Melbourne: Australian Open Qualifying Begins
The qualifying rounds for the Australian Open commenced at Melbourne Park on Monday, with no British women in action on the first day. However, several notable players secured their spots in the second round of the three-round competition. Among them were doubles World No. 2 Taylor Townsend and 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens.
Townsend, the 11th-seeded player, faced a challenging match against Japan's Nao Hibino, ultimately winning 6-7(3) 6-0 7-5 after six match points. She expressed her pride in her performance and problem-solving skills.
'I’m super proud of myself… for the way that I went out [there and] the way that I was problem solving,' she said. Townsend, a former AO 2012 junior girl's singles champion and defending women's doubles champion, arrived in Melbourne in high spirits after a refreshing off-season, including a vacation with two-time AO champion Naomi Osaka.
'We have a lot of shared experiences and I think we have just so much respect for each other,' Townsend said of the four-time Grand Slam champion. 'Now I have a friend on tour, which is really cool. It’s really nice to have someone that I’m really comfortable with, I haven’t had that in a long time.'
Earlier in the day, Stephens, Townsend's compatriot, secured a 6-1 7-5 victory over Czechia's Barbora Palicova, her first win since Wimbledon 2024. The 32-year-old, who was an AO 2013 semi-finalist, expressed her joy at winning after a long time.
'I haven’t won in a very long time, so it was nice to just get a win,' she said. Stephens, who missed most of 2025 due to a foot injury, played more matches than usual during the off-season to stay match-fit. She remains optimistic about her future prospects.
'It’s always about looking ahead, instead of looking back,' she added. Stephens will next face Australia's Olivia Gadecki, who has a 2-1 head-to-head advantage over Stephens. Gadecki won her first-round match against Arantxa Ruse from the Netherlands 6-2 6-4.
The day's biggest upset came when Spaniard Guiomar Maristany Zuleta De Reales defeated the 3rd seed Mayar Sherif from Egypt 6-4 6-3, setting up a second-round match against Tatiana Prozorova from Russia. No. 2 seed Lucia Bronzetti narrowly avoided an early exit, beating Spain’s Aliona Bolsova 6-0 6-7(3) 6-1.
The 27-year-old Italian, who surprised two-time AO champion Victoria Azarenka in the opening round of AO 2025, is aiming for her third main draw appearance. She will face American Mary Stoiana, who saved three match points to win against Italy’s Nuria Brancaccio 7-5 4-6 7-5 in 2 hours and 46 minutes.
Viktoriya Tomova from Bulgaria, who was once ranked as high as No. 46, also qualified for the second round of qualifying, coming back from a 1-6 6-4 6-0 loss to American Bernada Pera. The 30-year-old Bulgarian expressed her relief, noting the challenging draw and the nice weather.
'It was a very tough draw for the first round of quallies, I’m happy I got through,' she said. Another notable winner was Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva, who became the first Andorran player to win a Grand Slam by capturing the AO 2020 junior girls' singles title. The 20-year-old defeated Canada’s Kayla Cross 4-6 6-4 7-5.
In other matches, Slovakia’s Viktoria Hruncakova beat Burundi’s Sada Nahimana 6-3 6-1.
