French Open Wildcards for Aiava, Schoolkate
Wildcard spots at the French Open have been awarded to Destanee Aiava and Tristan Schoolkate in recognition of their remarkable breakthrough performances at the Australian Open.
Schoolkate, who interrupted Jannik Sinner's run of set victories on Rod Laver Arena in January, and Aiava, who had a brilliant run through qualification into the Open second round, will be part of at least a 15-person Australian team in it.
Here may be even more than that, when the tournament proper begins on May 25 and another 12 Australians compete for spots in Roland Garros the week after.
As part of the four grand slams' reciprocal wildcard agreements, Tennis Australia has selected Aiava and Schoolkate.
As a result, the two may forego their intentions to complete qualifying and instead anticipate receiving a first-round prize money guarantee of €78,000 ($A136,500), plus more funds if they advance.
Aiava has been competing in lower-level competitions since the euphoric high of Melbourne, and her selection follows her 25th birthday celebration on Saturday.
Last week, she was still recovering from losing a tournament when Sam Stosur contacted to let her know she had been given a wildcard to the French Open.
At the Australian Open, Aiava fought her way through three qualifying matches before defeating Belgian Greet Minnen in a 3-set tiebreaker in the first round play.
Her performance in the 2024 US Open, where she also advanced beyond qualies, continued as she gave previous finalist Danielle Collins a fright in the second round.
Reaching the ITF tournament final in Prague was her greatest performance since the Australian Open, but she is also a complete novice on clay.
Along with Kim Birrell, Daria Kasatkina, Ajla Tomljanovic, Maya Joint, and Olivia Gadecki, Aiava will be the sixth Australian woman to be assured of a place in the main draw at Roland Garros.
Along with Alexei Popyrin, Alex de Minaur, Aleksandar Vučić, Jordan Thompson, Adam Walton, Rinky Hijikata, Chris O'Connell, and James Duckworth, Schoolkate will be included in the men's draw.
The 24-year-old from Perth, Schoolkate, has mostly been competing in second-tier Challenger tournaments since causing a mini-sensation by defeating champion Sinner in the opening stanza to halt a three-month run in which the Italian world No. 1 didn't drop a set.
Despite having advanced to the Guangzhou final earlier this month and winning one in Brisbane in February, the world No. 129 is essentially being thrown in at the deep end because he hasn't yet played a clay-court match at the tour level.
