Ethan Quinn recoups pricey Nobu dinner bill with best-ever Australian Open run

On the eve of the Australian Open, Ethan Quinn was a loser. The 21-year-old American drew the metaphorical short straw after a game of "credit-card roulette" during a night out with many of the other U.S. men in the singles field in Melbourne, and was left paying the group's $2,500 tab at Nobu.

But nearly a week later, the 21-year-old is showing why he's earned his seat at the table.

The former NCAA champion, ranked No. 80, is through the the third round Down Under for the first time. After defeating No. 23 seed Tallon Griekspoor, who topped Quinn twice last year, in straight sets in the first round, he beat the in-form Hubert Hurkacz on Thursday also in three sets to match the best-ever major result of his young career so far.

"I think each Slam you get to experience something different," Quinn, who also won two matches at Roland Garros last year, said after defeating Hurkacz. "You know, first time making third round here. First time winning a Slam match here. ...  I'm still trying to make sure that awe moment doesn't leave every time you make a deep run."

In 2023, Quinn won the NCAA singles title and turned professional a month later. But he only broke into the Top 200 for the first time in 2025, confessing last year that he needed a "reality check" about just what it would take to become a successful professional. His rise over the last year earned him not just a spot in the world's Top 100, but an invitation to at what's become a traditional bonding experience for American men in Melbourne.

Read more: After "reality check," Ethan Quinn starts to meet his expectations

"It's growing a lot," Taylor Fritz says of the gathering, which he estimates began in 2018. "It used to not be so big. But we started doing this. And it makes sense in Australia, because it's like we start the year, there's some time before the tournament. You know, a lot of us haven't seen each other because of off-season and stuff like that. So, you know, we always do it here."

"I've tried to kind of branch it out and invite all the guys," he adds. "I don't have every American guy's number. And there's new guys that come up. So I put six or seven of the guys in the group chat, and everyone is invited. I'm getting the big table. Whoever can come comes."

And though Quinn had the shortest resume so far amongst the attendees, which also included Ben Shelton, Reilly Opelka, and Tommy Paul, he wasn't about to shirk the responsibility of tradition when his card was pulled.

"You're making money out here, you will be all right," joked Frances Tiafoe, who didn't make it to the night out because he was playing his opening match on Sunday. "Hence why he got Griekspoor out of the way. He needed to recoup that. So that's good."

"I took two Ls very early on in my career, too, back-to-back years," Fritz added. "It all comes around. I told Ethan, Keep coming back every year. You'll get some free dinners."

But the $220,000-plus that Quinn has pocketed so far at the Australian Open can foot the bill for some more sushi platters, too.