Gadecki and Peers become first duo to repeat as Australian Open champs in 37 years

It had been 37 years since the Australian Open crowned back-to-back mixed doubles champions. It had been even longer -- 62 years -- since an Australian team won the title in consecutive years.

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Both droughts ended Friday, as Olivia Gadecki and John Peers came from a set down to defend their mixed doubles crown, defeating former doubles World No. 1 Kristina Mladenovic and partner Manuel Guinard 4-6, 6-3, [10-8] in 1 hour and 33 minutes on Rod Laver Arena.

“Gee, I don’t quite know where to start,” Gadecki said during the trophy presentation. “I can’t believe we’re in this position right now. First of all, I’d like to thank our opponents for such a great match. You guys had such an amazing week, so congrats.

“Peersy, for, you know, wanting to play with me again this year. Thank you so much for letting me share the court with you, and to hold the trophy again this year is incredible. I knew we could do it, but I didn’t think we could really do it, if you know what I mean.”

The victory made Gadecki and Peers the first champions of the week in Melbourne.

It didn’t come easily for the Aussie duo, even with home support and the confidence of last year’s run in their back pockets. After dropping the opening set, they clawed back from multiple mini-break deficits in the super tiebreak, including a 7-5 hole.

They rattled off four straight points, capped by a Peers forehand winner off Guinard’s second serve to earn match point at 9-7. Mladenovic and Guinard saved the first, but when the Frenchman’s final shot found the net, the celebration began.

“It’s been so much fun to play in Australia,” Peers said. “We don’t get to do it that often, but to be able to get another title in front of everyone is even sweeter and still got little goosebumps with this one.

“Thank you for making this place so amazing. We love playing in Australia and your support is just undoubtedly unbelievable. So thank you to everyone and thanks for coming out. See you guys soon.”

Before Friday, Jana Novotná and Jim Pugh were the last team to win back-to-back mixed doubles titles in 1988 and 1989. Margaret Court and Ken Fletcher were the last Australian pair to do so in 1963 and 1964.

And before Gadecki and Peers could join that company, it took a herculean effort just to reach the final.

Best of the best: After a convincing first-round victory to open their title defense, the champs faced a stern test from Laura Siegemund and Edouard Roger-Vasselin in the second round, needing to win a super tiebreak to advance.

They then knocked off No. 5 seeds Aleksandra Krunic and Mate Pavic in the quarterfinals and No. 4 seeds Taylor Townsend and Nikola Mektic in the semis -- winning 13-11 in the super tiebreak -- to reach the final.

There they met Mladenovic -- a two-time Australian Open champion in both women’s doubles and mixed doubles -- and a hungry Guinard making his Grand Slam final debut, where clutch play from both Gadecki and Peers, especially in the super tiebreak, made the difference.

A growing trophy case: The title adds to a career already chock full of accomplishments for Peers. It marked not only his second Australian Open mixed doubles crown, but his third Grand Slam in the discipline, including the 2022 US Open.

The 37-year-old doubles specialist also owns a 2017 Australian Open title; 2016 and 2017 ATP Finals titles; four Masters 1000 titles; and 30 ATP doubles titles overall, along with a gold medal from the 2024 Paris Olympics and a bronze medal from the 2021 Tokyo Olympics in mixed doubles.

For Gadecki, the win makes her a two-time Grand Slam champion at just 23. She has quickly become a mixed doubles force, improving to 17-2 in the discipline and extending her winning streak to 11 matches.

She is also rising on the women’s doubles circuit, having won her first WTA title in 2024 to go with two WTA 125 titles and 11 ITF doubles titles. In singles, she reached the WTA 500 final in Guadalajara in 2024, falling to Magdalena Frech in two tight sets.

Banner tournament for Mladenovic and Guinard: What the French duo hoped would be a banner day still ended with plenty to celebrate and perhaps marked the start of a fruitful partnership.

“I must have one word for my partner,” Mladenovic said. “He said I trusted him a couple months ago to agree to play with him, but you have to know that a couple months ago I was barely walking. I was on crutches, so I think the one who believed in me was him. So thank you very much for believing in me.

“It was a very difficult year last year, and if someone would have told me that we’d be playing a fun final in the first Grand Slam back for me, I would have signed straight away. So thank you so much for being the best partner, for believing in me. I had so much fun and cannot wait to play again.”

Mladenovic has been on a strong run of late after spending much of last season recovering from injury. She partnered with Townsend in October to win a WTA 250 title in Japan, then captured her 30th career WTA doubles title alongside Guo Hanyu to open the year in Auckland.

Despite the loss, the former World No. 1 still owns six Grand Slam women’s doubles titles, has three more Grand Slams in mixed doubles, two WTA Finals titles and four WTA 1000 titles.

For Guinard, Friday marked his first Grand Slam final and continued a remarkable rise that began with an unexpected maiden ATP doubles title at the Monte-Carlo Masters last April, followed by a second title in Croatia in July.