MELBOURNE, Australia — Three-time major champion Stan Wawrinka was among nine wild-card entries awarded Friday for the Australian Open in January.
Tennis Australia said Wawrinka would be joined at Melbourne Park – where the main draw begins on Jan. 12 – by Australians Tristan Schoolkate, Li Tu, James McCabe, Daria Saville, Ajla Tomljanovic, Emerson Jones, Talia Gibson and Maya Joint.
It said more main draw wild cards and wild-card entries to the qualifying tournament will be announced soon.
Wawrinka won the Australian Open in 2014, beating the recently-retired Rafael Nadal in four sets, for his first Grand Slam singles title. Wawrinka peaked at world No. 3 with that victory, and later added major titles at the French Open in 2015 and the 2016 US Open.
The now-39-year-old Swiss player has battled injuries in recent years but advanced to the Australian Open quarterfinals in 2020 for the fifth time, marking his last appearance at a major quarterfinal.
“I´m incredibly grateful to receive a wild card into the Australian Open in 2025,” Wawrinka said according to AP.
“Melbourne holds such a special place in my heart . . . one of the greatest milestones of my career.”
Elsewhere, former WTA Chairman and CEO Stacey Allaster will transition into a strategic advisory role at the USTA following the 2025 US Open, the USTA announced. Allaster currently holds the position as Chief Executive of Professional Tennis and US Open Tournament Director at the USTA.
Allaster served as Chairman and CEO at the WTA from 2009 to 2015. During her tenure, Allaster led the expansion of the tour into Asia, secured equal prize money at Wimbledon and Roland Garros, and saw athlete compensation increase by 100 percent. Prior to her work at the WTA, Allaster served as Tournament Director at the Rogers Cup in Canada.
“I am excited to close out my career in professional tennis with the USTA,” Allaster said according to wtatennis.com. “It has been an honor to lead one of the world’s most prestigious sport and entertainment events: a pinnacle point in a career that allowed me the privilege to collaborate with extraordinary athletes, leaders, staff, volunteers and fans.
“I am proud of the growth and innovation that propelled the US Open to new record level attendance and even more so to have become the first female tournament director of the US Open – an honor that will pave the way for more female leaders in the sport that I love. For now, I am focused and inspired to stage the most successful USO in 2025.”
Renzo Furlan, meanwhile, has been recognized as this season’s Coach of the Year (as voted on by WTA registered coaches) for his instrumental role in making Jasmine Paolini one of 2024’s star performers.
Paolini started the year as a Top 30 player but by the end of her history-making season had risen to No.4 in the world, having won her first WTA 1000 title at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, reached back-to-back Grand Slam finals at Roland Garros and Wimbledon and qualified for her first WTA Finals in both singles and doubles.
A former ATP player himself with a career-high ranking of No.19, Furlan also coached Paolini to three Top 10 wins this season in addition to her and partner Sara Errani’s gold medal in doubles at the Paris Olympics.
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