Ranked No. 1097 and working her way back from a long injury layoff, Sloane Stephens reached the 2026 Australian Open main draw by winning three qualifying matches in a row — her first such streak since 2024. The 32-year-old former US Open champion acknowledged the unpredictable nature of a career that has seen clear highs and extended pauses.

“In my career, I’ve had ups and downs that have been exciting, not exciting, anticlimactic, all the things,” Stephens said after sealing her spot in Melbourne. She called the arc of her comeback unusual. “I just told my coach earlier that this whole tennis journey keeps getting weirder and weirder.”

Stephens spent much of the past 12 months off tour while managing a persistent foot injury and played just six matches in 2025. During that time she worked on television as an analyst and used the break to reassess her approach. “When you don’t play a lot, there’s a little lull. You don’t feel as competitive and you don’t feel as attached to the game,” she explained. “So, it was just being able to get back, train really hard, and play and have fun on court at home. Then, I was able to translate that into a match.”

After a three-set loss to open the 2026 season at the ASB Classic, Stephens traveled to Melbourne early with her mom, aunt and coach Kamau Murray to enter qualifying for the first time since 2011. For reference, the last time she did not earn direct acceptance into a Grand Slam main draw, the Harry Potter and Twilight film series were still in theaters.

She recovered quickly in qualies, rallying from a set down to beat Olivia Gadecki and holding off No. 2 seed Lucia Bronzetti to secure a 14th Australian Open main-draw appearance. “I think I was the only Grand Slam champion to be in qualies, which was interesting,” she said. “I was like, ‘Oh God! A lot of pressure.’ I hadn’t won a match since God knows whenever, so I was just like, it’s an opportunity to go and play and try to figure it out.”

Off court, Stephens has begun vlogging parts of her trip and shared a playful detail about her wardrobe. “This was made in my living room, and it took about four fittings,” she said of a lacey yellow Free People Movement dress. “Maria Sakkari asked me if it was even a tennis dress and I was like, ‘Yeah girl. Let me show you!’ Free People Movement, they’re growing and they’re like the cool kids in town.”

Iga Swiatek enters the Australian Open needing one title to complete a Career Slam. Her major haul includes four Roland Garros victories (2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024), the 2022 US Open and her first Wimbledon crown in 2025. That sequence makes her the only active woman to have won three of the four Grand Slam events.

Carlos Alcaraz is not the only player attempting to complete a Career Slam at this year’s Australian Open. Swiatek will pursue the final missing major in Melbourne starting next week. If she succeeds, she would become the 11th woman in tennis history to complete a Career Slam and only the third this century, after Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova. She would also be the first woman born in the 2000s, or even since 1988, to accomplish the feat.

Swiatek’s record in Melbourne shows she has come close. Her best results at the tournament are semifinal runs in 2022 and 2025. In 2022 she was defeated by Danielle Collins, 6-4, 6-1. A year later she reached the semis again and was literally one point from the final, holding a match point at 6-5 in the third set before losing to Madison Keys, 5-7, 6-1, 7-6 (8).

Those narrow margins underline how little separates a champion from an also-ran at the top level. With six Grand Slam titles already to her name, the Australian Open remains the solitary major Swiatek has not yet won. How she responds to the memories of those two semifinal exits will be central to her run. The outcome in Melbourne will determine whether she joins the short list of women who have completed tennis’s rarest career collection.

Iga Swiatek arrives at the Australian Open needing a single title to complete a Career Slam. She has already captured four Roland Garros crowns (2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024), the 2022 US Open and, most recently, her first Wimbledon trophy in 2025. That record makes her the only active woman to have won three of the four majors.

Carlos Alcaraz isn’t the only player who’ll try to complete their Career Slam at this year’s Australian Open. Swiatek will chase the missing piece in Melbourne starting next week, a pursuit that would carry historic significance if she succeeds. A victory would make her the 11th woman in tennis history to complete a Career Slam and only the third in this century, after Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova. She would also become the first woman born in the 2000s, or even since 1988, to achieve that milestone.

Swiatek has been competitive at the Australian Open before. Her best results at the tournament are semifinal runs in 2022 and 2025. In 2022 she was beaten by Danielle Collins, 6-4, 6-1. Last year she came within a point of a place in the final, holding a match point while up 6-5 in the third set, but ultimately lost to Madison Keys, 5-7, 6-1, 7-6 (8).

Those near-misses frame Swiatek’s return to Melbourne: the record of majors already in her trophy cabinet underlines both her consistency and the narrow margins at the highest level. With six Grand Slam titles to her name, the Australian Open represents the final major she has yet to claim. How she responds to the memories of those semifinal exits will determine whether she joins the short list of women who have completed tennis’s rarest career collection.