The UTR Pro Tennis Tour (PTT) is well-represented at the 2023 Australian Open in Melbourne. Eight players with ties to the developmental tour (created by Universal Tennis) were in the qualifying event, with one rising women’s star earning her place in the main draw. Many more, along with the tournament favorites like Iga Swiatek, are awaiting their start on Monday.
Qualifying action wrapped up on Thursday with 16 women earning their place in the main draw. For those wondering what level Grand Slam qualifiers are at, the average UTR Rating of the women’s qualifiers was 11.90.
The qualifiers include veterans Coco Vandeweghe, Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, and Lesia Tsurenko, as well as five teenagers including Universal Tennis’ 2022 junior player of the year, Brenda Fruhvirtova. The 15-year-old Fruhvirtova is making her Grand Slam debut.
Katie Volynets worked her way through three qualifying matches to secure her place in her sixth Grand Slam main draw. The 21-year-old California native competed on the PTT in 2021 and has steadily climbed the ranks since then, nearly cracking the Top 100 in 2022.
A couple of PTT players are already in the main draw thanks to wildcards, including Australia’s Kimberly Birrell and the United States’ Taylor Townsend. Last year,…
