Ajla Tomjlanovic to use home ground as a springboard to improve her world ranking

Home is where the heart is and Brisbane’s Ajla Tomjlanovic admits she’s been counting down the days to her “favourite part of the year” — the Brisbane International.

Australian tennis player Ajla Tomjlanovic. Picture: AAP

Brisbane’s Ajla Tomjlanovic is confident she can improve her world tennis ranking, starting with a hometown hitout next week.

The 26-year-old has been counting down the days to her “favourite part of the year” — the Brisbane International — which begins on Monday at the Queensland Tennis Centre.

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“I’m really excited. I don’t think I say it enough but this is always my favourite part of the year, coming back here after a bit of a break,” Tomjlanovic said.

“In the scheme of things, it’s just another tournament but, being your home tournament, you want to do well.”

Australian teammate and world No. 1 Ash Barty headlines a star-studded draw that runs alongside the men’s ATP Cup tournament, but Tomjlanovic is eager to prove her worth and push for higher honours in 2020.

“Every season you strive to do more but I think I have a good base to do better than I did this year,” said Tomjlanovic, who visited Morningside Tennis Centre on Monday to put some junior players through their paces.

“I would definitely love to push for second week in the slams.

Ajla Tomjlanovic coaches five-year-old Mila Ahlawat at Morningside Tennis Centre.

“I don’t like to set ranking goals but I would like to make a push in bigger events.”

Tomjlanovic’s WTA ranking rose as high as 39 before finishing the year outside the top 50 and she’s determined to climb back into the upper echelons of women’s tennis.

“I feel like I definitely can get there but, then again, I’m realistic enough and there’s reason I’m (ranked) 50 so I just need to tick some boxes,” she said.

“The good thing is that my belief is there and I can see what I’m capable of. I just need to do it more consistently.”

Tomjlanovic says playing at home in Brisbane is always her favourite time of the year.

Croatian-born Tomjlanovic has become a fan favourite with Australian crowds since switching her allegiance to the green and gold, and it only deepened her cult status with a clutch win during Australia’s Fed Cup loss to France last month.

“It’s pretty up there with some of my biggest wins,” Tomjlanovic said of her 6-4, 7-5 win over Pauline Parmentier.

“It wasn’t a perfect match, I think it was far from my best but, with all the circumstances, I was really proud of that.”

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