Arina Rodionova, the highest-ranked female tennis player in Australia, remains undaunted despite being controversially denied a wildcard entry to her country’s major tournament.
The 34-year-old from Victoria, who has been playing for a long time, asked the organizers of the Australian Open to remember her. She was one win away from entering the top 100 in the world rankings for the first time at the Brisbane International.
Unfortunately, Rodionova was not chosen on Friday. Instead, Tennis Australia decided to give the last discretionary wildcard for the upcoming grand slam to Daria Saville, a former top-20 player. The tournament will begin in just over a week on Sunday.
The Australian player who favors their right hand has risen to their highest career ranking of 105, although they were ranked 112 at the time of the Australian Open selection.
If she wants to be included in the Open main draw, she must win three matches during the qualifying round, which starts on Monday.
“I am not surprised, to be honest,” Rodionova shared on social media on Friday.
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The feeling of accomplishing everything entirely by yourself, despite all the challenges, is truly valuable.
“In a few days, I will be attending the AO qualies and I am very excited for it.”
In 2023, Rodionova had a strong performance on the lower-level ITF Tour, winning 78 matches and earning seven titles. This success led to a significant increase in her ranking, going from No 302 to nearly breaking into the top 100.
She took that document to Brisbane – her first WTA tournament in almost two years – where she defeated current top-20 player Martina Trevisan and former Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin.
Rodionova mentioned that if she had the choice, she would award herself the wildcard for the third round in Brisbane. However, she acknowledged that there are other individuals involved in the decision.
I hope they are enjoying my performance this week.
“I have completed all the difficult tasks and positioned myself in the best possible way. There is nothing more I could have done to come any closer.”
Saville, currently recovering from a major knee injury, advanced to the fourth round at the Australian Open in both 2016 and 2017.
After coming back to the tour in June, the ex-junior world No. 1 has climbed up the rankings from 322nd to her present spot of 209th.
Saville had a strong start to the year with a victory in the opening round in Brisbane, but ultimately lost in a close three sets match against the 11th seed, Anastasia Potapova.
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The 29-year-old has been selected as one of the women’s wildcard recipients, joining former world No 1 and 2018 Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki, as well as Australians Kim Birrell, Olivia Gadecki, and Taylah Preston.
In addition to needing to try to qualify, Rodionova will also face the financial setback of not receiving the guaranteed $120,000 for players who lose in the first round at Melbourne Park.
Meanwhile, two-time Australian Open semi-finalist Madison Keys announced her withdrawal from the event due to a shoulder injury. World No 104 Sara Errani will replace her.
On Friday, Jason Kubler and James McCabe, both from Australia, were awarded wildcards for the men’s competition.
In Brisbane, Kubler performed exceptionally well by defeating former Australian Open semi-finalist Aslan Karatsev and advancing to the round of 16. However, he ultimately lost to Rafael Nadal.
Kubler, currently ranked 102nd in the world for singles, holds the title of men’s doubles champion at the Australian Open, which he won alongside fellow Australian player Rinky Hijikata.
McCabe, a 20-year-old resident of Sydney, has significantly increased his ranking by over 100 spots in 2023. He will now have his first appearance in a grand slam tournament.
The 272nd ranked player nearly caused an upset against Dominic Thiem in the first round of Brisbane qualifying. However, Thiem, a former world No. 3 and 2020 US Open winner, managed to come back and win in three sets after facing several match points.
