Cairns, QLD, Australia, 30 September 2024 | Jackson Mansell

Australian No.6 Talia Gibson will look to win her third consecutive ITF title when the Australian Pro Tour returns to Cairns this week.

Ranked a career-best world No.129, Gibson will be the top seed for the first time at the tournament. Yet to reach the final in her four previous appearances in Cairns, the 20-year-old is primed to finally breakthrough.

Last month, Gibson won the biggest titles of her career in Perth, taking out both ITF 75 tournaments. Her impressive fortnight means the West Australian has won multiple ITF titles in a calendar year for the third year running.

She also reached the final round of qualifying at the US Open.

Should Gibson reach the Cairns final, she could play off for the silverware against a familiar opponent in second-seed Maddison Inglis. This would be the third match-up between the pair in the past month, with Gibson and Inglis doing battle twice in Perth. Competing against each other in the final and semifinal respectively, both matches went the distance as Gibson won both encounters.

Junior world No.1 Emerson Jones will feature at the Cairns tournament for the first time. The 16-year-old has rewritten history in 2024, becoming the first Australian girl to reach world No.1 since Jelena Dokic in 1998. She is also the first Aussie since Luke Saville in 2012 to reach two junior Grand Slam finals in the same year.

“It is great to see the Australian Pro Tour return to Cairns for another year and we are thrilled to welcome a strong calibre of players,” Tennis Australia Head of Competitive Play & Professional Event Francis Soyer said. “This year’s tournament promises to have one of the strongest draws we’ve seen.”

For the first time, the women’s event will be classified as an ITF 35 event, upgraded from its ITF 25 level of previous years.

“The change to a W35 category is a milestone for the women’s event, offering players not only extra ranking points but also the experience of competing at a high international standard,” Soyer said.

Singles competition will begin at the Cairns International Tennis Centre on Tuesday 1 October, and will finish on Sunday 6 October.

> VIEW: Australian Pro Tour calendar