Olivia Gadecki and John Peers won the first All-Australian Mixed Doubles Final at the Australian Open in 58 years.
January 24, 2025 | tennis australia
Olivia Gadecki and John Peers leave Melbourne Park as Australian Open 2025 Mixed Doubles champions.
Australian wildcard duo earned comeback 3-6 6-4 [10-6] Gadecki Smash converted his first championship point after beating Compatriots Kimberly Birrell and John-Patrick Smith.
They wrapped up the win in just an hour of 24 hours in front of thrilled fans at Rod Laver Arena on Friday.
Gadecki, 22, and Peers, 36, struck 25 winners to become the first All-Australian Mixed Doubles AO champions since 2013, when Matt Ebden and Jarmila Gajdosova lifted the crown.
They also become the fourth All-Australian pair to achieve the feat in the Open Era, following in the footsteps of Ebden and Gajdosova, Scott Draper and Samantha Stosur in 2005, and Mark Woodforde and Nicole Provis in 1992.
It marked the first Aussie final victory in the history of the event’s Open era and means at least one AO will have a local name engraved on it for the 14th successive tournament, the first since the 1967 Australian Open. trophy.
Gadecki and Peers were presented with their trophies by Grand Slam Champions Lesley Bowrey and Bill Bowre.whyAnd the victory marked a second AO title for teammates, who also won the men’s doubles title with Henri Kontinen in 2017.
Gadecki acknowledged Birrell and Smith for their efforts, telling his teammates, “Thank you for hanging out with me and riding the waves. “I’m looking forward to next year.”
“We had so much fun this week that we hope we get another chance to do it again. It was great sharing the court with you and you are a class act so keep going. This is just the beginning for you.” Ebden with fellow, Paris 2024 Olympic Games men’s doubles gold medalist.
He also thanked his parents, including his mother, Elizabeth Little, with whom he reached the semifinals of the AO women’s doubles in 1979.
“Winning at home put everything over the top for me. “Playing at home can sometimes put more pressure on you, but it can also be a lot more fun.”
The talented right-hander said the pair of wildcards “puts an exclamation point on how well Australian tennis is going”. “It’s great to see a lot of success. That’s what we’re building on,” he said.
Gadecki, who was playing her best tennis in the final minutes of the match, revealed that her teammates had asked for a mixed match after the Olympics and she did not immediately respond positively.
“I told him the first time, unfortunately, that I would come back, but later I said, ‘I am.’ “I’m so glad I said yes now.”
“She made the semifinals before, so we had to step up and do what we did better,” he said, referring to Gadecki’s final four with Marc Polmans at AO 2024.
Colleagues said the decision would be “brainless” if the duo could secure a place in the mixed doubles at the next three majors of the year to improve their doubles rankings.
“Otherwise, if she says yes to me, we’ll just have to hang on until the next Aussie opens.”
Gadecki laughed.
Birrell spoke to a smiling Smith, who celebrated his 36th birthday on Friday. The 26-year-old congratulated Gadecki and team-mates, describing the duo as “unrealized people and off-court.”
Smith gave a shout-out to his friends at the University of Tennessee. “I know many of them have lost work extending their journey every day this week.
