Hijikata, Hon Receive Australian Open Wild Cards – Tennis Now

By Richard Pagliaro | Monday, December 22, 2025Photo credit: Hameltion/Wikimedia Commons.

Four Australians have received wild cards into the 2026 Australian Open.

Aussies Rinky Hijikata, Priscilla Hon, Talia Gibson and Taylah Preston received wild cards to play in the main draw at Melbourne Park in January.

It boosts the number of Australians in the singles main draws to 16 – eight in the men’s, and eight in the women’s.

Hon’s wildcard comes off the back of a career-best season, during which she reached the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time – at the US Open – shortly before making her Top-100 debut.

The 27-year-old Queenslander also qualified for Wimbledon, advanced to the third round of the WTA 1000 tournament in Beijing, and won two ITF W75 titles, in Brisbane and Romania.

“I’m so incredibly grateful to Tennis Australia for the wildcard,” Hon said, who hit a career-high ranking of world No.94 in mid-October before dropping to her current mark of 119th.

“I pushed my body hard to try and avoid needing one, but I’m very thankful for their continued support. I’m proud to represent Australia and can’t wait to see how far I can go!”

Hijikata and Dutch partner David Pel reached the Wimbledon doubles final. It was his second Grand Slam doubles final, after he and fellow Australian Jason Kubler won the AO 2023 title.

In singles, Hijikata won the Playford Challenger – rising to world No.114 as a result – and also won rounds at Wimbledon, Indian Wells and Miami.

Hijikata, whose best Grand Slam singles result was a fourth-round run at the 2023 US Open, will compete in his fourth consecutive AO main draw.

“I’m very grateful to get another opportunity to play in the main draw at the AO,” Hijikata said.

“There’s nothing better than competing at a home Slam and I’ve had some of my best memories in Melbourne. I can’t wait for the electric atmosphere in January.”

A red-hot Preston won 31 of her last 37 matches in 2025.

The 20-year-old, a former top-10 junior, will be making the third Grand Slam main-draw appearance after competing at the Australian and US Opens in 2024.

Gibson, meanwhile, enjoyed a late-season high when she was selected in the Australian Billie Jean King Cup team for the first time, as part of Australia’s Play-off campaign in Hobart.

The following week, she travelled to Sydney and won the Australian Pro Tour title there, one of three ITF titles she won in 2025 at W50 level or above.

Main-draw wildcards have also been awarded to French players Tiantsoa Sarah Rakotomanga Rajaonah and Kyrian Jacquet, as announced by the French Tennis Federation.

Rakotomanga Rajaonah, 20, recently broke through for her first WTA title in Sao Paulo and is nearing the top 100 after beginning 2025 outside the top 350. Jacquet, meanwhile, reached his first ATP-level quarterfinal in Metz last month, shortly before hitting a career-high ranking of 137th.

More wildcards will be announced ahead of the Australian Open 2026 main draw, beginning January 18th.