Big names to play the qualifying weekend at Delray Beach Open

Some big names are slated to play the qualifying weekend at Delray Beach Open. Fans can catch Australian Open breakout stars Learner Tien and Nishesh Basavareddy as part of opening weekend Feb. 7-9, the tournament announced yesterday. Four players will advance from the qualifying draw to the ATP 250 main draw event that takes place Feb. 10-16. 

Above: Nishesh Basavareddy won the first set against Novak Djokovic in his first Grand Slam match. Photo Credit: Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour.

Tien and Basavareddy, two 19-year-old Americans, electrified fans at the season’s first Grand Slam. Tien won three qualifying matches to reach the main draw, then won three more matches, including a win over No. 5 Daniil Medvedev in a fifth-set tiebreak, to become the youngest man to reach the Australian Open fourth round since Rafael Nadal in 2005. Basavareddy earned a wild card into his first Grand Slam main draw, then won his first Grand Slam set against 10-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic before falling in four sets.

Above: Learner Tien upset No. 5 Daniil Medvedev en route to the Australian Open fourth round. Photo credit: Peter Staples/ATP Tour.

Tien, who finished third at the 2021 USTA National Clay Court Boys’ 18 Championships in Delray Beach, will climb approximately 40 spots to crack the world’s Top 100 for the first time next week at a projected No. 80. Basavareddy is on the doorstep currently at a career-high No. 107.

Above: Christopher Eubanks has captured three ATP Tour titles. Photo credit: si.robi - Eubanks BOR22, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikipedia Commons.

Other players well-known to Delray Beach tennis fans who will compete in the DBO qualifying rounds include 2023 Wimbledon quarterfinalist Christopher Eubanks and two-time Delray Beach Open semifinalist Mackenzie McDonald.

2025 Delray Beach Open qualifying field (two wild cards still to be added):

(Rank) Name, Age, Country

(89) James Duckworth, 33, Australia

(90) Adam Walton, 25, Australia

(102) Christopher Eubanks, 28, USA

(106) Borno Gojo, 26, Croatia

(107) Nishesh Basavareddy, 19, USA

(108) Yibing Wu, 25, China

(109) Aleksandar Kovacevic, 26, USA

(113) Taro Daniel, 31, Japan (will be 32 during tournament)

(121) Learner Tien, 19, USA

(130) Mackenzie McDonald, 29, USA

(134) Federico Agustin Gomez, 28, Argentina

(136) Tristan Boyer, 23, USA

(146) Mitchell Krueger, 31, USA

(152) Tomas Barrios Vera, 27, Chile

Many qualifiers have gone on to success in past DBO events. Three times in the previous 32 editions of the Delray Beach Open a qualifier has won the title, including 2008 champion Kei Nishikori who is in this year’s main draw for the first time in 11 years. Four times a qualifier has been runner-up, and 13 times a qualifier has reached the semifinals.

The current crop of DBO qualifiers will be trying to join fellow Americans Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul in the Delray Beach Open main draw. Fritz, world-ranked No. 4, is the two-time defending champion, and last year’s runner-up. Meanwhile, Paul will make his debut in the world’s Top 10 rankings next week after reaching the Australian Open quarterfinals. 

The Delray Beach stop on the global ATP Tour annually plays in front of over 50,000 fans and reaches television audiences in more than 100 countries. Tickets are available at DelrayBeachOpen.com.

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Source: Delray Beach Open. Top Photo featuring Mackenzie McDonald: Delray Beach Open.