AO wildcards up for grabs in new Pro Tour calendar | 4 August, 2025 | All News | News and Features | News and Events

Strong performances across Australian Pro Tour events will determine the players who earn a coveted Australian Open 2026 wildcard.

Melbourne, VIC, Australia, 4 August 2025 | Tennis Australia

A main-draw singles wildcard into Australian Open 2026 is one of the major incentives on offer in this year’s Australian Pro Tour, which returns with an expanded calendar, new regional locations and a reshaped schedule.

In a major boost for the series, the best-performing Australian male and female players across the events will earn a coveted main draw singles wildcard into AO 2026, in what could be a career-defining opportunity for rising stars of the game.

The 2025-26 Pro Tour will expand deeper into regional Australia, with new events added in Tamworth and Wagga Wagga, alongside 15K tournaments in Tweed Heads and Brisbane. In another first, Darwin will host women’s professional tennis, giving fans in the Northern Territory a front row seat to international action.

The wildcard race will be decided across three events in November:

Brisbane: ATP 75 and ITF W50
Sydney: ATP 75 and ITF W75
Playford (Adelaide): ATP 75 and ITF W75

This shift sees the higher-level ATP Challenger and ITF 50-75 events moved from October to November, allowing Australia’s top players to finish their season at home and prepare for the summer on local courts.

“We’re proud of how the Australian Pro Tour continues to grow as a world class platform for emerging and established tennis players,” said Paul Kilderry, Tennis Australia Director of Professional Tennis.

“The additions to the calendar not only create more international level playing opportunities on home soil, but also bring the tour to new regions, giving tennis fans across more of the country the chance to watch professional tennis closer to home.

“With an AO main draw wildcard on the line, there’s never been a more exciting time for Australian players to compete with a genuine shot at making their Grand Slam breakthrough right here at home.”

The 2025-26 Australian Pro Tour is now underway, with women’s competition in Tweed Heads and men’s action in Brisbane.

About the Australian Pro Tour

The Australian Pro Tour is a series of professional tennis events supporting local and international players as they transition onto the ATP and WTA Tours
Each Australian Pro Tour event offers prize money and valuable world ranking points
The Australian Pro Tour spans all eight states and territories, offering USD $1.48m annually in prize money and delivering more than $30m in economic benefit to host cities and towns.

For more information about the Australian Pro Tour, visit www.tennis.com.au/protour. For more information on the ITF World Tennis Tour, visit www.itftennis.com.