Australian Open 2025's Grand Slam debuts: Lamens, Jones, Wei, Erjavec

Four players will break new ground at the 2025 Australian Open by competing in the main draw of a Grand Slam for the first time. Get to know them here.
Australian Open: Scores | Schedule | Draws
Veronika Erjavec
The Australian Open will be not just Veronika Erjavec
No.171-ranked Erjavec has demonstrated consistent improvement over the past two seasons to get here. In 2023, she cut her year-end ranking from No.392 to No.183 after winning four ITF titles -- meaning that in 2024, she was able to compete in all four Grand Slam qualifying draws for the first time. Erjavec ended last season with two of the best results of her career: a run to her first WTA 125 final in Cali, Colombia, followed by a second Top 100 victory over Arantxa Rus
Erjavec will open against another player contesting her first major main draw, Osaka champion Suzan Lamens
Emerson Jones
In 2024, Emerson Jones
Highlights: Jones d. Wang Xinyu, 2025 Adelaide R1 | Kasatkina d. Jones, 2025 Adelaide R2
This week, ranked No.371, Jones delivered an even more eye-catching performance as a wild card making her WTA main-draw debut in Adelaide. She routed Wang Xinyu in the first round 6-4, 6-0 to notch her first career Top 50 win. Her second round against Daria Kasatkina
Though Jones ultimately fell 7-5, 6-3, the teenager made an impression on Kasatkina, who said afterward, "She's got really good tennis, so I'm already a bit scared, to be honest."
Jones will face a second straight Top 10 player as she takes on No.6 seed and former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina
Suzan Lamens
Though Suzan Lamens
Read: Suzan Lamens
But in 2024, the milestones kept coming for Lamens. In April, she scored her first Top 10 win, stunning Jelena Ostapenko
Lamens, who boasts an enviably heavy forehand and attributes her breakthrough to a more offensive mindset, continued her momentum in 2025 with an upset of Magdalena Frech
Grand Slam qualifying has not been a happy hunting ground over the years -- Lamens' record in those competitions is just 2-8 -- but this time, she gets to bypass it completely, making her main-draw debut as a direct entrant. She'll face fellow first-timer Veronika Erjavec
Wei Sijia (CHN)
At the start of 2022, China's Wei Sijia was unranked, having not competed professionally for over two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic. She based herself in Monastir, where she played in 32 ITF events that year, compiling a 78-28 record and finishing the season at No.434. In 2023, Wei rose to No.271, making her main-draw debut after qualifying for Nanchang.
Last year, Wei continued her trajectory. She competed in all four Grand Slam qualifying events for the first time, making the final round at the Australian Open. A 13-match mid-season winning streak included her biggest title to date at the Lexington ITF W75. And Wei thrived during the Asian swing, delighting crowds with her shot-making and finesse as she notched her first tour-level wins in Beijing, Guangzhou and Jiujiang.
Highlights: Wei d. Ruse, 2024 Beijing R1 | Wei d. Sramkova, 2024 Guangzhou R1 | Wang Xiyu d. Wei, Guangzhou R2 | Wei d. Hontama, 2024 Jiujiang R1
The 21-year-old began 2025 with another milestone, reaching her first WTA 125 final in Canberra two weeks ago and rising to a career high of No.119. Wei took that form into her first successful Grand Slam qualifying campaign, in which she defeated three former Top 100 players in Aliaksandra Sasnovich
Wei's reward is a first career meeting with a Top 10 player in the first round as she takes on two-time major finalist and No.4 seed Jasmine Paolini
Previously:
US Open 2024's Grand Slam debuts: Joint, Jovic, Shibahara and more
Wimbledon 2024's Grand Slam debuts: Todoni, Stakusic
Roland Garros 2024's Grand Slam debuts: Carle, Riera, Sonmez and more
Australian Open 2024's Grand Slam debuts: Sun, Kessler, Starodubtseva and more
US Open 2023's Grand Slam debuts: Ngounoue, Prozorova, Crawley
Wimbledon 2023's Grand Slam debuts: Bouzas Maneiro, Bai, Naef and more
Roland Garros 2023's Grand Slam debuts: Mirra Andreeva
Australian Open 2023's Grand Slam debuts: Shnaider, Polina Kudermetova
US Open 2022's Grand Slam debuts: Erika Andreeva
Wimbledon 2022's Grand Slam debuts: Yuan, Chwalinska, Kartal and more
Roland Garros 2022's Grand Slam debuts: Noskova, Niemeier, Selekhmeteva and more
Australian Open 2022's Grand Slam debuts: Zheng Qinwen, Bronzetti, Cristian and more
US Open 2021's Grand Slam debuts: Navarro, Krueger, Parks and more
Wimbledon 2021's Grand Slam debuts: Raducanu, Burrage
Roland Garros 2021's Grand Slam debuts: Osorio, Liang, Gorgodze and more
Australian Open 2021's Grand Slam debuts: Danilovic, Francesca Jones
Roland Garros 2020's Grand Slam debuts: Tauson, Sherif, Zarazua and more
US Open 2020's Grand Slam debuts: Gracheva, Montgomery, Baptiste and more
Australian Open 2020's Grand Slam debuts: Fernandez, Trevisan, Cocciaretto and more
US Open 2019's Grand Slam debuts: Wang Xiyu, Volynets, Bolkvadze
Wimbledon 2019's Grand Slam debuts: Gauff, McNally, Flink
Roland Garros 2019's Grand Slam debuts: Rybakina, Paolini, Samsonova and more
Australian Open 2019's Grand Slam debuts: Swiatek, Badosa, Veronika Kudermetova
US Open 2018's Grand Slam debuts: Muchova, Yastremska, Kalinina and more
Wimbledon 2018's Grand Slam debuts: Ruse, Dart, Lapko and more
Roland Garros 2018's Grand Slam debuts: Krejcikova, Dolehide, Jakupovic and more
Australian Open 2018's Grand Slam debuts: Kostyuk, Kalinskaya, Wang Xinyu and more