Kimberly Birrell is lighting it up in the City of Lights, and attributes part of her astonishing breakthrough triumph at Roland Garros to feeling like Paris is a second home.
On Tuesday (local time), the Queenslander sensationally knocked out No.5 seed Jessica Pegula with the biggest win of her career, cheered on at Roland Garros' famed greenhouse arena, Court Simonne-Mathieu, by her close 'Paris family'.
> READ: Brilliant Birrell beats Pegula in major Roland Garros upset
That's the family of her mum's best friend, with whom Birrell stays whenever she's in the French capital, and she swears it's just the added edge she needs as she seeks to make the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time outside of Australia by defeating Ukraine's Oleksandra Oliynykova on Thursday.
"This is definitely a piece of home for me," Birrell said.
"As Aussies, we're just on the road all the time. So to have somewhere where I can see people I love, leave some stuff in Europe, make my bags a little bit lighter when travelling around to tournaments and get a home-cooked meal, it really helps.
"I also know the area that they live really well now. It's so familiar.
"My parents, they're Aussies who lived in Germany for quite a while, where I was born (in Dusseldorf). My mum met a lovely French lady, and they've been best friends since their 20s when they met in Germany.
> MORE: Kimberly Birrell: "I have so much more belief that I can win"
"So each time I come to Paris, I stay with them, and they've also come to Australia throughout my childhood. Their girls are similar age to me and my brother and are some of our closest family friends."
She wanted to get a first win for them on her fifth visit to Roland Garros: "So this was a pretty cool moment for me to win and see them in the stands watching."
Her first Slam victory in the French capital placed her within an exclusive group. She is only the eighth Australian woman in the past 42 years to defeat a top-five player at a major, and the first since Ajla Tomljanovic this time four years ago.
Women representing Australia to defeat top 5 opponents at Grand Slams | ||||
| Year | Tournament | Player | Opponent | Ranking |
| 1984 | US Open | Wendy Turnbull | Pam Shriver | 4 |
| 1985 | Wimbledon | Liz Smylie | Hana Mandlikova | 3 |
| 1986 | US Open | Wendy Turnbull | Hana Mandlikova | 4 |
| 1988 | Australian Open | Anne Minter | Pam Shriver | 4 |
| 1989 | Wimbledon | Louise Field | Zina Garrison | 5 |
| 1999 | Wimbledon | Jelena Dokic | Martina Hingis | 1 |
| 2009 | Roland Garros | Sam Stosur | Elena Dementieva | 4 |
| 2010 | Roland Garros | Sam Stosur | Serena Williams | 1 |
| 2010 | Roland Garros | Sam Stosur | Jelena Jankovic | 4 |
| 2011 | US Open | Sam Stosur | Vera Zvonareva | 2 |
| 2022 | Roland Garros | Ajla Tomljanovic | Anett Kontaveit | 5 |
| 2026 | Roland Garros | Kimberly Birrell | Jessica Pegula | 5 |
*Figures provided by Stats Perform, whose records date back to 1984
**Tomljanovic (2014) and Daria Kasatkina also defeated top-5 players at Slams, but were representing other nations at the time
Birrell also joins fellow Gold Coast-bred player, Sam Stosur, who achieved this feat four times throughout her career.
“It definitely hasn’t sunk in, to be honest, it’s really crazy and I feel speechless,” she told Stan Sport.
“I feel really proud of just the work that I’ve put in to get to this position and I can’t wait to play in the second round, I’m really excited.”
You can watch Roland Garros 2026 on the channels of the Nine Network and Stan Sport.