Bizarre mix-up involving Aussie tennis champion Judy Dalton sees doubles pairing handed the WRONG trophy after Australian Open victory

One of Australia’s greatest ever tennis players has been involved in an awkward gaffe during the women’s doubles trophy presentation at the 2025 Australian Open. 

Su-Wei Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko, who lost the final in a tightly contested match, initially received the wrong trophies.

The third-seeded pair had reached the final in their first Grand Slam tournament as a team but were defeated by top seeds Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend. 

The final score was 6-2, 6-7(4), 6-3 in favor of Siniakova and Townsend. 

Despite the loss, Hsieh and Ostapenko impressed fans with their performance and earned small silver plates to commemorate their achievement.

During the presentation, tennis legend Judy Dalton handed the plates to Hsieh and Ostapenko. 

Dalton is a former Australian tennis champion known for her success in doubles, winning eight Grand Slam titles, including all four majors. 

A member of the ‘Original Nine’ who pioneered the professional women’s tour, Dalton played a pivotal role in advancing women’s tennis. 

However, Ostapenko quickly noticed an issue. As she read the inscription, she realised the plate was incorrect. 

She alerted Hsieh and remarked, ‘It’s wrong one,’ before extending her arm to return it.

The situation became apparent to tournament director Craig Tiley, who identified the error and instructed Dalton, saying, ‘It’s the other one.’ 

Two podiums with identical plates had been set up, leading to the confusion. Dalton promptly retrieved the plates from the players and replaced them with the correct ones.

The crowd at Rod Laver Arena broke into laughter as they understood what had happened. 

Once the correct plates were distributed, Hsieh and Ostapenko held them up and addressed the audience to a round of applause. 

While the runners-up stole the limelight, Townsend spoke about what winning the title meant to her after a long drought at Melbourne Park. 

‘This is super-special to me,’ Townsend said. 

‘The last time I played on this court I was 15 and in 2012 I won the juniors here and that was the kick-start.

‘Honestly, being here is so special to me because this tournament was the beginning of me being able to live out my dream.’

‘That sounds nice when you say it,’ Siniakova said. ‘I’m enjoying it. I love to play doubles, so I’m just really happy that I can say I have all this success, but it sounds amazing.’

Townsend said she had drawn inspiration from watching Madison Keys win the women’s singles title on Saturday night.

‘Being able to watch Madison win made me really happy, she’s a really good friend of mine,’ Townsend said on court. ‘It’s been a great tournament for American tennis.’

Later, at the post-match press conference, she expanded on her comments. ‘I can’t even put into words how happy I am for her,’ she said. 

‘The first is always so great, and it’s kind of a relief. She’s been close before, and I can attest to that feeling in doubles. It is different, but it’s not. In singles as well, getting over the hump is getting over the hump no matter what.

‘I have so much love for her. I went to her wedding in Charleston, and being able to share that moment with her off-court and just see the success on-court, it’s priceless. 

‘I’m just so happy. Both of our names etched in this book for the years to come, and that’s special.’