Kimberly Birrell is set to re-enter the world’s top 100 after receiving a walkover against Marketa Vondrousova to reach the Adelaide quarterfinals.
This follows her second upset win in as many weeks, after Birrell opened her Adelaide campaign with a first-round victory over Anastasia Potapova.
The Queenslander claimed a 6-4 6-4 win over No.54 Potapova, following her three-set victory over the higher-ranked Rebecca Sramkova in Brisbane’s first round last week.
Joining Birrell in the Adelaide quarterfinals was Maya Joint, who was trailing compatriot Ajla Tomljanovic 0-2 in the opening set before Tomljanovic was forced to retire due to injury.
"I mean, it's just bad timing, really. I hope she can get better for AO," said Joint, who will face top seed Mirra Andreeva in the last eight. "I was looking forward to this match... I know it would have been a good match, but I just hope she can get better fast."
Also advancing in Adelaide on Wednesday was Aleksandar Vukic, who followed up his first-round upset of Stefanos Tsitsipas by beating qualifier Andrea Vavassori in straight sets.
Vukic is through to the quarterfinals, while unfortunately fellow Aussie Thanasi Kokkinakis was forced to withdraw ahead of his second-round match, struggling with the shoulder injury that plagued him during his epic three-set win over Sebastian Korda.
Birrell, meanwhile, constructed the best season of her career in 2025, peaking at world No.60 in May. She capped her year with progress to the final of the Chennai Open in October and claiming two singles wins at the Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers in Hobart – providing pleasing momentum entering 2026.
This comes after the 27-year-old conceded she thought her “career was over” after injury. Birrell has endured two major right elbow injuries, which required surgeries during an extended break from tennis that lasted from mid-2019 to early 2022.
Since then, her goals have quickly shifted, as Birrell explained during a practice session last November.
“It’s amazing how fast your expectations shift as well. When I got to top 100, I was like, ‘cool, it doesn’t seem like 80 is that far away now’,” Birrell related.
“When I was 80, I quickly wanted to be top 50. We don’t always take the time to appreciate the journey and how hard it is was to get there. You’re always onto the next thing.”
“I’m adjusting and I’ve always wanted to make the main draw of the Australian Open without receiving a wildcard [or] without having to play qualies. If I can manage to do that, I’ll be so happy.”
With Birrell already assured of main-draw entry at AO 2026, she could achieve another career milestone by maintaining her top-100 ranking to gain automatic entry to all four majors this year.
She next faces Romania’s Jaqueline Cristian in the quarterfinals, who defeated Aussie No.2, Daria Kasatkina 6-4 6-0 in the second round.
Kasatkina was searching for her first win against a top-50 opponent since defeating then-world No.10 Paula Badosa at Roland Garros last year.