AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 19, 2026

Ajla Tomljanovic

Press Conference

A. TOMLJANOVIC/Y. Starodubtseva

4-6, 7-6, 6-1

THE MODERATOR: Ajla, making it through to the next round. How are you feeling right now?

AJLA TOMLJANOVIC: Yeah, I'm really happy to be through. That was incredibly tough. I played her last year in I think Beijing. I kind of knew what I needed to do coming in. I thought she played a lot better. I feel like I had to really kind of lift my game, just fight really hard, which I did.

I was really fortunate to snag the second set and get a really good start in the third. Really, really relieved because I really wanted to win that one.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Five days ago you had to retire from a match. Now you're winning. What happened in Adelaide? How did you manage to get back on the court for AO?

AJLA TOMLJANOVIC: Yeah, I just hit a serve in that third game against Maya. My pec, I got this sharp sensation. It just really scared me. I felt really bad. Then I hit a few slow ones after that, played two more points, it was still bothering me. It felt like if I kept going, I could do something really bad.

I didn't really have an idea what I exactly did, but it didn't really feel good. In the moment, I will admit, I was pretty scared even if I'd play here.

When I came here, the Tennis Australia medical staff, Dirk and Kev, really took their time with me prior to my first round. We did a lot of rehab, a lot of time on the table. Just took really great care on court of not serving as much, just seeing how it feels.

Luckily with my groundstrokes it didn't bother me right away. I was a bit nervous about my serving. Yeah, I mean, I probably wasn't going for my usual pace today, but it was still fast enough to make it competitive. She wasn't hurting me so much off the second serves or even first serves. Yeah, I mean, I felt good out there.

Yeah, to be fair, I really don't know exactly now what happened in Adelaide. It happened, but I took great care of it and I'm pretty fortunate that going into the second round. I'll see how I'll pull up tomorrow, but I'm confident.

Q. Something you're going to have to manage throughout the whole tournament? How confident are you you can still hit your best as the tournament progresses?

AJLA TOMLJANOVIC: Yeah, like tomorrow serving is not really going to be so important. It's definitely top of the list of having to take care of. In a way it's good because I didn't even think about my knee.

At one point Dirk was like, How has your knee been?

You know what, it's great.

It took my mind off it. Sometimes you need that. It's definitely just something we're going to have to take care of, even moving forward in this year. I had it also last year.

So whenever you have a bit of a recurring injury like that, it makes us change up the program and think what we can do moving forward, that we minimize that happening.

Q. You really had to dig deep in the second and third set. What does a victory like that do to your confidence?

AJLA TOMLJANOVIC: It's huge because I think wins here in AO and on big stadiums, really no matter the opponent, anyone in the main draw is a great player. I really thought I had to play well today, and I did. Especially when you're down, I was pretty close to being out, but I just really took it one point at a time, which we've been working on.

Really I did anything my coach kind of asked of me. I tried to execute the game plan. I had to also adjust during the game because sometimes it wasn't really working what we came into, because she was responding really well to certain things we agreed on.

Yeah, I mean, it really feels great to win here. Like, just setting up your year, I think it's really big.

Q. A few weeks ago it was reported that Serena Williams put herself back into the anti-doping protocol. She hasn't said she's coming back. As the last person to beat her, what did you think of that? What would you make of a potential Serena comeback?

AJLA TOMLJANOVIC: I think it's great if she comes back. We definitely miss her.

I do hope in a way that I stay the last one just 'cause it's cool (smiling). Maybe it's for doubles, who knows. I think we'll have to wait and see.

Either way I think it's a win-win. If she comes back, it's going to be great to see her. If she doesn't, I'll still be the last one.

Q. Some thoughts on your next opponent? How far do you feel you can go? Do you feel like this is a year you can make a nice run?

AJLA TOMLJANOVIC: I'm assuming I play Ruzic. I saw her watching the match early in the first set. I don't look at the draw. I was like, Why is she watching this? She's not, like, a friend that would come out to that extent. I was like, Maybe she's friends with the other girl. But then I was like, Oh my God, maybe she's scouting. It got me thinking. I was like, Oh, God, I don't want to think about this now.

It is her?

Q. Yes.

AJLA TOMLJANOVIC: I played her maybe two years ago. It's a great opportunity for me to get another match. She's playing really well. I did watch her in Brisbane. She's already racked up quite a few wins this year.

I think this year, I mean, the sky's the limit. I don't know, I'm here. I'm against a lot of odds in a position where I feel like I could beat good players.

I think out of all the years since my knee, I think this is the best I felt. I think the best for me is not to put pressure on anything, but at the same time I really do go out there believing, which is key. If you don't believe, you have no business being here.

Q. Another one on the crowd. There's been some record numbers here in terms of attendance. Is the difference noticeable in the atmosphere? Has it sounded louder playing on that court, JCA?

AJLA TOMLJANOVIC: It's kind of a given you know it's going to be packed. I think the first slot at 5 is better than the second one. Sometimes either people go grab a bite to eat, so it's slower. From the first point, it was pretty packed.

I'm pretty, like, tame and don't interact with the crowd that much. In that second set they really helped me out. I knew if I snagged the second set, I could get them involved a bit. They loved that.

Look, it's the one month where we are going to get a crowd like nowhere else. I really am thrilled whenever I see my name on that court.

Q. The interview series you did over the summer, great chemistry with the players. Easy conversation. You want to play for a very long time, but I'm curious what your takeaway was from that and any future opportunities, media, interviewing players?

AJLA TOMLJANOVIC: My God, thank you. That's coming from someone that knows their stuff. I'm going to take that (smiling).

It was really fun. I like going on the other side. Being on this side... I really enjoy asking the questions. I think when you interview fellow players, they're maybe a bit more comfortable with another player, especially if you have some chemistry, are friendly. You can get a bit more out of them.

It's like I always wanted to kind of do it, like, imagine we're at a coffee shop and we're having a normal conversation. I think it can bring out our personalities that people don't see.

I thought it was really fun. I would love to do more. Obviously I don't know, I think people thought I might be retiring soon when I did a bit of that. A few people came up to me, Are you like...

No, no, no, I still got my day job.

I just feel like it's fun to try new things still connected to tennis. Yeah, I will hopefully do more of that. But as long as I'm healthy and enjoying tennis, I really hope my career, there's still a few good years left in me.