Four more Australian Open 2026 Wildcards featuring popular Australians have been announced Rinky Hijikata, Priscilla Hon, Talia Gibson And Taylah Preston play in the main draw at Melbourne Park in January.
This brings the number of Australians in the individual main draw to 16 – eight for the men and eight for the women.
Hon’s wildcard comes from the best season of her career, in which she reached the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time – at the US Open – shortly before her top 100 debut.
The 27-year-old Queenslander also qualified for Wimbledon, reached 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,” said Hon, who reached a career-best No. 94 in the world rankings in mid-October before falling to 119th.
“I’ve pushed my body hard to avoid needing one, but I’m very grateful for their continued support. I’m proud to represent Australia and can’t wait to see how far I can go!”
Hijikata’s 2025 season peaked in doubles when he reached the Wimbledon final with his Dutch partner David Pel. It was his second Grand Slam doubles final after he and fellow Australian Jason Kubler won the 2023 AO title.
On the singles court, Hijikata finished the season strongly with a win at the Playford Challenger – moving him up to 114th in the world rankings – and previously won first 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 the AO main draw for the fourth consecutive year.
“I am very grateful to have another opportunity to play in the AO main draw,” said Hijikata.
“There’s nothing quite like competing at a home slam and I have some of my best memories in Melbourne. I can’t wait for the electric atmosphere in January.”
Another fast player in 2025 was Preston, who has won 31 of her last 37 games since the start of September.
During the same period she improved her ranking from 259th to 199th after collecting three Australian Pro Tour singles titles – in Wagga Wagga, Dawin and Brisbane – from four finals appearances.
The 20-year-old, a former top 10 junior, will compete in the Grand Slam main draw for the third time after competing in the Australian Open and US Open in 2024.
“I am extremely grateful and excited for the opportunity to play in the main draw again in Melbourne,” said Preston. “It means so much to me and I can’t wait to get out there and compete.”
Gibson, meanwhile, enjoyed an end-of-season highlight when she was named to the Australian squad Billie Jean King Cup made the team for the first time as part of the Australian play-off campaign in Hobart.
The following week she traveled to Sydney and won the Australian Pro Tour title, one of three ITF titles she won at W50 level or higher in 2025.
The West Australian also won her first Grand Slam main draw match at AO 2025, qualified for Wimbledon, reached the second round of the WTA Cleveland tournament and achieved several impressive results at the WTA 125 level.
“I am delighted to receive a wildcard into the Australian Open main draw and am very grateful to Tennis Australia for giving me this wonderful opportunity,” said Gibson, who peaked at No. 105 in the world rankings in August.
“I had the best experience winning my first main round match at AO earlier this year, so I can’t wait to experience the fantastic atmosphere of the home crowd again in January.”
Wildcards for the main draw were also awarded to French players Dear Sarah Rakotomanga Rajaonah And Kyrian Jacquetas announced by the French Tennis Federation.
Rakotomanga Rajaonah, 20, recently broke through for her first WTA title in Sao Paulo and is closing in on the top 100 after starting 2025 outside the top 350. Jacquet, meanwhile, reached his first ATP quarterfinal in Metz last month, shortly before reaching a career-high ranking of No. 137.
Additional wildcards will be announced ahead of the 2026 Australian Open main draw, which begins on January 18.