Maddison Inglis and Jason Kubler holding court with winning returns
Maddison Inglis and Jason Kubler were among the Australian players to return to the court as winners this week.
When it comes to Australian tennis power couples, Maddison Inglis and Jason Kubler could not have been more impressive in Brisbane over the past week.
Inglis, 22, and Kubler, 27, captured the respective UTR Pro Tennis singles events played at Pat Rafter Arena in a week where the sport returned to Australia on a professional basis.With the global circuit looking to resume in the United States in August, a series of singles events will be run across Australia over the next month to help prepare Australians for the return.The first tournaments of a series carrying $450,000 in prize money concluded on Thursday.
Marc Polmans and Destanee Aiava were triumphant in Melbourne while Max Purcell and Ellen Perez won in a Sydney event that started last Saturday. Adelaide and Perth will host tournaments over the next week for professionals based in those states.
For Inglis, who is ranked 114, the return to the court proved particularly pleasing as she edged the 127th ranked Lizzie Cabrera 6-4 1-6 (11-9). Kubler, who has endured more than his fair share of injuries but is in fine fettle after the break, defeated John-Patrick Smith 6-3 6-2.
“It was really cool that we both won, especially after so long without playing matches,” Inglis said. “We handled the time off really well and … were able to find a good balance between training and taking a break.”
Inglis, who hails from Western Australia, was on the verge of breaking into the top 100 when the season was derailed in March while they were in California to play Indian Wells.
She had made rapid progress over the past year after starting 2019 ranked 361, and was looking forward to tackling WTA Tour events and grand slam tournaments given her improved ranking.
The pair returned to Australia and spent a couple of months with Inglis’s family in WA before returning to Queensland recently.
The next opportunity lies in New York, given the determination of the USTA to push ahead with the US Open.
Top Australians, including world No.1 Ash Barty and Nick Kyrgios, are weighing up whether to head to America. But Inglis has a chance to make her main draw debut in an event where she was a junior doubles semi-finalist in 2015.
“I have thought about that a lot, and it is going to be an amazing opportunity if I do get into the main draw, but it is not going to be the same as a main draw in normal circumstances, without the fans,” she said. “It is definitely going to be a different US Open, that is for sure, but it definitely seems like they are doing everything to make it safe for the players.”
Kubler, who was playing superbly in New York two years ago before suffering a serious ankle injury, will not be able to play this year with qualifying scrapped. But he was clearly making progress on the comeback trail before the circuit was suspended.
Other Australians who played over the past week, including the 119th ranked Marc Polmans, who edged Alex Bolt to win the Melbourne edition of the UTR Pro Series, are keen to travel.
The USTA is due to provide an update to players in the middle of this month regarding the latest decisions on tournaments.
French officials announced on Thursday their intention to have fans in attendance at the French Open beginning in late September. Up to 60 per cent of the stands will be full at Roland Garros.
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