Eva Lys of Hamburg, Germany made tennis history in the fourth round of the 2025 Australian Open on Saturday. Lys, who is the 128th ranked player in the world, became the first lucky loser ever to reach the fourth round in the women’s singles draw at the Australian Open.
Who did Lys replace in the draw?
Lys replaced Anna Kalinskaya of Russia, the 16th seed, who withdrew from the first grand slam of the year due to a virus. Kalinskaya is also known in the tennis world as being the girlfriend of world number one on the men’s side, Jannik Sinner of Italy.
Who did Lys beat in round three?
Lys defeated Jaqueline Cristian of Romania 4-6, 6-3, 6-3. One key statistic was double faults, as Lys only had one in the match, while Cristian had four. Lys also broke Cristian five times, and won 18 more points (98 for Lys and 80 for Cristian).
Who else has Lys beaten at the Australian Open to date?
Lys beat Kimberly Birrell of Australia 6-2, 6-2 in straight sets in round one and then Varvara Gracheva of France 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 in round two. Lys was highly praised for her win over Birrell because she was not given much time to prepare at all before knowing she was in the Australian Open draw. When she did, Lys put together a dominant performance in beating Birrell with absolute ease.
Only one grand slam win before
Only once before had Lys won a grand slam match. That came at the 2023 United States Open, where she beat American wildcard Robin Montgomery of the United States in the first round, 6-2, 6-1.
Who does Lys play next?
Lys has Poland’s Iga Swiatek in round four. Swiatek, the world number two, has won the French Open four times and the United States Open once. Swiatek has won their only prior match, in the second round of Stuttgart in 2022, 6-1, 6-1.
Nine unseeded players left
There are nine unseeded players left in the tournament. Joining Lys on the women’s side are Belinda Bencic of Switzerland (2019 United States Open semifinalist), Olga Danilovic of Serbia, and Veronika Kudermetova of Russia. On the men’s side are Alex Michelsen of the United States, Gael Monfils of France (the 2008 French Open semifinalist and 2016 United States Open semifinalist), Lorenzo Sonego of Italy, Learner Tien of the United States, and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain.
