Daria Kasatkina advances at Wimbledon after gut-wrenching moment, fellow Aussies tumble

Daria Kasatkina is the only Aussie woman still standing at Wimbledon, despite a mortifying moment seconds before stepping on the court.

Australia’s Wimbledon 2025 campaign has been a rollercoaster of standout performances and nightmarish early exits, with top-ranked Alex de Minaur leading the charge as big name Aussies tumbled around him.

Australia’s Wimbledon hopes now rest on a good mix of seasoned fighters and hungry up-and-comers.

De Minaur opened his tournament with a commanding straight-sets win over Spain’s Roberto Carballés Baena, 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (2), showing a lot of his characteristic baseline aggression to rack up 38 winners.

A brief delay caused by an unwell ball boy did little to shake his composure.

“It felt like a very solid match against a tough competitor... At the end I had to lift my level when I needed it and played some clutch tennis to finish it off,” he said after the match.

Daria Kasatkina, who is representing Australia for the first time at Wimbledon, was the only women’s star to make it through, downing Colombia’s Emiliana Arango after a gut-wrenching moment seconds before stepping on the court.

Daria Kasatkina hiding behind the umpire. Photo: Nine.

Daria Kasatkina’s mortifying scene was hard to watch. Photo: Channel 9.

Daria Kasatkina, who is representing Australia for the first time at Wimbledon, was the only women’s star to make it through. Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images.

She went on to beat Arango 7-5, 6-3. Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images.

The 28-year-old admitted nerves got the better of her as she vomited just beside the court.

“A lot of people saw it five metres from the court. I vomit, so just before entering the court, yes, the little accident happened, like, completely out of nerves.”

But it didn’t matter one bit.

She went on to beat Arango 7-5, 6-3.

Australia's Alex de Minaur plays a forehand. Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP.

Meanwhile, Sydney-born Aleksandar Vukic pulled together a four-set win over Tseng Chun-Hsin, marking his third consecutive first-round victory at the All England Club.

He now faces world No.1 Jannik Sinner in a daunting second-round clash.

Jordan Thompson staged a gutsy comeback from two sets down to defeat Vit Kopriva in five, showing a lot of grit despite a lingering back injury.

But Rinky Hijikata delivered perhaps the cleanest win of the lot, dismantling former world No.7 David Goffin 6-3, 6-1, 6-1 with 27 winners and just 10 unforced errors.

Aleksandar Vukic. (Photo by Charlie Crowhurst/Getty Images for LTA)

Ajla Tomljanovic bowed out in a tight three-set match against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

20th seed Alexei Popyrin was bounced in four sets by British wildcard Arthur Fery. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Then came the losses.

20th seed Alexei Popyrin was bounced in four sets by British wildcard Arthur Fery 4-6 1-6 6-4 4-6, as Ajla Tomljanovic bowed out in a tight three-set match against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-4 3-6 2-6.

James McCabe’s Grand Slam debut also ended quickly with a straight-sets loss to Fabian Marozsan, while Adam Walton fought back from two sets down only to lose in five to Arthur Cazaux.

Olivia Gadecki also exited in the first round as she continues to search for a breakthrough at the highest level.

Originally published as Daria Kasatkina advances at Wimbledon after gut-wrenching moment, fellow Aussies tumble