Oft-controversial Bernard Tomic still dreams of returning to the Australian Open main draw, years on from fading away from the sport, and the former world No.17 has taken one more step towards that goal this week.
The 33-year-old is through to the second round of AO qualifying after his first victory at Melbourne Park since 2021, beating Bolivia’s No.25 seed Hugo Dellien 6–3, 6–3 on his “fun” quest to prove he can still make it. He next faces Britain’s world No.185 Arthur Fery, before he’d then have to overcome No.127 Dino Prizmic or No.238 Gustavo Heide.
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This isn’t some out-of-reach narrative that Tomic’s chasing either, though — most Aussie fans may last remember him flaming out in the late 2010s and early 2020s, but the once-infamous bad boy settled onto the 2025 tour grind playing lower-level Challenger events to get his fitness and his skills back up before a hopeful 2026 tilt at glory.
“I needed to [leave it],” the Aussie star admitted on Monday.
“The sport was really tough for me, and I was not the best person to cope with it mentally.
“So I figured out a way to just like, you know what… I wanted to see if I can challenge myself and get back to the top 100 from 900 at that stage. It’s still going to be tough. Let’s see if I can do it, huh? That’s my goal.”
He continued: “It’s something that has been my sort of goal, to qualify at a slam again… to have a bit of a run at a grand slam now,” he said. “Maybe at Wimby [Wimbledon] or here. I know I’m still good enough to compete with these top guys. But it’s just a matter of surface conditions. Everything has to lay out for me at this time, at this age… I’m having fun.
“So let’s see if I can win a couple more matches here, huh?”
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Tomic originally broke into the top level through the early-2010s, making it as far as the fourth round at his home slam three times and playing in a Wimbledon quarterfinal in 2011. He won four ATP-level tournaments, with the last coming at the 2018 Chengdu Open, and made it as high as 17th in the world at the height of his powers. But, he gathered an infamous reputation as a bad boy, regularly threw mid-match tantrums, and turned the tennis world against him as he spiralled away from his peak.
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He now sits as world No.184, having played 35 different Challenger events as he looks to revive his career, and was one of three Aussies to upset higher seeds in the qualifying opening round. The others were Olivia Gadecki and Dane Sweeney.
Tomic is next in action tomorrow morning against Fery, with the match scheduled for 10am.
