Australian Open 2026: ‘Life-changing’ Iga Swiatek match awaits Australian qualifier Maddison Inglis

Inglis, who has been competing at levels below the WTA Tour, may be sidelined, but she is unlikely to feel rusty when she faces Swiatek.

She plays singles, doubles and mixed doubles with fiancé Jason Kubler, spending 16 hours and 12 minutes on court over the past 12 days.

“Once you go out there and play and you want it bad, it’s crazy what you can do,” Inglis said.

By comparison, second-seeded Swiatek played just over five hours of tennis – a heavy workload by her own standards.

The Pole has had a mixed start to the tournament as she seeks to complete a career grand slam.

Swiatek used an error-strewn performance to beat No. 31 seed Anna Kalinskaya on Saturday, and she struggled on serve in her first-round match against Chinese qualifier Yuan Yue, making 34 unforced errors.

Inglis also had to fight hard in the early rounds.

Four of her five singles matches – including qualifying matches and the main draw – went to three sets, and she played in six tiebreaks.

Her emotions exploded when she beat Germany’s Laura Sigmund in the second round of the marathon, collapsing on the court in tears after more than three hours of play.

“I haven’t played in a Grand Slam main draw for a long time,” Inglis said after that victory.

“Playing a Grand Slam in Melbourne – it’s my favorite tournament. My family is here. Jason is right there. Being able to share the win with them is crazy and so special.

“I’m just going to soak it all in. It’s not every day you get to the third round of a major.”

Reaching the fourth round is even rarer, and the quarterfinals are nothing short of a fairy tale.