'Goes a huge way': Aussie young gun Talia Gibson earns big Australian Open pay day

Aussie Talia Gibson announced herself on day one of the Australian Open, dominating world No.62 Anna Blinkova en route to advancing to the second round.

Gibson used her power and shot making to take full control early on in the 6-1, 6-3 victory on KIA Arena.

It's a big win for the 21-year-old West Australian for a number of reasons.

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One of those is simply the prize money she will pocket now by making the second round of the tournament - a cool $225,000.

The lofty sum is effectively 25 per cent of her career prize money to date, given it is the youngster's second ever grand slam victory.

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Gibson, who was given a wildcard entry for the Australian Open, candidly stated how expensive it can be to tour professionally as a tennis player, and how far this one win would go for her in 2026.

"(That prize money) goes a huge way and I'm super grateful for the opportunity to get a wildcard and be able to play in the main draw," Gibson told reporters after the win.

"There's obviously a massive difference in the prize money at grand slams compared to some of the lower level tournaments.

"I think a lot people know how expensive it is to be on tour for a whole year, so it goes an extremely long way for sure."

The win was a confidence builder for Gibson and her first over a player ranked inside the top 70 in the world.

"Feels amazing. I'm over the moon," she said.

"It's always the best feeling to get through that first round at your home slam and to be the first Aussie through in the main draw is a great feeling for sure.

"Being able to go out there and play my own game. I knew this match-up today, I was going to be the more aggressive player on the court.

"That was exciting for me to be able to go out there and be in control of most of the points, that's what I want when I look for a game like that.

"I'm really happy that I was able to execute my game really well today.

"I know that I am a very aggressive player and it's what I do best on the court. No matter who I play I'm always trying to play that way, for sure."

The Perth product currently sits 119th in the world and hopes to break into the top 100 this year for the first time in her career.

"It's been really exciting to see a lot of Aussie girls thrive over the last year and shoot through the rankings," she said.

"(I'm) trying to take a lot of confidence from that, but also at the same time know what I'm capable of and remind myself of the achievements I've had over the last year.

"For me, the main goal over this next year is to try and get into that top 100 for the first time and stay in there.

"Over the last year I've been able to play against more of these players who are in the top 100 and I think it's been really great for me to be able to see how much I am able to compete with these players.

"With the game that I have, I find myself in positions a lot of the time being in control of points and giving myself a lot of opportunities on the court.

"It's very exciting and I hope to develop that a lot further.

"Nobody's game is ever perfect. There's always things to work on and that's something I'm always working on, maintaining consistency and a high level."

Gibson could face Russian No.23 seed Diana Shnaider in the second round, or Barbora Krejcikova from the Czech Republic.

Another win would see her prize money jump to $327,750.