“This is quite humbling.”
Those were the words of rising star Olivia Gadecki after a stellar week in Mexico, jumping to a career-high world No.88 to officially become the new top-ranked Australian woman on tour.
“It’s been an incredible week. If someone were to ask me, 'Where do you see yourself at the end of next week?', I definitely wouldn’t say the final,” Gadecki told The First Serve.
Despite falling short at the Guadalajara Open this week, losing to Poland’s Magdalena Fręch in the final, Gadecki has had a dream week. From qualifiers to the final, the Ash Barty-backed Aussie began the tournament ranked No.152 but has now risen 64 places to a career-high No.88 in the live WTA rankings.
Indeed, Gadecki has enjoyed her best season in 2024, reaching an AU$150,000 final in Pennsylvania before the US Open, and the semi-finals of a tournament at the same level ahead of Wimbledon, where she qualified for the first time.
And now… the 22-year-old made her first final at a WTA 500 event.
Gadecki has always been a player of promise. Her first WTA main-draw win arrived against 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin at the Phillip Island Trophy during the Covid-delayed summer of 2022.
There was a time, however, when Gadecki almost quit the sport entirely as a teenager.
“I quit for about a year and a half when I was 15, so [halfway through] year 10 in school because I was very overwhelmed with all the travel and schoolwork, and I was really struggling mentally,” she said after the final.
Speaking with The First Serve’s Brett Phillips on Monday, Gadecki explained how her recent good form has turned around her self-doubts.
“There’s been times throughout my career where I’ve asked myself: am I good enough? Is this gonna pay off? Am I doing the right things? To have a great week definitely boosts my overall confidence, for sure.”
Gadecki, who has Polish heritage, is now all but certain to automatically qualify for the main draw at next year’s Australian Open off the back of her new top-100 ranking.
The new Aussie number one attributes her hot run of form to incremental improvements to her game, which has added to her confidence.
“For me, I think I’ve improved by doing all the little things better. And also just believing in my game,” Gadecki told The First Serve.
“I’m really looking forward to going back to the drawing board and improving and continuing to learn, and being the best possible version of myself.”
With a big serve, powerful groundstrokes and a solid net game, Gadecki has an aggressive style and made the most of her imposing physical attributes during her WTA Tour final run.
“I have such a big weight of shot, so it's important for me to come in and try and knock off anything that comes back. I’m a big girl and I think it just helps with that presence. It’s intimidating when someone like me is at the net.”
Off-court, Gadecki also has a mentor of some pedigree in her corner.
Former world No.1, Ash Barty, publicly endorsed the new Aussie star after her quarter-final win over former top 20-ranked Italian, Martina Trevisan.
“She is an incredibly talented, gorgeous young girl and I really do hope that she does well, because she enjoys it,” Barty told Fox Sports.
“Now I can see it in her eyes that she has got the hunger and the desire and it is about her now putting her head down and finding the ways to enjoy it and keep it alive and keep it fun.”
Gadecki paid her respects back to Barty, who practised regularly with her during the three-time grand slam champion’s sabbatical from the tour during the pandemic.
“To have someone like Ash in my corner from the get-go, or even just at the start of my career, was really a massive eye-opener.
“To be around her when she was doing pre-season, [and see] what hard work looks like, and be a part of that environment, was truly amazing and really helped.”
While disappointed to have come agonisingly close to her first tour title, Gadecki leaves Mexico with a runners-up cheque of AU$130,660 in a week where she took two significant scalps defeating 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens and world No.11 Danielle Collins.
“I can definitely remember a couple of points where if I just made a couple of shots here or there, I think it would’ve been a little bit different. I think that just comes with experience. Playing at this level I think it’ll just come in time. If I keep doing the right things and believe in myself it’ll just come good,” she told The First Serve.
Despite being a tough slog at times, Gadecki feels “very lucky” to be from a country like Australia with “such an amazing tennis background” and is optimistic about her future.
“It’s definitely been a long season, but it’s all part of the sport. It does take a bit of sacrifice but I feel like it’s totally worth it.”
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