I don’t think much about placements or rankings, says Kimberly Birrell

Kimberly Birrell enters the interview room on Friday (October 31, 2025), smiling with glowing eyes. There is no pretension in her answers; her answers are not just one-liners, but more explanatory.

The 27-year-old Australian, who is ranked 117th in the world, is playing strong tennis so far, seventh in the ongoing WTA 250 Chennai Open tennis tournament.

After two tough matches against Czech Nikola Bartunkova and Indian Shrivalli Bhamidipaty, Kimberly got past third seed Donna Vekic of Croatia in straight sets quite comfortably to advance to the semi-finals.

A few years ago, however, things weren’t the same for Birrell. She underwent two surgeries on her right elbow in 2019 and 2022, which took her out of the sport for a while. “It was a hellish period, and I certainly don’t have good memories of that time. There was also a time when I thought I might not make it again, that tennis wouldn’t be my path and that my career might be over,” Birrell told itftennis.com

Between July 2019 and January 2022, she played only four tournaments and won two matches. Besides the physical pain, it was also the time away from court that made her sad.

It’s all a blur now. In the capital Tamil Nadu, in the SDAT-Nungambakkam Stadium, Birrell is at her best. She serves very well, moves confidently and uses her shots, especially the two-handed backhand shots, to devastating effect.

Against third seed Vekic, Birrell was exceptional in her shooting ability, pulling winners out of the backcourt when it called for it. It was another thing that Vekic was not at her best and made far too many unforced errors than was warranted, which made the Australian task easier.

With Vekic’s departure, Birrell is the only remaining seed in the tournament. When asked whether the departure of ranked players is cause for concern, she explains that it shows the level of women’s tennis. “I don’t think so much about the seedings or the rankings. I think in women’s tennis the level is incredibly high that anyone can beat anyone. For example, in my second round (round of 16) against Shrivalli it was tough. Her ranking was around 400 [434]but she played very well. You can never judge someone by the number next to their name,” she said.

What helped her get through it, says the Australian, is her experience. “What helps me is obviously that I’ve been in situations like this before, I have experience and I’ve been playing at this level for a while. I think that’s the most important thing on my mind,” she said.

A few days before the start of the Chennai Open, it rained consistently. The matches were canceled on the first two days of the main tournament and play started at 11am. In the first round, quite a few foreigners withdrew halfway through the tournament due to the extreme heat. Birrell said it was another challenge.

“We were all just happy that the rain stopped and that we could get back on the field. Although it was very tough. And it was definitely a challenge to play. Especially because I played at 11 a.m. that day. So it was very difficult not to do too much the last two days. But that’s why we trained so hard all year. We all had to deal with it in our own way. I’m glad I was able to get through it,” she said.

Birrell thanked her coach Nicole Pratt for improvements in her game. “I think she has helped me a lot as a person in my tennis game. And I can’t thank her enough for her expertise and her support. And it’s really great to work with a female coach. And also someone who has played on the WTA tour. She has so much experience in her own game: she won the singles title in 2004 (Hyderabad Open). It’s like a mutual understanding that I think is hard to find. So I feel very happy,” she said.

Birrell has come a long way as a ball girl at Queensland’s Pat Cash Academy, where her father once coached.

On a resurgent journey, Birrell is coming off her best performance in a WTA 250 event this year – her best being reaching the final of the Japan Open in October 2024. There’s a good reason she won’t stop here.