Two-time major winner Simona Halep and Lleyton Hewitt’s son Cruz are among 18 players awarded wildcards into Australian Open qualifying.
Halep – French Open 2018 and Wimbledon 2019 champion – has been given the opportunity with her ranking currently sitting at 877 after serving a doping ban.
Sixteen-year-old Hewitt will aim to emulate father Lleyton, who qualified for the Australian Open as a 15-year-old in 1997.
Seven other Australian men received qualifying wildcards including Marc Polmans and Dane Sweeney, while Australian Open 2024 boys champion – Japan’s Rei Sakamoto – has also been given a path to the main draw.
Alongside Halep, seven Australian women led by Astra Sharma and Jaimee Fourlis received qualifying wildcards, while Australian Open 2024 girls champion Renata Jamrichova also nabbed a chance.
MORE: Who are the highest-ranked Australian tennis players?
Marc Polmans (AUS) | Blake Ellis (AUS) |
Matthew Dellavedova (AUS) | Edward Winter (AUS) |
Dane Sweeney (AUS) | Cruz Hewitt (AUS) |
Pavle Marinkov (AUS) | Rei Sakamoto (JPN) |
Hayden Jones (AUS) |
Simona Halep (ROU) | Astra Sharma (AUS) |
Tina Smith (AUS) | Petra Hule (AUS) |
Lizette Cabrera (AUS) | Jaimee Fourlis (AUS) |
Melisa Ercan (AUS) | Elena Micic (AUS) |
Renata Jamrichova (SVK) |
Kasidit Samrej (THA) | Tristan Schoolkate (AUS) |
Li Tu (AUS) | James McCabe (AUS) |
Stan Wawrinka (SUI) | TBC |
TBC | TBC |
Zhang Shuai (CHN) | Daria Saville (AUS) |
Ajla Tomljanovic (AUS) | Emerson Jones (AUS) |
Talia Gibson (AUS) | Maya Joint (AUS) |
TBC | TBC |
The upcoming Australian Open will begin on Sunday, January 12 and run through to Sunday, January 26.
Qualifying for the year’s first grand slam tournament will begin on Monday, January 6 and run through to Saturday, January 11.
Players will be required to progress through three rounds of qualification to earn entry into the main draw.
Qualifying Round 1 | Jan. 6-7 |
Qualifying Round 2 | Jan. 8-9 |
Qualifying Round 3 | Jan. 10-11 |
During the same week, Melbourne Park will host ‘Opening Week’, which features exhibition matches and open practice sessions.