The huge prize of a place in the Australian Open main draw will be on offer at the Wildcard Play-Off in Melbourne this week.
Andrew Harris, Storm Sanders and Maddison Inglis will all take part in the tournament at Melbourne Park, which starts on Monday.
The draw was held in Melbourne today with Harris drawing WA wildcard Tristan Schoolkate, who just claimed the national under-18 title, in the first round. Sanders is set for a clash with Ellen Perez, while top-seed Inglis will face freshly crowned under-18 champion Charlotte Kempenaers-Pocz, who is just 15.
Inglis, 21, won the Wildcard Play-Off in 2016 to take her place in the her home grand slam main draw for the first time and will be hoping for a repeat after a career-best 2019.
Fellow Emageo Group clients Casey Dellacqua and Olivia Rogowska are also former winners of the event.
Sanders has recently had a successful return to the singles court after a series of injuries, while Harris has climbed to a new high in the rankings after his first injury-free year on tour.
Harris, who is the second highest ranked in the men’s draw, is bidding for his first grand slam main draw.
Emageo Group Managing Director Sam Maxwell said the Play-Off presented a huge opportunity for the Australian players.
“Wildcards, by their nature are a gift or free entry into a tournament,” Maxwell said. “What I’ve always liked about the Australian Open Wildcard Play-Off is that you have the best players in the country who are outside the top 100 in the world battling it out for a prestigious main draw appearance.
“Yes, at times, the tournament doesn’t fit in with players’ off-season or pre-season training schedule but the prize at the end is entry into the grand slam, which is a great opportunity for the players, particularly in Australia as we have a home grand slam.
“It’s played in the same conditions, using the same balls and the same courts that all players will come down to Australia and play in the last two weeks of January. On the men’s side, they now have to play best of five sets. For many of these guys, this is one of the only times throughout the year that they’ll have to play best of five sets.
“If you look at the past list of players that have won the event, they’ve all gone on at various times to do very well in the Australian Open. The Wildcard Play-Off has spring-boarded them at certain stages of their career, including the likes of Casey Dellacqua, Ash Barty, Alex de Minaur, Jelena Dokic, James Duckworth and Jordan Thompson.”
Australian Open Tournament Director Craig Tiley said winning the tournament set players up for a successful year.
“So many of our emerging players have achieved terrific results in the Pro Tour this year and I’m looking forward to seeing them in action here at Melbourne Park at what is the beginning of our summer of tennis,” Tiley said.