Destanee Aiava is among six Australian players to secure a coveted main-draw spot through qualifying at US Open 2024.

New York, USA, 23 August 2024 | Leigh Rogers

Six Australians have completed successful qualifying campaigns, and set new records in the process, at US Open 2024.

Arina Rodionova, Maya Joint, Kimberly Birrell, Priscilla Hon, Destanee Aiava and Li Tu all qualified in New York today, boosting the total number of Australians in this year’s singles main draws to 20 (12 men and eight women).

This is the first time in tournament history that five Australian women have earned main-draw berths through qualifying and almost triples the previous record of two (from 2009 and 2014).

It also marks the first time in 11 years that Australia has had qualifiers in both the men’s and women’s events at Flushing Meadows.

Rodionova is the only player among this record-breaking group of Aussies to have previously completed a successful qualifying campaign at a Grand Slam tournament. However, it is the first time the 34-year-old has achieved the feat at the US Open.

World No.118 Rodionova, who last qualified at a major tournament at Wimbledon 2019, scored a 6-4 6-2 victory against Thailand’s Mananchaya Sawangkaew in today’s final round.

Joint scored the biggest win of her burgeoning Grand Slam career, triumphing 6-2 6-1 against world No.106 Hailey Baptiste in a swift 52 minutes. This earns a Grand Slam main-draw debut for the promising 18-year-old.

The 26-year-old Birrell, who fell at the final stage in qualifying at last year’s US Open, secured her main-draw spot with a 6-3 6-3 victory against 15-year-old American wildcard Julieta Pareja.

World No.180 Aiava powered past Croatian Ana Konjuh 6-3 6-2, needing only 69 minutes to dismiss the former top-20 player and US Open 2016 quarterfinalist. This was 24-year-old Aiava’s third straight-sets victory this week.

The 26-year-old Hon stunned top seed Kamilla Rakhimova to qualify, edging out a hard-fought 7-6(4) 6-7(2) 6-4 victory against the world No.104 in a two-hour and 47-minute battle. This is world No.205 Hon’s best Grand Slam-level win since Australian Open 2020.

Tu scored an impressive victory of his own against a seeded opponent in the final round of the men’s qualifying singles competition, beating sixth-seeded Dutchman Jesper de Jong 3-6 6-1 7-5.

The 28-year-old from Adelaide saved two match points late in the deciding set, before reeling off three consecutive games to record the biggest win of his Grand Slam career.

These efforts ensure Australia will have its largest representation in a US Open men’s singles draw in 45 years and the most women’s singles competitors in 35 years.

> READ MORE: Australian hopefuls handed challenging draws at US Open 2024

Aussies in action – US Open

RESULTS
Women’s qualifying singles, final round
[16] Arina Rodionova (AUS) d Mananchaya Sawangkaew (THA) 6-4 6-2
[32] Maya Joint (AUS) d [3] Hailey Baptiste (USA) 6-2 6-1
Priscilla Hon (AUS) d [1] Kamilla Rakhimova 7-6(4) 6-7(2) 6-4
Destanee Aiava (AUS) d Ana Konjuh (CRO) 6-3 6-2
Kimberly Birrell (AUS) d [WC] Julieta Pareja (USA) 6-3 6-3
[12] Marina Bassols Ribera d Talia Gibson (AUS) 6-3 6-4

Men’s qualifying singles, final round
Li Tu (AUS) d [6] Jesper de Jong (NED) 3-6 6-1 7-5

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