Kimberly Birrell has continued her strong form in Dubai, winning her third match in a row to reach the second round of the main draw.
After getting past Tereza Valentova and Katie Volynets in qualifying, Birrell outlasted German veteran Tatjana Maria 6-4 3-6 7-5 in the opening round of the main draw.
The win sets up a second-round meeting with top seed and Australian Open 2026 champion Elena Rybakina, whom Birrell pushed in a 6-3 7-6(4) loss at last April’s Billie Jean King Cup tie in Brisbane.
Also in the Dubai main draw is Daria Kasatkina, who opens her campaign against another German in Laura Siegemund.
Australian No.1 Maya Joint lost her first-round match to former world No.11 Diana Shnaider.
Nearby in Doha, Alexei Popyrin flies the Aussie flag in the main draw of the ATP 500 event.
The 26-year-old has drawn Qatari wildcard Mubarak Shannan Zayid and should he progress, he’d face the winner of the match between No.2 seed Jannik Sinner and Adelaide International champion Tomas Machac.
The top seed in Doha is Carlos Alcaraz, who is playing for the first time since winning Australian Open 2026 – a triumph that saw him become the youngest man in history to complete the career Grand Slam.
Also in action this week is Rinky Hijikata, who is among the field at the ATP 250 tournament in Delray Beach, Florida.
Hijikata beat Michael Mmoh and Dalibor Svrcina in qualifying to advance to the main draw, where he will face No.8 seed Frances Tiafoe.
Fellow Aussies Adam Walton and Tristan Schoolkate reached the final round of qualifying, yet fell to Sho Shimabukuro and Coleman Wong, respectively.
The Delray Beach event has seen several Aussies crowned champions; Todd Woodbridge (1995), Jason Stoltenberg (1996-97), Andrew Ilie (1998) and Lleyton Hewitt (1999) are all on the honour roll.