They might be tennis has-beens, nobodies or late-bloomers, but there is not an “average Joe” among them. The unheralded Australians have given local fans reason for optimism this week as the grand slam at Melbourne Park gets going.
While long runs are expected from Australia’s three seeds Alex de Minaur, Alexei Popyrin and Jordan Thompson, many of the nine local successes on Monday exist on the periphery of the elite tour.
James McCabe was one of four Australian wildcards to win, alongside Tristan Schoolkate – who had previously failed to qualify at Melbourne Park for five straight years, Talia Gibson – ranked outside 300 just over a year ago, and veteran Ajla Tomljanovic. Late on Monday, qualifier Destanee Aiava broke through for a first round win eight years after her debut.
McCabe’s victory over Spain’s Martin Landaluce was his first at ATP Tour-level, and vindication for Tennis Australia’s belief in giving him a place in the main draw. The 21-year-old said it was actually the wildcard to last year’s tournament – where he lost in the first round to American Alex Michelsen – that helped him to victory this year. “I was bit inexperienced, but now I’m a bit better handling things and going through certain situations,” he said.
McCabe coincidentally meets Michelson again in the second round this week, and he’s trying not to think too much about last year. “I try not remember that match,” the Australian said smiling. “Hopefully [it will] be a bit better this time.”
Further back, the memories are vivid. “Childhood was quite tough,” he said, describing a routine in Rockdale, Sydney that required him to wake up at 4am and not return home until 9.30pm, balancing swimming and school commitments as well as those in music, where he played flute and piano and sang in choirs.
“I got through it, and I think it definitely builds character and builds strength. I was a kid, I’m not saying I’m much older now,” he said. “I didn’t know anything else, I didn’t know what anyone else was doing, that was my life.”
He only took up tennis full-time when he finished school, and described himself as “chubby” at the time. “The last two years has just been a learning experience from traveling and … you just don’t know what to expect until you do it,” he said.
His victory on Monday was in front of Sonny Bill Williams, the former Bulldogs and All Blacks star. Both share the same manager, Khoder Nasser, and McCabe played junior tennis alongside Nasser’s son. “Sonny is like a brother to me,” McCabe said. “He is one of the greats, I’m just grateful for the words of advice he gives me.”
While McCabe said last year’s wildcard aided his experience, others believe the leg up Australians receive by having direct access to a grand slam can hinder, not help, players’ development.
Aiava was one set and 2-5 down, and then trailed 3-5 in the third set before she surged back to beat a Belgian player, Greet Minnen, at close to midnight. She said coming through qualifying in 2025 has given her a boost. “Now that I’ve actually qualified, it does feel so much better to actually earn my way in,” she said.
While McCabe was doing laps in the pool or playing his favourite song Il Pastore Svizzero on the flute after school, Aiava was already deep within the tennis ecosystem. The 24-year-old debuted at the Australian Open in 2017, but a year later was already taking time off to deal with the mental challenges of tour.
The Victorian has said she will give professional tennis away after 2025 if she can’t crack the top 100, but has now recorded her first grand slam victory and will be able to meet the cost of brining her fiance on tour.
To see her victory on Monday night, court three was packed with thousands of fans including hundreds of children, many with flags celebrating her Samoan heritage. Aiava said this pressure of expectation would have once put her off. “Nowadays, I enjoy it,” she said. “Maybe it’s because I’m older now and I’ve dealt with these kinds of situations a lot more, I’m able to handle it a lot better, and know that there are kids that I am inspiring.”
She has drawn attention during her successful qualifying run for her outfits, picked up from Ebay or Facebook Marketplace, harking back to the dresses won by players of past decades. But the focus on Aiava’s appearance has drawn negative comments on social media.
“It’s not so much the articles that are bad – maybe some titles are a bit click-bait – but I understand that this is just to get people reading them,” she said. “I don’t think there’s much the media can do better, it’s just the average Joes being shit.”
Those “average Joes” she suspects are sad and unhappy, and have nothing better to do with their time. While she has tried to stay off her phone this week, when she does log on she has taken to responding to the offensive comments. “I try not to look into it too much,” she said. “But I do like telling them off.”
