Eva Lys celebrates her win (Image: Getty)
There was no time for lucky loser Eva Lys to prepare for her first round match at the but the frenzied build-up proved worth it for the German star. Lys, 23, was one of four players to find themselves included in the men’s and women’s singles draws, despite not making it through qualifying.
And the world No.128 proceeded to pull off a superb win, upsetting Australian No.1 Kimberly Birrel 6-2 6-2.
It meant a long day proved worth it for Lys, who was hanging around from 9am in the morning and eventually left the Rod Laver Arena some 14 hours later.
Lys had reached the third round of qualifying before she was beaten by Destanee Aiava in three sets. And she was lying on a physio table preparing to fly home the following day when she received a call telling her to get ready for a match.
“I actually had my flight back booked for tomorrow morning,” she said. “I didn’t really prepare my drinks, I didn’t have match clothes on. I went to the locker room, got changed straight away, and then they called my name.”
And after pulling off a shock win, the Ukrainian-born player even joked that she may use the same preparation in future, adding: “So no warm-up, no anything. Maybe that’s the key for next match.”
Britain’s Harriet Dart was another lucky loser to get through the first round. (Image: Getty)
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Britain’s Harriet Dart was another who benefited from the ‘lucky loser’ rule, given just an hour’s notice . And Lys also opened up on how it felt to be waiting around for news of a withdrawal.
“If you are a lucky loser, you don’t expect much. Your tournament is kind of over,” she said. “But a lot of people gave me hope that there was a possibility for me to get in. That’s why I was here the whole day, from 9am until 11pm, because you never know if someone is going to pull out.
Reflecting on the financial implications of her unexpected victory over Birrel, Lys added: “I went out and had no expectations. I was definitely the lucky one.”
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A player who exits in the final stage of qualifying at the is handed £25,300 for their efforts. But contesting the first round at Melbourne Park is worth £67,000.
But the win for Lys guaranteed her more than £100,000 in prize money. At the 2023 French Open., Armenia’s Elina Avanesyan became the first lucky loser to reach the last 16 of a Grand Slam for 30 years.