West Australian teenager Talia Gibson draws lucky loser or qualifier in first round of Australian Open

WA rising star Talia Gibson has received an early confidence boost ahead of her Australian Open debut after drawing a qualifier or lucky loser in the first round.

Gibson, 18, was handed a wild card to the grand slam after a strong first year on the tour, winning three ITF events after taking her game to the next level.

She will have to wait for her first opponent though, in a boost to her chances of claiming a win at Melbourne Park.

Czech 20th seed Barbora Krejcikova could await her in the second round after she also drew a qualifier first up.

Fellow West Australian and wildcard entrant Storm Hunter faces a test in the first round after drawing world No.89 Xinyu Wang.

Hunter, 28, clashed with the 21-year-old at the qualifiers in Miami last year, losing in straight-sets 6-2 6-4 in their only previous clash.

The world No.227 has never made the second round of a grand slam and should she upset China’s Wang, it is likely she will face 10th seed, Madison Keys.

Meanwhile, Tristan Schoolkate will have to hope for a lucky loser spot in the main draw after he fell short in the final round of qualifiers on Thursday.

Schoolkate, 21, was easily accounted for by German Jan-Lennard Struff in straight-sets 6-1 6-4, recording 14 unforced errors in the first set.