Tennis history was made at the Australian Open in Melbourne on Tuesday (January 20) during Karolina Pliskova’s 7-6, 6-2 victory against Sloane Stephens.
Czech Pliskova, who had not featured at a major tournament since 2024, secured her spot in the round of 64 with a win over American qualifier Stephens.
Former world number one Pliskova looked levels above her opponent in the opening exchanges as she raced into a 5-1 lead in the first set.
But to her credit, Stephens, who won the 2017 US Open, fought back and forced a tie break before the Czech eventually won the breaker 9-7 before impressing further in the second set.
Advert
Pliskova appeared pleased with her performance after the match, having previously been out with a string of injuries over the past few seasons.
In 2021, she suffered an injury to her right hand, an injury to her left wrist followed in 2023, and then she underwent ankle surgery in both 2024 and 2025.
Next up, Pliskova, who previously reached both the US Open and Wimbledon finals, will face Indonesia’s Janice Tjen.
Meanwhile, Pliskova and Stephens may also be pleased to have been part of tennis history, as according to Opta Ace, the contest was “the first Grand Slam match between two players ranked outside the WTA top 500 - excluding unranked players” since the Tier format’s introduction in 1990.
Pliskova is ranked 1057 by the WTA while Stephens is 1102. The WTA requires players to earn ranking points by participating in all four Grand Slams - US Open, Australian Open, Wimbledon, and French Open - and four mandatory WTA 1000 tournaments in Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid, and Beijing.
Grand Slams are the highest-rated tournaments, so players can earn the most points towards their ranking by competing and progressing in them.
A player must also earn ranking points in at least three tournaments or earn a minimum of 10 singles ranking points in one tournament to appear on the WTA Rankings.
The WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) was founded by Billy Jean King to create equal opportunities for female tennis players in 1973, before tier formats were introduced to both the men’s and women’s tours in 1990.
Topics: Tennis, Australian Open
Luke Davies