An undeniable Australian fan favourite, Kimberly Birrell is no stranger to success at Pat Rafter Arena. The Queenslander lapped up the local support and let it bolster her to a 6-4 3-6 6-3 victory on Day 2 of Brisbane International against world No.72 Rebecca Sramkova
Kimberly Birrell’s Brisbane International 2025 run was something of a dream; competing as a wildcard, she advanced to her maiden WTA 500 women’s singles quarterfinal after defeating then-world No.8 Emma Navarro in the second top-10 win of her career, before triumphing over world No.35 Anastasia Potapova.
Pat Rafter Arena is certainly proving to be somewhat of a lucky charm for the 27-year-old.
“So special. I just love being here. I love playing here and it means the world to me,” a beaming Birrell commented of the top-100 win in her own backyard. “I feel so grateful to come from such an amazing state and I just feel all the love, all the time.”
Birrell kicked off her 2026 season on home soil, again entering Brisbane as a wildcard. Call it déjà vu, but Birrell certainly seems to come into her own during this tournament.
In a career-first clash for the two top-100 players, Birrell and Sramkova faced the challenge of coming off the off-season to play a completely new opponent, where they would need to work out each other’s playing style and weaknesses on the fly.
For Sramkova, she had a point to prove. This is the Slovakian’s second run at the Brisbane tournament after making her maiden appearance in 2025, where she fell at first round to Elina Avanesyan.
This time around, she put pressure on early, dictating much of the game from the baseline and leaning on her powerful, aggressive style of play to get ahead of Birrell, even breaking Birrell’s serve during the first set’s second game.
Birrell’s recovery was swift. Bouncing back from 0-3 down in the first set, she won five straight games before securing the set in 48 minutes. “I guess I was just so focused and really concentrating on every single shot, every single point,” she said.
Sramkova found a second wind to secure the second set but Birrell’s signature discipline kept her focus razor sharp. The third set saw her refuse to give away any points during crucial deciding moments.
A magical combination of clever match tactics and on-court problem solving, teamed with stinging backhand cross-court returns, heavy hitting and fast feet, has advanced Birrell to the second round, where she will face world No.3 Amanda Anisimova on Wednesday.