Austrian tennis player Sebastian Ofner's Australian Open qualifying campaign took a bizarre turn on Thursday, as he prematurely celebrated what he thought was his victory before eventually losing to American Nishesh Basavareddy in the deciding third-set tie-break. The Austrian was ahead 7-1 in the set when he raised his arms and walked towards the net, pointing at his head in celebration, unaware that he still needed three more points to clinch the match.
Basavareddy would go on to win the match 4-6 6-4 7-6 (13-11), advancing him to the final round of qualifying. The American tennis player was tight-lipped about his opponent's mistakes, saying "In a super [match] tie-break, you always have a chance, so I kept believing." Basavareddy also had this to say about Ofner: "I saw him tense up a little bit, but the balls were quite old there, so every rally was a war."
Ofner's premature celebration cost him dearly in what turned out to be an eight-point losing streak, as he conceded the final tie-break. The 20-year-old is now on to face Britain's George Loffhagen for a spot in the main draw of the Australian Open, which begins on Sunday, January 18.
As qualifying continues at Melbourne Park, other notable players have also made their way into contention. Cameron Norrie and Jacob Fearnley are already set to participate in the men's singles, while Emma Raducanu, Francesca Jones, Sonay Kartal, and Katie Boulter will feature in the women's singles.
The Australian Open 2026 is shaping up to be an exciting event for tennis fans around the world.
Basavareddy would go on to win the match 4-6 6-4 7-6 (13-11), advancing him to the final round of qualifying. The American tennis player was tight-lipped about his opponent's mistakes, saying "In a super [match] tie-break, you always have a chance, so I kept believing." Basavareddy also had this to say about Ofner: "I saw him tense up a little bit, but the balls were quite old there, so every rally was a war."
Ofner's premature celebration cost him dearly in what turned out to be an eight-point losing streak, as he conceded the final tie-break. The 20-year-old is now on to face Britain's George Loffhagen for a spot in the main draw of the Australian Open, which begins on Sunday, January 18.
As qualifying continues at Melbourne Park, other notable players have also made their way into contention. Cameron Norrie and Jacob Fearnley are already set to participate in the men's singles, while Emma Raducanu, Francesca Jones, Sonay Kartal, and Katie Boulter will feature in the women's singles.
The Australian Open 2026 is shaping up to be an exciting event for tennis fans around the world.
this guy Sebastian Ofner has to be so frustrated 
his premature celebration was literally comedy gold 
but congrats to Nishesh Basavareddy on his win 
he played it cool, even when Ofner made those mistakes 
! Like, who does that?! 
He literally thinks he won and just celebrates like a champ, only to find out he's still got 3 points left to play with 
. And Nishesh Basavareddy is all cool and collected, saying the balls were old and it was every rally for him 
.
. And can we talk about Cameron Norrie and Jacob Fearnley already making it into contention? Like, they're gonna crush it on Sunday 
. This Aussie Open is shaping up to be EPIC 
!
. i feel bad for Seb, he was so hyped up and just lost control, didn't even realize he needed more points to win lol 
he just lost it 
anyway, i got nothin' but respect for basavareddy 
It's like they thought they already won the tournament or something 
The American player was super calm and collected, I love how he didn't let his opponent's mistakes get to him... #SportsmanshipMatters 
it was like he thought he had it in the bag 
... 8-point losing streak, yeah no thanks 
. At least he's still moving on to the next round 
. You think he'd been so sure of himself that he didn't even bother checking the score? That level of complacency is hard to wrap your head around.
, and you can almost admire him for not getting too caught up in Sebastian's antics. But still, it's a tough pill to swallow, especially after he just had the match won 
. I guess when you're down to your last points, you gotta stay focused. And he's not making any excuses about the balls being old either 
.
! He got so hyped 
and then promptly lost it 
. You can't just throw your arms up in the air without checking if you've actually won 
.
guess those old balls made all the diff between winning or losing 
but congrats to basavareddy on the win! 
he played so calm and collected, even when his opponent started to tense up. i feel bad for ofner tho, he really needed to chill out in that last set