Patrick Kypson will play in the Australian Open 2026 main draw after winning the USTA’s Australian Open Wild Card Challenge earlier this month.
On this week’s episode of The Sit-Down podcast, the American said his place at the Melbourne Park major was “well earned”.
“I think my tennis was coming together. I think all the things I’ve been working on here recently the last three or four months, things seemed to just come together,” he explained.
“I’m just proud of the way that I competed, proud of the level that I showed, and I think I got a little bit fortunate as well to string together that many match wins.”
Kypson walks away from the 2025 season with a career-best ranking of No.117 and Challenger titles at Bogota, Little Rock, Sioux Falls, and Helsinki – with the Australian Open wildcard being the cherry on top.
It’s hard to imagine that the beginning of the year looked completely different for the North Carolina native, who was forced to take three months off due a stress fracture sustained in Australia.
While recovering from surgery, Kypson’s ranking dropped to No.455.
“It was a really tough moment for me, but I was able to kind of work on the things mentally that I needed to while I was sidelined. I think that paid huge dividends for me when I started competing again,” he said.
“I've always been confident and if I can play or bring out my best level on the court that I can, I can play with mostly anyone. I really tried to work on shifting that mindset. It’s something that I continue to work on, but something that I think is very important for me and has been the key to my success.”
Unlike most of his American compatriots, Kypson’s tennis journey evolved on clay courts, the surface of his childhood club in North Carolina.
“I definitely learned how to play tennis on a clay court and I think that's been helpful in some ways and kind of unhelpful in other ways,” he shared.
“I think I'm trying to unwire some of that defensive mentality that I might have grown up with by being on a clay court, but definitely has its pros and cons and for sure unique”.
Coupling his new mental perspective with a recently-developed “aggressive” style of play, Kypson believes that players ranked similarly to him can compete with the best in the sport.
“I think I've always known that guys that are 200, guys that are 150, I think they have the level to be top players,” he said.
As a new season approaches, the Texas A&M alum hopes to build on his successful 2025 run.
“If I could play the season scheduling-wise without any hiccups or significant injuries, I think that would have to be my first at this stage of my career,” he said, when asked what a successful 2026 would look like.
“I'd love to finish the next year in a position where I'm in the main draw of all the Slams for the following year, so whether that's being 50 in the world, 70 in the world, higher, somewhere in between, that would be great.”
His first chance to pursue these goals will be at the Australian Open, kicking off in just under two months. The Raleigh local will be making his third appearance in the main draw at a Grand Slam, and second in Melbourne.
“It's incredible. Playing there is amazing. I think the hospitality is great. The venue’s ridiculous,” he said.
“It’s so nice, so I'm really looking forward to coming back.”
Listen to the full episode of The Sit-Down, a weekly podcast released each Monday featuring an in-depth interview with a notable tennis identity. Subscribe to The Sit-Down in your favourite podcast player.