Gadecki is coached by Andy Murray’s father-in-law Nigel Sears, who previously worked with WTA top-liners Ana Ivanovic, Daniela Hantuchova, Amanda Coetzer, Emma Raducanu and Anett Kontaveit.

She had never won a WTA main draw match outside Australia until the past week, and had to qualify for the Guadalajara tournament just to get her shot.

A self-confessed nerve-riddled Gadecki dropped serve at 4-1 in the second set before twice brushing off break-back points while serving for the match against Osorio, and is now up to a career-high No.88 in the live rankings.

She will rise inside the top 60 if she can win the final over 43rd-ranked Pole Magdalena Frech, who stunned French former world No.4 Caroline Garcia 7-6 (7-4), 7-5 in the other semi-final.

Mexico has been a happy hunting ground for Australians, with Alex de Minaur and Jordan Thompson winning ATP singles titles there this year.

“This week’s been a special one, and to be top 100 is pretty amazing, and something I’ve strived for my whole career,” Gadecki said. “It hasn’t really sunk in yet, but it’s crazy – I can’t quite believe it.”

Gadecki, who has Ukrainian heritage, is also all but- certain to be a grand slam main draw entrant off her own ranking for the first time at next year’s Australian Open.

Her new status is a long way removed from her decision to walk away from the sport as a teenager.

“I quit for about a year and a half when I was 15, so [halfway through] year 10 in school because I was very overwhelmed with all the travel and schoolwork, and I was really struggling mentally,” Gadecki said.

‘It does come off as a glamorous life, and if you do get to the top, it really is, but behind the scenes, it’s a lot of sacrifice being made, and a lot of blood, sweat and tears.’

Australian star Olivia Gadecki

“I just thought, ‘I’m going to finish school’, and give myself the opportunity to study if I wanted to. But once I finished school, I felt like this weight off my shoulders.

“In tennis, you have only a little time, so I really wanted to give it the best possible chance, and do it on my terms. For the first time, I felt like I was doing that when I came back.”

Former world No.1 Barty, who also quit tennis as a teenager, was critical in Gadecki’s journey back to the sport, although the timing was unfortunate. Gadecki graduated from high school in 2019, then broke into the junior world top 100 shortly after, only for the COVID-19 pandemic to halt the world.

She also chose not to be vaccinated, which ruled her out from playing in the 2022 Australian Open and the rest of the lead-in tournaments.

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Barty stood by Gadecki during that period and remains a close friend.

“I always wanted to be a professional tennis player and the best in the world, but I never quite knew what it entailed, like, what sort of training, what sort of sacrifice, even just financially – all that sort of stuff,” Gadecki said.

“To have someone like Ash in my corner from the get-go, or even just at the start of my career, was really a massive eye-opener.

“She just made it very comfortable because it was very overwhelming … and for me to be able to go to her and talk about those things, and even just be around her when she was doing pre-season, [and see] what hard work looks like, and be a part of that environment, was truly amazing and really helped.”

Barty also credited Gadecki with helping revive her own career, which included three grand slam singles titles.

“Liv brings genuine life into Australian tennis. She is the one who injected oxygen back into my pre-seasons and my career, and I know she has had a unique journey, herself,” Barty told this masthead last year.

“Now, I can see it in her eyes that she has got the hunger and the desire, and it is about her now putting her head down and finding the ways to enjoy it and keep it alive and keep it fun.”

Gadecki has enjoyed her best season in 2024, reaching a $US100,000 final in Pennsylvania before the US Open, and the semi-finals of a tournament at the same level ahead of Wimbledon, where she qualified for the first time.

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She also competed at the Olympics in Paris, a highlight after battling through the WTA Tour grind and absorbing plenty of first-round defeats while coming through.

“It does come off as a glamorous life, and if you do get to the top, it really is, but behind the scenes, it’s a lot of sacrifice being made, and a lot of blood, sweat and tears,” Gadecki said.

“There’s been moments this year when I’ve really second-guessed myself and been in a bit of a hole, in a way, and I’m really quite proud of the fact that I’ve been able to get myself out of those situations.”

Gadecki will be the sole Australian in the top 100 in the next WTA rankings update, in stark contrast to the 10 on the men’s side – but there is genuine momentum building among the country’s women.

In the past week, Emerson Jones, a 16-year-old sensation also from the Gold Coast, became Australia’s first junior world No.1 since Jelena Dokic in 1998.

There is also significant excitement about American-born Maya Joint, whose father grew up in Melbourne, and Perth young guns Taylah Preston and Talia Gibson. All three are within striking distance of the top 100.

Saville and triple major quarter-finalist Ajla Tomljanovic have suffered a series of injuries in recent years, on top of Barty’s second retirement after her 2022 Australian Open triumph, and 2011 US Open winner Sam Stosur also departing the sport.

“It was one of my goals this year to end the year in the top 100, and I also wanted to get in all the slams off my ranking,” Gadecki said.

“It’s an amazing achievement, and I think I can really do some damage. The [Australian] men are doing amazing, and it’s so great to see … I really hope that myself making top 100 can really just show that it’s possible.

“The Aussie girls, we’ve got some amazing players, and they can do it. I’m really looking forward to what this could do for Aussie tennis – Aussie women’s tennis, really.”

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