“No one knew who would win”: Local teen sensation and veteran star secure first Australian Open wildcards

The Australian Open 2026 singles main draw is beginning to take shape, with four players having secured their participation thanks to coveted wildcards granted based on performance and regional merit.

Local talents, Emerson Jones and James Duckworth, earned their places at Melbourne Park following a series of stellar performances on the Australian Pro Tour. Both players demonstrated a superb level in the new Australian Pro Tour Wildcard Points Race, which evaluated results obtained in tournaments held in Brisbane, Sydney, and Adelaide during November. Jones and Duckworth emerged as the highest points earners across this three-event swing, confirming their main draw entry passes on Saturday.

The same day witnessed the determination of spots for the Asia-Pacific region. In the finals of the AO Asia-Pacific Wildcard Play-off, played in Chengdu, Kazakhstan’s Zarina Diyas and China’s number one, Bu Yunchaokete, claimed the women's and men's singles titles, respectively. By winning their qualifying tournaments, these two players automatically secured their positions to compete in the first Grand Slam of the season.

These announcements join the wildcards previously awarded to Americans Patrick Kypson and Elizabeth Mandlik—both receiving the special USTA quota spot. With eight places already assigned through these criteria, anticipation is mounting, as five more invitations are yet to be announced for both the men’s and women’s main draws.

Local young player Emerson Jones—currently world No. 151—has been granted the wildcard that will allow her to make her second appearance at the Aussie Open. At 17 years old, Jones is looking to fully insert herself into the WTA Tour in 2026, especially after reaching the junior finals at the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2024—a category where she was World No. 1—and adding some appearances at the WTA level in 2025, including a triumph over world No. 37 Wang Xinyu in Adelaide.

“No one really knew who was going to win [the wildcard], it was a bit up and down. I was just trying to win the tournament, but this is definitely a nice bonus,” she reflected during the press conference. “It feels great, I'm going to have such a great time playing it and I'm really excited. I played it last year and it was so fun. It was such a great experience for me to get to know the level. So definitely having another crack at it, I'm super excited.”

On the other hand, Duckworth, champion of the Sydney Pro Tour last week and semi-finalist in Playford this week, will compete in the Australian Open main draw for the 13th time in his career. The 33-year-old player is currently ranked No. 87, so a potential drop in the rankings at the beginning of the year could have jeopardized his chance to play in the year's first Major.

The Australian secured his wildcard thanks to strong campaigns at the end of the year in Australia and will be able to defend his performance from last year, when he reached the second round—defeating Dominic Stricker in the opening round, but being eliminated by Spain's Roberto Carballes Baena in the second.

“I'm really excited to be back playing the main draw of the Australian Open. It was nice to secure a spot through this great new initiative from Tennis Australia in those last three weeks,” Duckworth said. “It's my favourite tournament by far in the world. The home crowd support is unreal at Melbourne Park. I get to play in front of friends and family and I'm really looking forward to all the support, and I can't wait to get out there.”