Who is Jacob Fearnley? Britain’s rising star facing Nick Kyrgios at Australian Open
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The 23-year-old Scot is prepared to face the unique challenge of playing Kyrgios on John Cain Arena. Great Britain’s Jacob Fearnley makes his Australian Open debut and expects to face a hostile atmosphere when he takes on Nick Kyrgios. The 23-year-old Scot shot up the rankings after turning professional last season, breaking into the world’s top 100 to qualify for the Melbourne grand slam.
![[Jacob Fearnley won the Challenger event at Nottinghan, beating other British players]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/07/04/01/GettyImages-2157846885.jpg)
He was drawn to face the returning Kyrgios in the opening round and the controversial Australian has been scheduled to play in his usual raucous late slot on John Cain Arena. Kyrgios has not played at the Australian Open since 2022 due to injury while Fearnley has made an astonishing ascent since taking a set off Novak Djokovic in the second round of last year’s Wimbledon.
![[Jacob Fearnley, right, shakes hands with Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/10/03/16/8bdbe37fe91c3d636fcc3748c8580ad7Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzI4MDU1MDA5-2.76748142.jpg)
Fearnley was born in Scotland in July and grew up in Dalkeith, just outside of Edinburgh. He was brought up by mum Samanthan and credits his late grandparents for getting him into tennis at the age of four or five as he first picked up a racket in their back garden. He went to Merchiston Castle all-boys boarding school in Edinburgh, where he began to develop as a junior tennis player.
Fearnley was a top-ranked junior and competed in the same ranks as Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner when he was 15, even claiming wins against two players who would go on to become grand slam champions. His reputation as a junior allowed Fearnley to hit with eight-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer at the Championships when he was 17.
Instead of turning pro, Fearnley opted to go to college in the United States at Texas Christian University and combined his work on the tennis court with studying for a degree in kinesiology. He described going the college route as “the best decision I ever made” and although injuries disrupted some of his progress at TCU he finished his five years there with the national championship.
