Halep gets qualifying wildcard for Australian Open
Lleyton Hewitt’s 16-year-old son, Cruz Hewitt, also gets a wildcard
Simona Halep_Australian Open 2020_29/01/2020
Former world No 1 Simona Halep has received a wild card into the qualifying draw for next month’s Australian Open. The Romanian, the 2018 Roland Garros and 2019 Wimbledon champion, will be one of 128 women competing for 16 qualifying spots in the main draw.
“The thought of returning to Australia after three years is exciting and I’m very grateful to the tournament for this opportunity. I have been working hard to get ready for the 2025 season,” the 2018 Australian Open runner-up said in a statement. “The Australian Open has provided me with some of the best moments in my career, so I can’t wait to be back in Melbourne and playing in front of the Aussie fans.”
Alycia Parks, who reached the third round at the 2024 Australian Open, leads the entries for the women’s qualifying event. The American was ranked No 103 at the time of the cut-off but has since risen to No 82 in the rankings.
13 local players will also be in the qualifying draw – Kimberly Birrell, Arina Rodionova, Priscilla Hon, Taylah Preston, Destanee Aiava and Maddison Inglis, who received direct entry; and Astra Sharma, Tina Smith, Petra Hule, Melisa Ercan, Elena Micic, Lizette Cabrera and Jamie Fourlis, who received wildcards.
Other notables names in the women’s qualifying draw include former world No 5 Sara Errani, former French Open semi-finalist Martina Trevisan, France’s Kristina Mladenovic and Croatians Petra Martic and Ana Konjuh.
Lleyton Hewitt’s son, Cruz Hewitt, also get a qualifying wild card
Argentina’s Federico Coria heads the men’s qualifying list, which also features 2023 Wimbledon quarter-finalist Christopher Eubanks, former top 20 players Cristian Garin and Bernard Tomic, and former world No 21 Dan Evans.
Next Gen ATP stars Learner Tien, Luca Van Assche and Joao Fonseca, who are competing in Jeddah this week, are also in the mix.
Other Australians in the qualifying men’s draw include direct entrants Alex Bolt and Jason Kubler, and wildcards Marc Polmans, Dane Sweeny, Matthew Dellavedova, Hayden Jones, Blake Ellis, Eddie Winter, Pavle Marinkov and Cruz Hewitt, the son of former world No 1 Lleyton Hewitt.
Rei Sakamoto, of Japan, and Renata Jamrichova, of Slovakia, who won the junior titles at the 2024 Australian Open, also received wildcards into the qualifying draw.
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