Clara Tauson weathers illness, “boom boom” tennis to advance at Australian Open

MELBOURNE, Australia—Where most players are eager to make the most of their off-season, Clara Tauson wanted to keep playing.

The world No. 14 was coming off a breakthrough year during which she reached her first WTA 1000 final at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships and followed it up with another semifinal later that summer at the Omnium Banque Nationale in Montréal. Falling victim to the FOMO that inspired a jam-packed 2025 tournament schedule, she got straight back to work in the hopes of maintaining that momentum into the new year.

“I was working really hard, and I think I maybe started a bit too early and didn’t take my time after the season ended,” Tauson told me at the Australian Open on Wednesday. “I was just so ready to get out there and practice that I got a little bit sick and had some issues here and there.”

Those issues led to a bumpy start to this season and a mid-match retirement from the Adelaide International just last week.

“That was more of a precaution because I didn’t feel too well against Ajla [Tomljanovic] or in my first match in Brisbane,” she explained. “I had a little bit of trouble in the first two tournaments, but the rest that I got after retiring was needed.

“You try to work on everything in the off-season because you don’t really have time when we’re on tour, so it wasn’t the perfect pre-season but I really worked hard on just everything.”

Tauson immediately put her fitness to the test over three long sets against Polina Kudermetova, shaking off a lost a 5-3 lead in the final set to reach the third round of the Australian Open for a third straight season.

“The physios have been taking great care of me and I feel great,” said Tauson. “I played three hours of doubles yesterday and 7-5 in the third today without any troubles, so I’m really happy about that.

“She plays a really fast game, which is hard to read sometimes. I tried to just play focused and hope she’d make a few mistakes. In the end, I felt like I was playing better than her but at 5-4 I got a little nervous and she played good. After that, I just told myself I need to go for it. She’s not going to give it to me, and it worked.”

I think I like to have two or three shots and then I go for it, Many of the players, they play really fast from the beginning, which is a game I should be used to because they’re so many Russians and Europeans who play that kind of game. You even see [Amanda] Anisimova, she plays like that so hard from the first shot. Clara Tauson

Her description of Kudermetova’s tennis as “boom boom boom” was an interesting one coming from a player considered to be one of the biggest hitters on tour but according to Tauson, her aggression is more tactical.

“I think I like to have two or three shots and then I go for it,” she said with a smile. “Many of the players, they play really fast from the beginning, which is a game I should be used to because they’re so many Russians and Europeans who play that kind of game. You even see [Amanda] Anisimova, she plays like that so hard from the first shot.

“I think today, I really tried to stay focused even though she played so fast on many shots, I felt I was giving her one extra shot all the time.”

Still, Tauson would hardly consider her best game to be one that requires too much retrieving, and too much defense could spell disaster in her next match against No. 17 seed Victoria Mboko.

The rising Canadian star is coming off a breakthrough season of her own, having won her first WTA 1000 title at the Omnium Banque Nationale.

“She’s obviously great,” said Tauson. “I think she has a very all-around game: she can serve, she can return, she plays fast, and she’s really solid. She’s winning a lot of matches and in a good flow, but she’s going to have to beat me, and I’ll go out there and do my best.”

Though she claims to find peace knowing there’s always another tournament around the corner, Tauson will surely look to max out at the majors this year as she aims to make a first Grand Slam quarterfinal in 2026.