Tomljanovic racing clock to be ‘100% ready’ for Aus Open campaign

Ajla Tomljanovic is arriving at Melbourne Park this week with basically no tennis to her name since her 2024 injuries, with a lingering keen injury still hanging over her head as the countdown to the 2025 Australian Open ticks on.

There have been fears that Tomljanovic, who was drawn into the bracket late last week, may have to pull out before a match had been played. She did already scratch her own name from the Brisbane International contest earlier in the Aussie summer as she managed the knee issue that saw her miss three Grand Slams last year.

“I’m so disappointed to withdraw from the Brisbane International, but I wanted to be 100% ready to compete, which I’m not,” Tomljanovic wrote on Instagram at the time. She then immediately began Aus Open prep work.

Should the injury hold — and it should, at this point — Ajla will play early on Monday.

The 31-year-old is scheduled to face rank 52 German Ashlyn Krueger; a reasonably lucky first-round pick considering Tomljanovic (no.109) made this year’s Australian Open main draw as a wildcard.

It’s not like Tomljanovic was worried about who she had to face through the Sunday-to-Tuesday openers though: “I’ve proven over the years that seeding doesn’t matter and slams are such a special place where anything can happen from round one,” she said.

And, even better, “I have a feeling that some players maybe don’t want to play me [in the] first round,” the Aussie star continued. It’s a place she loves to be — let every player, from top-seeded stars to the qualifiers, fear seeing her name across from them in the Grand Slam bracket. “I like coming into an event feeling like that.”

“There are 127 options,” she added with a laugh, “and of course, there are a couple that you are [thinking], ‘Ooh, hopefully not those ones first round,’ just to get my footing.

“I’ve done this so many times and I’ve been not seeded most of my career. I know what I’m in for.”