Jin Woodman, at age 15, claimed a hard-fought victory over friend and mentor Heath Davidson to reach the AO 2025 quad wheelchair singles quarterfinals.
Melbourne, Australia, 21 January 2025 | Zoe Malliaris
Australian Open 2025 wheelchair tournaments kicked off on Tuesday, marking a historic moment for Australian players.
The 2024 edition features the most Australians ever competing in the quad wheelchair singles draw at the Australian Open, and 15-year-old Jin Woodman makes history as the youngest wheelchair player to compete at a Grand Slam.
Australia sees four men’s wheelchair players competing at Melbourne Park – Anderson Parker in the men’s singles, as well as Finn Broadbent, Heath Davidson, and Woodman in the quad singles event.
At age 15 Woodman etched his name further into the record books by becoming the youngest to win a Grand Slam match. Woodman faced fellow Aussie and wheelchair great Heath Davidson – who also happens to be one of his mentors – in the first round, emerging with a 7-6(2) 2-6 6-3 win.
“I mean, considering my age, I never thought this would actually happen,” a shocked Woodman told tennis.com.au. “I feel really happy.”
> READ: Woodman leads history-making quad wheelchair contingent at AO 2025
The young Aussie reflected on the significance of competing against his mentor, Davidson, who had a significant impact on his early path in the sport.
“In 2016, I think I was like five or six, he came back from Rio with the gold medal. I asked for a photo with it, and I still have that photo at home,” he recounted.
“Then, when I actually got into tennis more, I kept visiting him. He’d say, ‘I’ll see you on the big courts one day,’ and I’d say, ‘All right.’ I thought it was a joke – but now, here we are.”
> READ: De Minaur joins elite company at AO 2025
Woodman also shared a defining moment from his childhood when he performed the coin toss for a Davidson match against Andy Lapthorne.
Watching his fellow Australian play that day, he said, gave him the confidence to dream big.
Now following in his mentor’s footsteps, Woodman hopes to inspire the next generation of players.
His advice to those starting their journey? “Never give up. The hard work will get you there. The proof is here.”
It was a more challenging day for Parker and Broadbent, who exited to top-five seeds in their respective events.
Parker fell to world No.1 Tokito Oda in the men’s wheelchair singles, while Broadbent exited to No.4 seed Ahmet Kaplani the quad wheelchair event.
Find your way to play: Visit play.tennis.com.au to hit the court and have some fun!
