Marina Stakusic looks for AO main draw

–

MELBOURNE, Australia – Marina Stakusic turned 21 in November, no longer the ingenue who rose up quickly before anyone saw her coming.

The next phase of the Canadian’s career has been a little more of a rollercoaster. But she has an opportunity to make her second Grand Slam main draw Thursday at the Australian Open.

Stakusic’s first effort came a year and a half ago, at Wimbledon in 2024.

After emphatic wins over Nuria Parrizas Diaz of Spain (6-3, 6-2) and 18-year-old Teodora Kostovic of Serbia (6-0, 6-2), she takes on a far more accomplished and experienced in Zhu Lin of China.

Zhu, who turns 32 in a few weeks and who represented China at the United Cup last week, was as high as No. 31 in the rankings after the 2023 US Open. She has since lost a lot of time to injury, and has fought back from nearly being outside the top 500 last July to her current No. 163.

She is looking for her eighth Australia Open main draw; for Stakusic, it would be a debut.

She never even made in the juniors, despite a career-high ranking of No. 31. She only played one junior Grand Slam, at the US Open in 2021.

Here’s what Stakusic – who wore adidas for many years, but now is sporting Vuori – looked like during her second-round win.