Two all-Australian wildcard teams in Olivia Gadecki & John Peers, and Kimberly Birrell & John-Patrick Smith, will battle it out in the AO 2025 mixed doubles final on Friday.
Melbourne, VIC, Australia, 22 January 2025 | Matt Trollope
Australians continue to flourish in the Australian Open mixed doubles event, with Olivia Gadecki and John Peers winning through to the 2025 final.
In an Aussies-versus-Kiwis clash at Margaret Court Arena, Gadecki and Peers combined to beat New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe and Michael Venus in straight sets on Wednesday.
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The 6-4 6-4 triumph set the stage for the possibility of an all-Australian final, and Kimberly Birrell and John-Patrick Smith ensured it with victory in the second semifinal on the same court.
Their 7-6(2) 6-2 defeat of Brits Olivia Nicholls and Henry Patten means the Australian Open mixed doubles final will feature two all-Australian pairs for the first time since 1967.
The teams have become the sixth and seventh all-Australian pairs to reach the AO mixed final in the past 20 years.
ALL-AUSTRALIAN PAIRS IN THE AO MIXED DOUBLES FINAL
| Year | Team | Result |
| 2025 | Olivia Gadecki/John Peers Kim Birrell/John-Patrick Smith |
? |
| 2022 | Jaimee Fourlis/Jason Kubler | Runners-up |
| 2021 | Sam Stosur/Matt Ebden | Runners-up |
| 2019 | Astra Sharma/John-Patrick Smith | Runners-up |
| 2013 | Jarmila Gajdosova/Matt Ebden | Champions |
| 2005 | Sam Stosur/Scott Draper | Champions |
The result continues an incredible Australian summer for Birrell, who across singles, women’s doubles and mixed has won 12 of her 15 matches.
And it marks the second time Smith is through to the AO mixed doubles final, six years after his appearance in the decider with Astra Sharma.
“It’s not getting any easier as I get older, you know,” joked 35-year-old Smith.
“It’s great. I mean, Kim’s playing well; tiebreak was so clutch out there. We’re gelling really well together and let’s see how far we can go come Friday night.”
Birrell, asked about the prospect of facing another Australian team, acknowledged Gadecki and Peers’ amazing week.
“Super happy for them,” Birrell said. “And I played in the women’s doubles with Liv, so I think it’s safe to say we know each other pretty well.
“It’s gonna be an awesome night [on Friday]. We’re gonna keep enjoying it, and we’ll come up with a plan and keep backing ourselves.”
Peers has a chance to claim his second Grand Slam mixed doubles title – and third major doubles trophy overall – after winning the 2022 US Open mixed title with Storm Hunter.
Gadecki, a semifinalist in AO mixed the past two years with Marc Polmans, improves her record in the event to a stellar 10-2.
Gadecki and Peers, a wildcard pairing, outserved the No.2 seeds – winning 81 per cent for their first-serve points – and broke their opponents four times en route to victory in 71 minutes.
“Today was a lot of fun, and playing at home is always so much more special than playing overseas,” Peers said.
Added Gadecki: “It’s always one of my dreams to make a Grand Slam final, so to be playing in one at the age of 22 is pretty cool. And to hopefully play another Aussie [team] would be incredible.”
