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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n Save this article for later<\/p>\n Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime.<\/p>\n Got it<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n You might still be in a post-Australian Open slumber and not have heard. Australia has a 21-year-old tennis player who spent March beating five top-20 opponents.<\/p>\n Her name is Talia Gibson, a hyper-aggressive, highly talented baseliner who now counts Jasmine Paolini, Naomi Osaka, Ekaterina Alexandrova, Iva Jovic and Clara Tauson among her scalps.<\/p>\n Gibson slashed her ranking from No.112 to a career-best 56 in a productive three-week stretch at Indian Wells and Miami<\/a>. After toppling dual grand slam finalist Paolini to reach the Indian Wells Masters quarter-finals, she told reporters she was \u201cspeechless\u201d.<\/p>\n Czech star Linda Noskova ended Gibson\u2019s run there, but it took her three sets.<\/p>\n Editor’s pick Gibson proved she was not a flash in the pan, blitzing world No.41 Sara Bejlek, four-time major champion Osaka and Jovic without dropping a set to make the last 16 at the Miami Masters before losing to Australian Open winner Elena Rybakina.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been a very eventful last few weeks, very exciting times, and I\u2019m super proud of what I achieved,\u201d Gibson told this masthead.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m still processing it all, and I will still be processing for a little while, but I\u2019m really happy with the position I\u2019m now in \u2013 a lot of doors have opened for me.\u201d<\/p>\n Gibson hasn\u2019t bought herself anything yet as a reward, but has taken a peek at her bank account, which received a $370,000 boost. But incredibly, she was one point from none of it happening.<\/p>\n Gibson was twice match point down in Indian Wells qualifying to 157th-ranked American Elvina Kalieva, only to escape and reach the main draw.<\/p>\n The West Australian rallied from the same scenario in Wimbledon qualifying last year, earning her first shot at Osaka. She lost that one, but it was a valuable learning experience. This year\u2019s Australian Open<\/a> provided two more lessons that helped unlock her feats on the American hard-courts.<\/p>\n Billie Jean King Cup tie: Australia v Great Britain<\/p>\n DAY ONE (FRIDAY) SINGLES<\/p>\n Talia Gibson (AUS) v Mika Stojsavljevic (GB)Kimberly Birrell v Harriet Dart (GB)<\/p>\n DAY TWO (SATURDAY)<\/p>\n Doubles: Storm Hunter\/Ellen Perez (AUS) v Harriet Dart\/Jodie Burrage (GB)Singles: Talia Gibson (AUS) v Harriet Dart (GB), Kimberley Birrell (AUS) v Mika Stojsavljevic (GB)<\/p>\n Gibson was jangling with nerves on the eve of her first-round match at Melbourne Park, wanting to perform well almost too much.<\/p>\n Gibson\u2019s coach, Jarrad Bunt, who started working with her in November, noticed how anxious she was.<\/p>\n What followed was an error-strewn last training session before playing Russia\u2019s Anna Blinkova. She was already due to catch up with her sports psychologist, but it was timely.<\/p>\n \u201cI remember that quite vividly. There are always a lot of nerves leading up to your home slam,\u201d Gibson said.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of people come out to support you, and it\u2019s a pretty big occasion for Australians. I just got in my head a little bit, and built it up too much. I wasn\u2019t able to enjoy that last practice session before playing my first round the next day.\u201d<\/p>\n That chat with her sports psychologist was about putting everything into perspective. One ordinary training session did not mean she was a bad player, or that she would not play well against Blinkova.<\/p>\n Related Article In fact, Gibson flayed 43 winners to Blinkova\u2019s five in a 76-minute cakewalk to book a meeting with then-world No.22 Diana Shnaider. Everything was going well again, with Gibson a set and 5-4 up.<\/p>\n Three match points came and went on Shnaider\u2019s serve. The Russian survived, flipping the script on Gibson. Another heart-to-heart conversation followed, this time with Bunt.<\/p>\n It was, at the time, her ninth straight defeat to a top-50 rival since the start of last year.<\/p>\n \u201cShe was pretty disappointed after that one,\u201d Bunt said.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I just reiterated that, \u2018Look, you were so good, and if you hit your forehand cross [court] instead of down the line, you win the match, three and four, against a top-20 player\u2019. She took a lot away from that and realised, \u2018Hey, I\u2019m actually right there. I\u2019ve just got to keep putting myself in those positions, and it will turn my way\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n Bunt\u2019s hunch was right, but even he was surprised at how swiftly it happened.<\/p>\n Gibson\u2019s fortified mindset was no better displayed than in her rematch with Osaka in Miami.<\/p>\n \u201cAt that time [at Wimbledon], it was a really big occasion for me, playing someone like her, a multiple grand slam champion. I was quite nervous,\u201d Gibson recalled.<\/p>\n Related Article \u201cThere were some opportunities that I would have liked to have dealt with differently \u2026 but I was much calmer when I played her a couple of weeks ago. I\u2019m a much better player now, and I had a lot more belief.\u201d<\/p>\n Gibson\u2019s always had a red-hot backhand, but Bunt set about upgrading her forehand and making her serve a greater weapon. They have also worked hard on her physicality and movement.<\/p>\n Bunt is convinced Gibson can crack the top 20.<\/p>\n She does not see herself as an overnight success. For Gibson, she has improved \u201cinch by inch\u201d, physically and mentally.<\/p>\n Former world No.8 Alicia Molik can see the changes. She first came across a 15-year-old Gibson when they were on opposite teams in Tennis West\u2019s state league competition.<\/p>\n Molik remembers Gibson being a clean ball-striker who could generate easy power, but that she let her emotions get the better of her. She wasn\u2019t certain, then, that Gibson was destined for great things.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m a pretty bad judge, aren\u2019t I?\u201d Molik said, laughing.<\/p>\n \u201cSo much has to happen, not just in tennis, but in someone\u2019s life, to give them the platform to even begin on the professional tour, let alone succeed. But everything\u2019s pointing in the right direction, and she\u2019s got so much upside.\u201d<\/p>\n Related Article Gibson is back at Melbourne Park this week to spearhead Australia\u2019s Billie Jean King Cup team against Great Britain, alongside Kim Birrell, Emerson Jones and doubles specialists Storm Sanders and Ellen Perez, in Maya Joint\u2019s injury absence.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s an honour to be selected again. Playing for your country is one of the greatest things you\u2019ll ever be able to do,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not putting any pressure on myself. It\u2019s something I\u2019ve always wanted to do, so I\u2019m over the moon and couldn\u2019t be prouder.\u201d<\/p>\n News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport are sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n![\"Talia](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/6270ce628b42e2ab692f5f4c2d9244785f43608d.jpeg\")
Talia Gibson (centre) with some of her top-20 scalps (clockwise): Iva Jovic, Jasmine Paolini, Naomi Osaka and Clara Tauson.<\/p>\n![\"Top](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1775722871_131_4619fa3e56a8e3dd7ed9592142168c8ad2518dacd424a87040dbbcf9993d9732.jpeg\")
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Gibson slashed her ranking from outside 100 to inside the top 60 in March.Getty Images<\/p>\n![\"Top](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1775722872_714_17103df7e3023fbdbbcb94a7c85c7ec1d3173734279ef4e10c7e6f67cd6a9859.jpeg\")
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