocity agreement between the Australian and French tennis associations. The French Tennis Federation (FFT) announced Lucas Pouille on Thursday December 12, but he is in contention for a place in the main draw if two registered players withdraw. In this case, the FFT would select another player. These seven entries leave a vacant place.
World number 108 Tomljanovic, who has reached two major quarter-finals, is on a long comeback from a persistent knee problem. Her fellow Australians include world number 107 Daria Saville, also in top form after a serious knee injury in 2022; Maya Joint, who reached the second round of this year’s US Open and is playing college tennis at Texas while ranked 116th; Two-time junior Grand Slam finalist Emerson Jones ranked 378th in the world at age 16 and Talia Gibson ranked 175th in the world.
Chinese player Zhang Shuai won the Asia-Pacific qualifier, while Iva Jovic, the 17-year-old American who nearly eliminated world No. 28 Ekaterina Alexandrova from the US Open, won the USTA Wildcard Challenge . Chloé Paquet should receive the FFT wildcard and complete the eight available slots.
Tournament rankings will be based on the world rankings as of January 6; the draw will take place on January 9 in Melbourne.
This article was originally published in Athletics.
Tennis, Women’s Tennis
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