Australian Open Qualifying Round-Up: Sloane Stephens smiles again, while Nico Jarry and Basilashvili deepen their struggles

The Australian Open began with its qualifying matches, with barely half of the first-round duels completed on a long path to secure a place in the main draw. However, several big names were forced to play qualifiers after failing to gain direct entry to the tournament.

Among the highlighted players seeking qualification, Sloane Stephens stands out. She had taken a break in her career in 2025, after an impressive losing streak, reaching 13 consecutive defeats. The time away from competition, without winning matches, caused her ranking to drop – though she used her special ranking to gain a spot in the qualifiers.

On the men’s side, among the first eliminated were two former Masters 1000 runners-up and former top-20 players not long ago: Nicolás Jarry and Nikoloz Basilashvili. Both entered as seeds in the qualifying rounds but were eliminated on the first day. One player who did secure a win was former world No. 17 Bernard Tomic, who is seeking to return to a Grand Slam main draw for the first time since the 2021 Australian Open.

On the women’s side, Stephens’ win (ranked No. 1,097) was undoubtedly the highlight of the day. The former US Open champion is the only major champion competing in qualifiers – in either men’s or women’s – and despite coming off a 13-match losing streak, she defeated 21-year-old Barbora Palicova (No. 229) 6-1, 7-5. In the second round, Stephens will face Australian Olivia Gadecki (No. 171) – a rematch of the first round of the 2024 main draw, in which Stephens won in straight sets.

Another strong performance came from American Taylor Townsend (No. 116), current doubles world No. 2, who is trying to make her mark in singles. She faced a tough first-round challenge against Nao Hibino (No. 201) but overcame the Asian player in two hours and 20 minutes, 6-7(3), 6-0, 7-5.

On the men’s side, several notable names appeared on the court. Chilean Nicolás Jarry (No. 133) – 2024 Rome Open finalist – continues in poor form and fell in his qualifying debut (where he was 21st seed) to Frenchman Titouan Droguet (No. 155), 4-6, 3-6. The South American ends a streak of 13 consecutive Grand Slam main draws and extends a year-and-a-half crisis, in which he has been far from the results that placed him as a worthy top-20 player a couple of seasons ago.

Meanwhile, 2021 Indian Wells runner-up Nikoloz Basilashvili (No. 105) – 3rd seed this time – was also eliminated in straight sets by young Peruvian Gonzalo Bueno (No. 214), 1-6, 6-7(5). The Georgian had played the Aussie Open in 2025, exiting in the first round, but this time he will not be present in the main draw.

Another notable defeat was former world No. 21 Daniel Evans (No. 187), who failed to make an impact and was eliminated in straight sets by Japan’s Rei Sakamoto (No. 202), 6-1, 6-2. It is the second consecutive year Evans is eliminated in the first round of the Aussie Open qualifiers, and all indications are that in the coming weeks he could drop out of the top 200.

The positive news came from Bernard Tomic (No. 184), who has not played a Grand Slam main draw since the 2021 Australian Open and had exited in the first round of qualifying in 2022 and 2025. This time, Tomic smiles again after defeating Hugo Dellien (No. 137) by 6-3, 6-3, who entered as the 25th seed of the qualifiers.