Melbourne, Australia, 5 January 2024 | Leigh Rogers

A strong contingent of local contenders are set to contest the Australian Open 2024 qualifying competitions.

Seventeen Australian players have been awarded wildcards, boosting the total number of local hopes in the qualifying field to 25.

Among the wildcard recipients are some of Australia’s most promising junior athletes, with eight awarded to teenage talents.

This includes in-form Talia Gibson, a 19-year-old from Perth who has won 11 of her past 12 matches, and 17-year-old Pavle Marinkov, Australia’s top-ranked junior boy who scored his first top-120 win this week at an ATP Challenger in Canberra.

Maya Joint, a 17-year-old who impressively scored two top-200 wins to reach the Canberra International quarterfinals, will make her Grand Slam debut. As will 18-year-old Melisa Ercan, a winner of four ITF pro singles titles in 2023, and 15-year-old Emerson Jones, who sits at a career-high world No.9 in the ITF junior rankings.

Jones’ older brother, 17-year-old Hayden, will also feature in a Grand Slam qualifying draw for the first time. He is currently the world No.24 in the ITF junior rankings.

At age 26, former junior Grand Slam champion Omar Jasika is the oldest wildcard recipient this year.

Reigning Australian Open boys’ singles champion Alexander Blockx, an 18-year-old from Belgium, also receives a wildcard. Alina Korneeva, the AO 2023 girls’ singles champion, is a direct acceptance into the women’s qualifying singles draw.

The Australian Open 2024 qualifying competition will be played at Melbourne Park from 8-11 January, with players needing to win three rounds to earn a coveted main-draw place.

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