Former world number 20 Daria Gavrilova and Marc Polmans are amongst six Australians that have been handed wildcards to the 2021 Australian Open.
The pair join Chris O’Connell, Astra Sharma, Maddison Inglis and Lizette Cabrera in the main draw of the first grand slam of the year, which has been rescheduled for February 8-21.
“While 2020 has been an incredibly challenging year, we’re proud of the strength and resilience this group of players has shown during this difficult time,” Australian Open Tournament Director Craig Tiley said in a statement.
“Chris, Marc, Dasha, Astra, Maddy and Lizette have all inspired us with their efforts both on and off the court, here at home and in unprecedented conditions overseas. We are excited to give them the opportunity to compete at Australian Open 2021.
“The Grand Slams are the pinnacle of our sport and the chance to play at home is an experience we know these deserving players will cherish."
The wildcard will come as welcome news for Gavrilova, who missed the majority of the 2019 and 2020 season with injury.
MORE: Mandatory 14-day quarantine for players confirmed
The world number 445 made her return at the French Open via a protected ranking, defeating 24th seed Dayana Yastremska in the first round.
“I’m really excited to play in the AO next year. I’ve been training really hard to prepare and I’m just super excited to get the opportunity to compete, especially in front of a crowd, we haven’t had that for a while,” Gavrilova said.
“I was thinking the other day that Victorians have had such a rough year with the pandemic, so I’m hoping that the AO is a good chance for people to come out and watch, and be excited that tennis is back. I’m going to make sure I bring double the energy, so I hope the crowd will too.”
Meanwhile, Polmans will be looking to build off a breakout 2020 campaign, making the second round of the Australian and French Open to help boost his ranking to a career-high of 111 in September.
He is joined by Chris O'Connell, who won an incredible 82 matches in 2019, looking to add to his breakthrough first-round victory at the US Open in September.
“I was super pumped to get the call. I was lucky enough to receive a wildcard last year and it was an amazing experience,” O’Connell said.
“I’m extremely excited to play in another Australian Open and compete against some of the best players in the world.”
Gavrilova is joined by Astra Sharma in the women's main draw, who made her name in 2019 after making the final of the mixed doubles at the Australian Open.
She is joined by Maddison Inglis and Lizette Cabrera, who enjoyed success across the UTR Pro Tennis Series, a tournament series set up by Tennis Australia after the WTA and ATP lockdown, with Cabrera claiming four titles.