PLAYER PROFILE

Taylah Preston

6
AUSTRALIAN
RANKING
140
WTA
RANKING
  • Age19
  • Born27 October 2005
  • LivesPerth, Western Australia
  • PlaysRight-handed
  • CoachBrad Dyer
“I was lucky enough to go in Arthur Ashe and watch Coco Gauff, who's obviously not that much older than me. I think that was great for me to see... people just (slightly) older than me, they're playing on the big court.”

— Taylah Preston, 21 Sep 2022

» Now in the junior top 10, Preston eyes professional events

ON-COURT

  • Started playing as a four-year-old at Greenwood Tennis Club
  • Her first coach was Glen Popovsky
  • Names backhand as her signature shot
  • Won 25 of her 28 singles matches on the ITF World Junior Tour in 2021
  • Won three ITF World Junior Tour singles titles and four doubles titles in 2021
  • Coached by Brad Dyer at the Next Step Tennis Academy
  • Says competing is the best part of playing tennis
  • Dream is to win Grand Slam titles and be world No.1
  • Achieved a top-10 world junior ranking in September 2022
  • Was an orange girl for the Australian team at the 2022 Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Glasgow
  • Made her Grand Slam main-draw debut as a wildcard at Australian Open 2024, where she played childhood idol Elina Svitolina
  • Advanced to her first singles final at a WTA 125 tournament in Mexico in February 2024
  • Later that month, scored her first top-50 win over Magdalena Frech to reach the second round of the WTA 500 event in San Diego
  • Made her Billie Jean King Cup debut in April 2024 and became the first teen debutante to win a singles match for Australia since Ash Barty in 2013.

OFF-COURT

  • Father, Greg, is a boat builder and mother, Sarah, is a bookkeeper
  • She has a younger sister, Chloe
  • If she wasn’t playing tennis, she’d love to be working with animals
  • Does not have a favourite player: “I like different things about different players,” she says
  • Names her parents (“because of how hard they both work to help me”) and Ash Barty (“it’s really cool to see an Australian doing everything she is, while being so humble”) as her role models
  • Favourite food is sushi
  • Named Female Junior Athlete of the Year at the Australian Tennis Awards in 2021, 2022 and 2023.

YEAR-END RANKINGS

2023 244
2022 606

Taylah Preston in the news

Ranking Movers: Thompson approaches 22-year Australian high
Jordan Thompson in action at the ATP Finals in Turin, Italy. Photo: Getty Images
19 November, 2024

Jordan Thompson has climbed two spots to world No.3 in doubles while Destanee Aiava has been rewarded for her Brisbane title sweep.
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Pro Tour: Kubler to make long-awaited return in Brisbane
Jason Kubler (Getty Images)
12 November, 2024

Jason Kubler will play at the Brisbane QTC Tennis International this week, 10 months after his most recent competitive match.
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Rankings movers: De Minaur climbs into ATP Finals contention
Alex De Minaur has moved into the top eight after his run to the Paris Masters quarterfinals. Photo: Getty Images
5 November, 2024

Alex de Minaur’s run to the Paris Masters quarterfinals has lifted him into the driver’s seat to qualify for the season-ending championships.
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Aussie weekly wrap: Thompson, De Minaur in Aussie Masters first
Jordan Thompson defeats Adrian Mannarino to reach the Paris Masters quarterfinals. Photo: Getty Images
4 November, 2024

Jordan Thompson and Alex de Minaur ensured two Aussies advanced to the Paris Masters last eight for the first time.
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