Stan Wawrinka Leads List Of 2025 Australian Open Wild Card Recipients
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Stan Wawrinka leads the list of players that received a wild card for the 2025 Australian Open.
The wild cards for Grand Slam tournaments are given due to different reasons and in different ways. Some are given to legends of the sport who can draw huge crowds to the tournament, while others are given to young, promising talents who need experience on the biggest stage.
That's the one advantage that Australian, French, British, and American players have over some of the rivals, as some of them might receive a wild card into the main draw of a Grand Slam despite being ranked far from the cut-off.
Then, there are also reciprocal wildcards, which is the agreement between Tennis Australia, the French Tennis Federation (FTF), and the United States Tennis Association (USTA). Due to a relatively large number of wild cards available, these three bodies have agreed to offer one wild card in both singles draws to a player chosen by the other federation.
That means that one men's and one women's singles wild card at the Australian Open will be given to players chosen by the USTA, and the same applies to the FTF. The French Open and the US Open then have to give wild cards to players chosen by Tennis Australia.
While the FTF's wild card recipients are yet to be announced, the USTA's should be Nishesh Basavareddy in men's singles and Iva Jovic in women's singles, even though their names were not featured in the official announcement.
There is also the Australian Open Asia-Pacific Wildcard Play-off, which recently took place. China’s Zhang Shuai and Thailand's Kasidit Samrej won the wild cards through the Play-off.
When it comes to the wild cards given and chosen by the Australian Open organizers, Stan Wawrinka was the recipient of one of those. The 39-year-old player won his first major in Melbourne in 2014, and he has no plans of retiring despite being ranked 162nd in the world, which is why he was given one of the wild cards and was very grateful for it.
"I’m incredibly grateful to receive a wildcard into the Australian Open in 2025. Melbourne holds such a special place in my heart – it’s where I won my first Grand Slam and is one of the greatest milestones of my career."
"The city, the people, the loud fans and the electric atmosphere make the Australian Open so special to me and I’m really looking forward to getting back on the court in Melbourne."
James McCabe, Tristan Schoolkate, and Li Tu are all Australian players who were given the other three wild cards for the men's singles main draw at the 2025 Australian Open.
Among women, young players Talia Gibson, Maya Joint, and Emerson Jones were granted wild cards, but also two WTA veterans, who are trying to fight their way up the rankings.
Daria Saville received one of the wild cards, and the other went to Ajla Tomljanovic, who never got past the second round at the Australian Open. She will try to change that in 2025 and was very happy about the wild card.
"There’s no better feeling than playing in Melbourne in front of all the Aussie fans. I’m so excited and grateful to be back competing at the Australian Open."
