AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 21, 2026

Talia Gibson

Press Conference

D. SHNAIDER/T. Gibson

3-6, 7-5, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Can you talk us through your match today.

TALIA GIBSON: Yeah. I mean, obviously straight off the bat it's a little bit disappointing to not have gotten the win. A few match points there in the second set, but overall, I'm going to be nothing but proud of myself with that match today.

I've done something that I haven't done before, put myself in the position to win a match and get through to the third round of a slam. So I think overall it was just very exciting to see that, you know, what my level can do. Yeah, I'm just looking forward to what I can do next really.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Talia, can you just talk us through those moments when you had those match points? Were you feeling a bit of extra pressure at that time?

TALIA GIBSON: Not pressure, to be honest. I think obviously there were a few nerves being in that moment. I just tried to tell myself, it's just another point and just take it one by one. The match is never over until it's over.

But credit to her. She played some really great tennis in those times. Yeah, tough one to not be able to get through, but you know, great learning opportunity. Tomorrow is a new day. Going to get back out on the training court and, yeah, keep working on my game, so...

Q. Does it also, though, feel like a bit of an opportunity lost, Talia, given that you had the match on your racquet?

TALIA GIBSON: Sure. I mean, there was an opportunity. I had match points, but like I said before, there's been so many matches that everyone would have seen before where, you know, people have match points and then they don't convert those match points, and then, you know, at times their opponent wins.

It can happen. Like I said before, it's a good learning opportunity for me, but at the end of the day, I mean, there's no reason why I shouldn't take so many positives from that match and the fact that I put myself in that position in the first place, which is something that I haven't done before. So I'm really proud of that.

Q. You went for winners. Was there a moment in the third set where you thought of reigning it back in a bit, or was it I'm still going to go for everything?

TALIA GIBSON: No, that's my game. I'm an aggressive player. Sure, more often than not I'm probably going to have a bit more unforced errors than, you know, my opponent today who doesn't have as an aggressive game as myself.

But like you said, there were still a lot of winners, and with an aggressive game, that's just something that you are going to see. I have to accept myself that there are going to be still, you know, some errors that I make, but that's something that I still need to work on, of course, and try and make more of those unforced errors into balls in the court.

But, yeah, I mean, like I said, it's just a learning opportunity, and I'm continuing to develop my game every day. So it's just something that I'm always going to be working on.

Q. Where to for you now, Talia? What are your goals for the rest of '26?

TALIA GIBSON: I'm not done here yet. I still have doubles and mixed doubles to go. Yeah, a few more matches here, which is very exciting and very lucky for the opportunity to be able to play both of those events here as well.

That's the next thing that I have on my mind, and just enjoy the rest of my time here at the Australian Open. Then I think the plan at the moment is to play a couple of tournaments in Brisbane and then hopefully head off to the U.S. for, yeah, the swing in Indian Wells and Miami.

Q. What about your goals for '26? Have you set yourself any targets in particular?

TALIA GIBSON: At the moment I think the main goal for me is to get inside the top 100, but also, the other goal is to just keep developing my game as much as possible. That's the one thing that's going to get me there.

So I think, yeah, those are the main focuses at the moment.

Q. Just an unrelated one to your game today, but I'm sure you probably saw Naomi Osaka's ensemble that she walked out on court with last night. Just wondering what you thought of that.

TALIA GIBSON: I mean, I didn't really get to take much notice of it, to be honest. I was well asleep by that point, but I mean, everyone has, you know, their own style, and I think it's amazing what she's been able to walk out on court wearing at times. Obviously, yeah, she loves to show her personality through that. So I think that's really cool.

Q. In terms of developing your game, I think the ball striking is clearly matching up with the players already at this level, but what are the other parts of your game that you really want to focus on this year?

TALIA GIBSON: I think probably trying to develop a few more sort of dimensions to my game. Probably my transition and net play would be one of them. Obviously having such an aggressive game, there's always a lot of opportunities for me to come forward and to transition to the net, so that's something that I'm continuing to work on.

But at the end of the day, I think just right now the main focus is, you know, just my simple, aggressive game and just trying to, yeah, make that as great as I probably can.

Q. Has this tournament given you confidence that you feel like you belong on this top-level stage?

TALIA GIBSON: Absolutely, absolutely. And like I said before, how proud I am of myself and my performance today, and I think I just further proved to myself that I am able to compete with the girls of her level.

So I think that's really exciting. Like I said before, I'm looking forward to what I can do next.

Q. Do you think in a year we'll look up and yourself and a few other of the Aussie girls will all be in the top 100? It feels like there's quite a few right on the cusp.

TALIA GIBSON: I really hope so. I think that's very possible, for sure.