All eyes have been on Destanee Aiava at Melbourne Park, and the 24-year-old completed a superb Australian Open qualifying campaign by defeating No.23 seed Eva Lys 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 to return to the main draw of her home major for the first time in four years.

Aiava has been hitting the headlines all week, which she began by posting a vlog rating her experience on Australia's United Cup team as "2 out of 10." She also drew attention for her vintage fashion sense after playing her matches in outfits first made popular by Maria Sharapova and Ana Ivanovic over a decade previously -- which Aiava revealed she had sourced from various second-hand online retailers. The World No.195 also garnered praise for her response to online body-shaming.

Amid all of this, and despite her fears that United Cup had been her "worst prep ever," Aiava has also delivered on court. Though she received four Australian Open wild cards between 2017 and 2021, Aiava had not managed to successfully come through Grand Slam qualifying until last year's US Open. Now, she's done so at two straight majors.

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"I think [the improvement] is more so my mentality," said Aiava, who revealed her borderline personality disorder diagnosis in 2022, afterwards. "It's really me getting out of my own way and actually not shying away from wanting to succeed in this sport. I know I've always had the talent and the hard work and all the other stuff. It's just my brain."

Aiava, who was benched for the duration of United Cup, is also now on an eight-match winning streak, having ended 2024 by winning the Brisbane ITF W50 event. After defeating Lys, she promised more to come -- both in terms of her tennis and her looks.

"I found [another vintage outfit] on Facebook yesterday before my match," she told press. "I might go pick that up. Only $35, which is a steal. But yeah, I've struggled with clothing sponsorships for the last couple years. I love my fashion. I always love the older dresses that don't get any wear any more.

"I think some of the stuff that is being designed [now] is quite ugly. I just like to wear what I think looks good. I don't like wearing the same thing as everyone else. I know I had to do that whilst I was sponsored. I am hoping to get a sponsor. I'll probably have to put up with wearing the same thing as other people.

"But yeah, for now I'm loving picking whatever I want to wear, buying whatever I want. I think even if you lose, it's still kind of a fashion runway when you're on the court."

No.9 seed Kimberly Birrell made it a double delight for home fans after the Brisbane quarterfinalist edged Oksana Selekhmeteva 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-4 in 2 hours and 46 minutes. Australian No.1 Birrell led 3-1 in the second set, but had to battle nerves as well as terrific play from a resilient Selekhmeteva before getting over the line.

Four qualifiers who haven't lost a set

Grand Slam qualifying may be renowned for wild rollercoaster rides and nail-biting thrillers, but four players have been all business this week to book their places in the main draw without dropping a set.

After playing eight matches in Brisbane last week to reach her first WTA final as a qualifier, No.6 seed Polina Kudermetova successfully avoided any mental or physical letdown in Melbourne. The 21-year-old held off wild card Elena Micic 6-4, 7-5 to make her second Grand Slam main draw.

No.2 seed Viktorija Golubic extended her winning streak to 15 matches with a 6-2, 6-4 defeat of Sachia Vickery. The Swiss 32-year-old ended 2024 with title runs in Jiujiang and the Limoges WTA 125, as well as going unbeaten in Billie Jean King Cup action. She had only won one out of four previous meetings with Vickery, but this time dismissed the American in just 74 minutes.

No.171-ranked Veronika Erjavec has dropped just 13 games in three matches this week, the lowest number of any qualifier. The 25-year-old Slovenian completed her dominant campaign by routing former No.14 Petra Martic 6-2, 6-1. Erjavec's accomplishment is all the more impressive considering that the Australian Open will be not only her first Grand Slam main draw, but her first tour-level main draw. Martic's tournament isn't over yet either: the Croatian was drawn as a lucky loser following the withdrawal of Clara Burel.

No.27 seed Jana Fett was the fourth player to navigate qualifying without dropping a set, holding off Croatian compatriot Lucija Ciric Bagaric 6-3, 7-6(6).

Other qualifiers included 18-year-old Czech Sara Bejlek, who defeated former No.21 Jil Teichmann 7-5, 6-3; Poland's Maja Chwalinska, who needed 3 hours and 20 minutes to win her opening match but ended her campaign by dismissing Brenda Fruhvirtova 6-3, 6-4; and China's Wei Sijia, who came from 4-2 down in the third set to edge Nina Stojanovic 4-6, 6-4, 7-6[9] in 2 hours and 52 minutes. The 21-year-old will make her Grand Slam main-draw debut.

Former Roland Garros semifinalist Tamara Zidansek battled past Carole Monnet 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 in 2 hours and 50 minutes, making it two Slovenian qualifiers alongside Erjavec.

The full list of 2025 Australian Open qualifiers and their main-draw spots

[23] Magdalena Frech vs. [Q] Polina Kudermetova
Marketa Vondrousova vs. [Q] Jana Fett
[Q] Tamara Zidansek vs. Anastasia Potapova
[Q] Anca Todoni vs. [5] Zheng Qinwen
[Q] Leolia Jeanjean vs. [SR] Jodie Burrage
[Q] Veronika Erjavec vs. Suzan Lamens
Jule Niemeier vs. [Q] Maja Chwalinska
[Q] Nao Hibino vs. [17] Marta Kostyuk
Elise Mertens vs. [Q] Viktorija Golubic
Irina-Camelia Begu vs. [Q] Elena-Gabriela Ruse
Greet Minnen vs. [Q] Destanee Aiava
[Q] Daria Snigur vs. [10] Danielle Collins
[15] Beatriz Haddad Maia vs. [Q] Julia Riera
[Q] Sara Bejlek vs. Caroline Dolehide
[Q] Wei Sijia vs. [4] Jasmine Paolini
[13] Anna Kalinskaya vs. [Q] Kimberly Birrell
[LL] Petra Martic vs. Jaqueline Cristian

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tamara zidansek
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