Heavy rain has once again created challenges for the organisers of the Australian Open, marking the second consecutive year where weather conditions have hampered the start of qualifying matches. This postponement impacted most first-round matches on Monday, leaving many players to wait for hours before they could step onto the court.
Among those who have managed to snag victory amid the tumultuous weather was 19-year-old Australian talent Taylah Preston. The young player secured her place in the second round of qualifiers by decisively defeating veteran German player Mona Barthel with a score of 6-1, 6-2. Remarkably, after enduring nearly six hours of waiting, Preston finally got her shot at the competition on the outside courts of Melbourne Park.
Qualifying matches were not scheduled to commence until just before 4 p.m., allowing the biggest stars of the tournament—players like Alex de Minaur, Alexei Popyrin, Carlos Alcaraz, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Emma Raducanu, and Victoria Azarenka—to practice indoors without disruption. This situation was reminiscent of last year when rain caused all first-round qualifying matches to be washed out on the opening day.
Despite these setbacks, the Australian Open organisers have shown resilience, successfully completing all qualifying matches by the Friday afternoon leading up to the main draw without needing to move matches indoors.
Cruz Hewitt and 32-year-old Bernard Tomic, both representing the hopes of Australian tennis, were among the 21 players scheduled to play on Tuesday, but like many of their peers, they faced additional delays. Tomic, who has shown significant improvement over the last year—climbing from world No. 825 to No. 213—was set to play against Slovakian Jozef Kovalik, hoping to continue building on his momentum.
On the women's side, Kimberley Birrell, Australia's top-ranked female player, also awaited her match on Tuesday. Birrell recently broke the top 100 rankings and was poised to face off against Japanese teenager Sara Saito. She expressed enthusiasm about her recent performance, stating, "I'm going to continue to just keep backing myself … the confidence I've gained this week has been unreal." Birrell hopes to carry the positive energy from her quarter-final appearance at the Brisbane International, saying, "Having really done [well] last week, I’m going to use [that performance] going forward to continue this momentum hopefully for the whole year."
Unfortunately for Australian wildcard Lizette Cabrera, her aspirations to reach the main draw for the fifth time fell short as she lost to Britain's Harriet Dart. The match, closely contested, ended with Cabrera losing 6-2, 7-6 (7-5).
The spotlight also falls on other veteran players, such as French tennis star Richard Gasquet. At 38 years old, Gasquet is attempting to qualify for the main draw of the Australian Open for the 18th time, having engaged in battle against Croatia's Duje Ajdukovic during the qualifiers.
With the weather dampening spirits, fans and players alike look forward with hope as the rest of the qualifying rounds continue. While the rain paused play and posed challenges, the atmosphere is charged with anticipation of what promises to be another exciting Australian Open. The players are ready to show their skills, and with the tournament underway, the tennis action is set to ramp up—rain or shine.