Four more Australians have received singles wildcards for the upcoming Brisbane International presented by ANZ. Kimberly Birrell, Talia Gibson, Ajla Tomljanovic, and Aleksandar Vukic received direct entry into the 2026 event in January.
After a dream quarterfinal run during the 2025 women’s singles tournament, Birrell again aims to capture that magic in front of a home crowd at the Queensland Tennis Centre.
After she beat compatriot and friend Priscilla Hon in the opening round, Birrell then recorded the second top-10 win of her career against world No.8 Emma Navarro 7-5 7-5 on Pat Rafter Arena. She reached her maiden WTA 500 quarterfinal with victory over world No.35 Anastasia Potapova.
READ: Birrell stuns Navarro at Brisbane International 2025
“It’s amazing to start the year here in Brisbane. I think everyone in Queensland really gets behind live sport,” Birrell said following her win over Hon at Brisbane International 2025. “[It’s] super special to play in front of my friends and my family, the home crowd … super proud of being a Queenslander.”
It would help ignite a career-best season for the 27-year-old, who broke into the WTA top 100 after qualifying for AO 2025. Birrell also guided Australia back to the Billie Jean King Cup Qualifiers in November and earned her first Newcombe Medal nomination.
“It’s been a big year with ups and downs, but it’s been a really special one, and I definitely won’t forget it,” she told tennis.com.au. “I started the year very strong and shot up in the rankings to a career high, which was amazing.
“I think I did have a little bit of a lull (during the middle of 2025), but I’m really proud of myself that I was able to not get too down and rely on my coaches and my family to lift me back up, which they especially did towards the end of this year and finished the Asia swing very strong."
She will be joined in the field by Gibson, who also enjoyed her best season to date in 2025. The West Australian secured her first Grand Slam win when she rallied from a set down to defeat Turkiye’s Zeynep Sonmez at the Australian Open.
Gibson also qualified for Wimbledon and received her Billie Jean King Cup jacket in November for Australia’s Play-off ties against Brazil and Portugal in Hobart.
The 21-year-old will compete at the Brisbane International for the second straight year, where she challenged world No.44 Marie Bouzkova in a three-hour, three-set battle in the opening round.
Meanwhile, 2019 quarterfinalist, Tomljanovic enters her fifth campaign in Brisbane. The 32-year-old features at the event for the first time since 2020.
Vukic joins Nick Kyrgios and Adam Walton as wildcards for the men’s singles tournament. The 29-year-old will feature in his third straight main draw in Brisbane. In 2025, Vukic defeated David Goffin to record his first win at the event.
Don’t miss out on the chance to be part of one of the most exciting tournaments of the year. Tickets for the Brisbane International are on sale via Ticketmaster. Prices start at $30. Premium Experiences are on sale via Ticketmaster and the Premium Experiences Team.