Aussie tennis star Destanee Aiava and Tristan Schoolkate awarded French Open wildcards

7NEWS

12-05-2025

Tristan Schoolkate and Destanee Aiava have been rewarded for their striking breakthrough performances at the Australian Open with wildcard places at the French Open.
Schoolkate, who ended Jannik Sinner's set-winning streak on Rod Laver Arena in January, and Aiava, who enjoyed a sparkling run through qualifying into the Open second round, will feature in at least a 15-strong Aussie contingent in the Paris main draw.
It could well be even more than that with another dozen Australians battling in qualifying for places at Roland Garros the week after next, with the tournament proper starting on May 25.
Aiva and Schoolkate are Tennis Australia's picks as part of the reciprocal wildcard agreements between the four grand slams.
It means the duo can scrap plans to go through qualifying and instead look forward to a guaranteed €78,000 ($A136,500) in first-round prize money, and more if they win through.
Aiava, whose selection comes after she celebrated her 25th birthday on Saturday, has been battling in lower-level events since the giddy high of Melbourne.
She was digesting being knocked out of a tournament last week when Sam Stosur called to inform her she had received the French Open wildcard.
'I'm so happy, honestly. I was not expecting it at all,' Aiava said on a Tennis Australia podcast.
'I literally had just lost my match last week. It was a really tight match and I was crying. And I was just like laying down, you know, wallowing in my sadness, and then I got a call from Sam, and I was like, oh, why is she calling me?.
'She said 'I hope this cheers you up, to offer you the French wildcard'. And I was like, excuse me? I had to look around to make sure like this was real life.
'I was just really happy, I was over the moon. Honestly it's so special and I don't think it's sunk in yet, but I'm training on the clay and trying to prepare as best I can.
'There's always something good around the corner, I guess, in this sport.'
Aiava battled through three qualifying matches at the Australian Open then defeated Belgian Greet Minnen in a third-set tiebreaker in the first round proper.
She gave former finalist Danielle Collins a scare in the second round, continuing the good work of the 2024 US Open where she also got through qualies.
Her best result since the Australian Open was reaching the final of an ITF event in Prague but she too is an absolute beginner on clay.
Aiava will be the sixth Australian woman guaranteed a spot in the main draw at Roland Garros alongside Daria Kasatkina, Kim Birrell, Maya Joint, Ajla Tomljanovic and Olivia Gadecki.
In the men's draw, Schoolkate will take his place alongside Alex de Minaur, Alexei Popyrin, Jordan Thompson, Aleksandar Vukic, Rinky Hijikata, Adam Walton, Chris O'Connell and James Duckworth.
Schoolkate, the Perth 24-year-old who caused a mini-sensation by taking the first stanza off champion Sinner to end a three-month spell when the Italian world No.1 didn't lose a set, has been largely playing second-tier Challenger events since then.
The world No.129 did win one in Brisbane in February and made the final in Guangzhou earlier this month, but he hasn't yet played a tour-level match on clay, so is effectively being thrown in at the deep end.
'Thank you to Tennis Australia for this incredible opportunity,' Schoolkate said.
'My team and I have been putting in the work every day, always striving to reach new heights.
'I'm excited for the chance to compete against the world's best on the clay in Paris.'
French Open 2025 prize money
First round: €78,000 ($A136,500)
Second round: €117,000 ($A205,000)
Third round: €168,000 ($A294,000)
Round of 16: €265,000 ($A464,000)
Quarter-finals: €440,000 ($A770,000)
Semi-finals: €690,000 ($A1.2m)
Runner-up: €1.275m ($A2.23m)
Champion: €2.55m ($A4.5m)