Playing with "no regrets" Stephens on cusp of AO main draw

Sloane Stephens is one win away from qualifying for Australian Open 2026 after defeating Olivia Gadecki 3-6 6-3 6-3 in one of Wednesday’s most anticipated second-round battles.

“[I’m] just playing with no regrets,” the 2017 US Open champion said. The 32-year-old saved seven of the nine break points she faced, and limited her unforced errors to 27, roughly half of Gadecki’s 53.

READ MORE: All the scores from AO qualifying

Stephens, who tried her hand at broadcasting during a lengthy injury spell last year, is as hungry as ever for on-court success.

“When you still have that competitive energy and competitive fire, and you can find a way out of matches like today – it’s not like the best tennis I’ve ever played, it’s not the prettiest – but it’s still fun and it’s a good fight, it’s still adrenaline and energy, and figuring it out, it’s all strategy.”

Still, she stopped short of sharing any goals for her comeback.

“I’m going to enjoy [it] and see what happens, it’s nice to just be out here, all of this is just like a cherry on top.”

Tennis has evolved dynamically since the former world No.3 made her WTA Tour debut in 2008.

“The way the ball speed has changed, the court speeds…it’s made the game faster, it’s made the game more athletic.”

“Girls are more athletic, they’re stronger, the game is way more physical than it was even ten years ago.”

While some of her rivals spend hours sprinting between cones and partaking in plyometrics, Stephens prefers alternative training methods.

“Not everyone’s a weightlifter, not everyone’s a swimmer…,” she said. “I love boxing, I love pilates, I love another way to move my body outside of having to go and do footwork with my trainer.”

Standing between the American and an AO main draw berth is second seed Lucia Bronzetti, who triumphed over Mary Stoiana 7-6(7) 1-6 6-4 in a marathon two-hour 51-minute encounter.

Bronzetti, Italy’s third-highest ranked female behind Jasmine Paolini and Elisabetta Cocciaretto, will be hoping to repeat her feat of qualifying for AO 2022, where she lost in the second round to eventual champion Ash Barty.

Over on Court 17, Zeynep Sonmez dispatched Julia Riera 6-3 6-1 to advance to the third round of qualifying, delighting a throng of Turkish fans bearing the nation’s red-and-white flag.

“It feels great, I’m so happy to be back here [in Melbourne],” Sonmez said. “I think it was a great match.”

The 23-year-old recently began working with Issam Jellali, the longtime coach of Tunisian star Ons Jabeur. The three-time major finalist has assumed the role of mentor to Sonmez while she awaits the birth of her first child.

Sonmez spent the off-season working with Jellali at Jabeur’s academy in Dubai and said the former world No.2 is “like a big sister.”

“We’re trying to develop new things in my game and I’m very happy with the process.”

“I’ve been working on my serve a lot and I’m trying to add some variety to my game [and] it’s good to see some small improvements in matches and in practise.”

Currently ranked 112 after reaching a career best of No.69 in October, Sonmez is eager to return to double digits.

“I want to get back into the top 100 [but] I don’t want to think about the results so much, I just want to enjoy being on the court and playing tennis.”

In the third and final round of qualifying, she’ll face Anastasia Gasanova, who earned a 6-7(4) 6-2 6-0 comeback victory over Justina Mikulskyte.

Elsewhere, 20th seed Linda Fruhvirtova took one step closer to the main draw by defeating Fiona Ferro 6-4 3-6 6-4 in two hours and 26 minutes.

The Czech 20-year-old, ranked as high as No.49 after reaching the fourth round of AO 2023, enjoys making the journey down under.

“It’s one of my favourite stops of the season, I always love coming back, I had my best Grand Slam result so far here and the matches have a great atmosphere.”

“I love playing in front of the Melbourne crowd, so I’m excited I get to play another match.”

READ MORE: Draw revealed for AO 1 Point Slam driven by Kia

In the final round of qualifying, she’ll battle American Carol Young Suh Lee, who swept past Elena Micic 6-2 6-2.

Before that showdown, the Prague resident will contest the 1 Point Slam on Wednesday night after securing her place through qualifying for that event.

“It was a good warm-up -- I have four qualifying matches in the 1 Point Slam behind me and two in the Aussie Open qualifying.”

“It’s been fun, it’s exciting… why not enter while I’m already here?”

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