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If you were wondering why a lot of players had still been out there grinding – other than that’s what they do – there were some notable skins to play for heading into the end of the season.

On Monday, the deadline for qualifying entry at the Australian Open, which comes four weeks before the start of play on Jan. 12, hit.

Which meant some players were scrambling.

Most didn’t quite make it. But the fields for the men’s and women’s singles qualifying in Melbourne, which begin Jan. 6, feature some very intriguing names.

Here is the women’s entry list

And here are the men

The deadline for the main draw came two weeks ago, with an initial cutoff inside the top 100 because of all the injury-protected rankings.

Protected rankings abound – again – for AO 2025

2024: Stacey Fung last in

For the women’s draw, No. 224 Dominika Salkova was the last one in on the original list a year ago. After withdrawals (including Emma Raducanu, notably) and wild cards, Canadian Stacey Fung – then ranked No. 238 – was the last player directly into the qualifying via her ranking.

On the men’s side, the original cutoff was Marco Trungelliti, at No. 229. But by the time the qualifying actually began, No. 239 Laurent Lokoli was the last one in without a wild card.

2025: Glushko, Arnaboldi last in

This year, the initial cutoff on the women’s side is Lina Glushko of Israel, ranked No. 221 as of Monday. On the men’s side, the cutoff is lower: No. 231 Federico Arnaboldi of Italy.

Expect, as was the case last year, that the final number might be as many as 10 spots lower.

Simona Halep is back!

(Update: Simona Halep is, as it turns out, NOT back).

Tennis Australia has given Simona Halep, with her current ranking of No. 877, a wild card into the qualifying.

That will mark Halep’s first appearance in a Grand Slam tournament since the 2022 US Open and her first trip to the Australian Open since Jan. 2022, when she lost to Alizé Cornet in the fourth round.

Halep also received a wild card into the Auckland tournament, which takes place the week before.

The women’s cutoff is extremely high because a huge number of players entered using protected rankings: Ysaline Bonaventure (No. 109), Claire Liu (No. 119), Nina Stojanovic (No. 121). Mirjam Bjorklund (No. 145), Ana Konjuh (No. 156), Polona Hercog (No. 171), Usue Maitane Arconada (No. 173), Aliona Bolsova (No. 173), Anna-Lena Friedsam (No. 194) and Darya Astakhova (No. 212).

That’s a massive group.

All of the other wild cards, with the exception of Halep’s pass and the one given to 2024 AO junior champion Renata Jamrichova, were awarded to Aussies. The lowest ranked of them is No. 423 Elena Micic.

Familiar faces

In addition to Halep, who will get a lot of attention during qualifying week, there are a number of very experienced players with plenty of Grand Slam experience who will try to get through three matches: Sara Errani, Sara Sorribes Tormo, Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, Lin Zhu (who’s been out since Wimbledon), Petra Martic, Martina Trevisan, Jil Teichmann, Heather Watson, Arina Rodionova, Tamara Zidansek, both Brenda and Linda Fruhvirtova, Sachia Vickery and Kristina Mladenovic among them.

Canadian content

On the Canadian side, Rebecca Marino (No. 102) and Marina Stakusic (No. 125) are in although Marino is three out of the main draw and still has a shot at getting in if a few players withdraw.

Bianca Andreescu, the other Canadian eligible for the qualifying by ranking, is skipping the Australian Summer.

Carol Zhao (No. 247), Stacey Fung (No. 255), Carson Branstine (No. 264) and Kayla Cross (No. 266) couldn’t get close enough. Fung will be in Australia to play the United Cup. So if ever there are late withdrawals and not enough players take the risk and travel down “just in case”, she has a small chance at squeezing in as an alternate.

Last-minute surges

Three players who jumped back into the top 100 at the end of the season were a couple of weeks too late. So Alycia Parks (currently No. 82, but No. 103 at the main draw deadline), Viktorija Golubic (No. 90, No. 109) and Nuria Parrizas Diaz (No. 91, No. 99) are in the qualifying for now.

Parrizas Diaz is the first alternate for the main draw; Parks is five out.

Frenchwoman Carole Monnet squeezes in at No. 218, after jumping 18 spots at the very last minute by making the quarterfinals at a WTA 125 in Limoges.

Belgium’s Hanne Vandewinkel, who jumped 19 spots by making the final of a $25K tournament in Egypt the first week of December, is at No. 224 and just three out. (Vandewinkel, just 20, went 52-25 in singles in 2024 at the lower levels and earned just … $36,000 US. Serious grind).

Van Rijthoven, Mmoh are back

On the men’s side, the most notable returnee is Dutchman Tim Van Rijthoven, who made a splash on the grass a couple of years ago but has been beset by injuries since then.

He’ll use a protected ranking of No. 148. Joining him is Michael Mmoh, another talented player who has been through it with injuries the last few years, with a PR at No. 117.

Borna Gojo (No. 106), Yosuke Watanuki (No. 136), Jason Kubler (No. 140), Giulio Zeppieri (No. 171) and Kimmer Coppejans (No. 196) are also in with protected rankings.

Of the Aussie wild cards, the lowest-ranked is No. 1264 Cruz Hewitt, the 16-year-old son of the legendary Lleyton.

Canadian content

Alexis Galarneau is the only Canadian man who will play the qualifying this year.

Milos Raonic has the ranking, but it’s unlikely we’ll see him there.

Liam Draxl was able to get his ranking up to No. 247 by the deadline. But that won’t cut it even if, like Fung, he’ll be in Australia anyway on the United Cup squad. So if there’s a spot … he’s not far away.

Tomic the Tank!

Also back in his home major, for the first time since 2022 is Bernard Tomic. Tomic, who felt unwell during his first-round qualifying loss to Roman Safiullin that year and predicted, correctly, that it was COVID, will take part in only his second major since Roland Garros in 2021.

The former top-20 player has been out there grinding for the last few years and has gotten his ranking back up to No. 213. Good enough to get into the qualies. He played a whopping 33 tournaments in 2024 – 27 Challenger, six ITFs, earning a total of $63,030 US – but only managed to move his ranking up some 70 spots.

Christopher Eubanks, whose 2024 season proved a big challenge after a big leap up in 2023, is in at No. 107.

Kamil Majchrzak self-reports doping violation

Kamil Majchrzak, the Polish player who was suspended for 13 months for several positive doping tests that he later successfully proved were due to a contaminated supplement, is in at No. 120. He began the season at the lowest level – a $15K in Tunisia – with no ranking at all. Some 25 events later, he’s back in the game.

Dan Evans, down to No. 164, also is in the qualifying as is former top-20 player Nikoloz Basilashvili.

Basilashvili, who dealt with a domestic abuse court case back home in Georgia in recent years, is another one who has been quietly grinding on the Challenger circuit all year. He got his ranking back up to No. 208.

The 32-year-old had a Tomic-like schedule in 2024, playing 33 events in all. He began at a $25K in France in January, ranked No. 596 and moved up nearly 400 spots.

Lots of no-shows

Richard Gasquet, who is retiring at Roland Garros next spring, told French media he didn’t even ask for the French reciprocal wild card, saying they should leave it for the young ones. (The wild card ended up going to Lucas Pouille, who isn’t exactly a “young one” but who might end up getting in on his ranking anyway). Currently ranked No. 129, Gasquet was easily into the qualifying, but he opted not to play.

Also not entered on the men’s side are Max Purcell (No. 105), Hamad Medjedovic (No. 114), Alexander Ritschard (No. 118), Lloyd Harris (No. 132), Leandro Riedi (No. 135), Facundo Bagnis (No. 144), Seongchan Hong (No. 150), Albert Ramos-Viñolas (No. 165), Stefano Napolitano (No. 167), Marin Cilic (No. 180; he used a PR to play the 2024 AO, and can’t use it a second time at the same Grand Slam) and Stefano Travaglia (No. 221).

Purcell, who is six out of the main draw, has had his issues with Tennis Australia and Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt in the past, in terms of getting AO wild cards. There is one left still to be given out.

For the women, not quite so many no-shows: Océane Dodin (No. 111), Lesia Tsurenko (No. 116), Chloe Paquet (No. 123), Jodie Burrage (No. 179), Storm Hunter (No. 189; recovering from Achilles surgery), Berfu Cengiz (No. 192) and Lois Boisson (No. 205).

Next-in alternates

If past is prologue, there will be a number of withdrawals on both the men’s and women’s sides that will lower that ranking cutoff.

Here are the next-in alternates in that case.

Women

Men

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