Fire Away
At the Australian Open, Tristan Boyer and his family are finding sanctuary—and success—far from the ravages of wildfire back home.
MELBOURNE, Australia — As she watched her son winning his first main draw match at a major on Tuesday night at the Australian Open, Shari Boyer was thrilled.
Tristan Boyer, a 23-year-old qualifier ranked 136th, had come back from two-sets-to-one-and-a-break down to beat Federico Coria 6-3, 6-7(3), 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 on Court 13, showing mental and emotional resilience to get his head back in the game after spiraling early in the fourth set.
Not only did the win mean that Tristan had accomplished a dream and earned a spot in the second round against local star Alex de Minaur, it meant that the family trip to Melbourne could last a little longer, delaying confronting a new reality.
“I'm really kind of dreading going home, to be honest,” Shari Boyer told Bounces.
The Boyer family lives in Altadena, Calif., a suburb in the hills of Los Angeles County that has been ravaged by wildfire in recent days. The entire city has been evacuated, and more than 7,000 structures have been destroyed in the blaze called the Eaton Fire.
“It's going to be really, really hard to see our town so destroyed,” said Shari Boyer. “I've seen some images, but I don't think there's anything that is going to prepare me for what is happening back there. It's devastating: the club that he grew up playing at is gone, and so many of our friends have lost homes. Yeah, it's going to be very hard.”
Chris Boyer, husband to Shari and father to Tristan, had stayed home in California. He followed evacuation orders from Altadena and is staying with family friends in a nearby town, but also returns to the family home when he can to dampen the roof of the family home in hopes that a single ember landing atop the structure might not burn it to the ground, as has happened to so many other homes in the area.
“We're in really good communication with all of our people back in Altadena,” said Shari Boyer. “And so far, our house is OK, which is really a miracle, and we're incredibly grateful for that. And so we're just praying for some calm winds and protection and comfort for everybody.”
The emotional crosswinds, though have been swirling like never before: a long-dreamed-of breakthrough in Melbourne, the highest high yet of Tristan’s tennis career. has come simultaneously to the devastation.
“It’s surreal,” Shari told Bounces. “It’s super surreal. We’re really split.”
In a text message exchange a week ago during qualifying, Chris didn’t spare his son Tristan from the truth of devastation to his hometown, but also urged him to keep his eyes honed on his goal in Melbourne.
“Our beloved Altadena is gone,” Chris Boyer told his son, listing places that had been lost. “My heart breaks. But soldiers march on. So you focus on what you have to do and don’t worry about anything here. I’m great considering everything. And the house is fine. Love you so much. I’m so proud of you.”
Powerless to do anything else, Tristan has been following his father’s directive to focus on the task at hand in Melbourne as best he can.
“I think being a high-level athlete, there's always kind of distractions from what you are doing,” Tristan said. “So I kind of just treat this as another one of those when it's time to kind of lock in. One thing that you focus on a lot is just ‘controlling your controllables’—what you can control. That's just a general thing; this kind of falls into that category. It's something that I can't really do anything about right now.”
Tristan said that his mother—and his 77-year-old maternal grandfather, William, who also joined them on the trip—have been sensitive about conversation about the fires during the tournament.
“They've been good about it,” Tristan, who is still getting daily updates from his father, said of his family members in Melbourne. “When I don't want to talk about it, we're not discussing it. If I bring it up, we'll talk about it.”
While he works to minimize the distraction of the devastation as best he can manage, Tristan said he also found inspiration.
“I just want to give people good news,” Tristan said. “We have friends there, and they're following me. So, yeah, I just want to do the best I can for them and hopefully gets resolved quickly…I'm definitely extremely motivated to kind of be something that people definitely can [use to] take their minds off of it and say, ‘He's from here. And he's playing his best for us.’”
Tristan’s mother, Shari, saw her son’s win on Tuesday night as that mission accomplished.
“He said, ‘I’m playing for Altadena,’ and that’s what he did.” Shari told Bounces. “He's just trying to give everyone a little bright spot. That's what he's focused on and that's what we're focused on: just keeping him supported so that he can do what he needs to do.”
The Boyer family are not alone at the Australian Open in terms of being affected by the fires still raging in Los Angeles County.
Naomi Osaka, who has lived in the Los Angeles area since 2019, has also been preoccupied by knowing her home is under threat, with a separate wildfire coming within a few blocks of her home.
Osaka, who won her rematch against Caroline Garcia on Monday night, said she “checks the wildfire map any chance that I get.” She said asked a friend to go to her house to save one thing she wasn’t sure she could replace: her daughter’s birth certificate.
“I think it's tougher now,” Osaka said of the danger of losing her house, “because I find now my home is more of a home because I have memories with my daughter. There's so many things, keepsakes and stuff like that. Obviously you can't hoard them all when you're asking them to go to your house and just grab stuff. So it is really tough in that sense. I'm not there, so I don't know how bad it is or how bad it's going to get. But I think the biggest thing that I am grateful for is that everyone in my family is safe.”
Osaka added that, whenever her tournament ends, she’s not sure she will “go back to L.A. immediately after” as she normally would after being eliminated.
“I don't feel like it's safe enough to go back there,” she said. “It's kind of a little bit in a limbo, but it’s also motivating me to hopefully stay here as long as I can.”
Bounces programming note: I also spoke at length today with Pam Shriver, who was forced to scrap her planned trip to Melbourne to coach Donna Vekic and commentate for ESPN, in order to keep her family safe back home in Los Angeles, which she has done valiantly under extremely difficult circumstances.
That conversation covered a few topics beyond the fires as well, so I thought it made more sense to save for a separate post at Bounces later during this tournament.
Australian Open Day 4 Matches to Watch:
No. 20 Karolina Muchova vs. Naomi Osaka - Second After 11:00 a.m. on Kia Arena
Naomi Osaka, whose draws have been brutal since her return from maternity leave, will have to exorcise another 2024 major demon if she’s to extend her trip in Melbourne through advancing in the tournament.
After taking out Caroline Garcia, who beat her here last year, Osaka draws Karolina Muchova, who beat her in the second round of the U.S. Open last September.
Muchova has been the more in-form player, but Osaka and her team both like pointing out that she technically hasn’t lost yet since joining forces with coach Patrick Mouratoglou in October, as her two losses via injury stoppages when she was ahead or tied.
That this match is on the tournament’s fourth-biggest stadium is pretty stunning, but it’s a great treat for grounds pass holders.
Yoshihito Nishioka vs. No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz - Second After 11:30 a.m. on Margaret Court Arena
These are two of the speediest fellas in tennis, so if you like points where both guys run back and forth and get balls that you’d never have thought were within reach—one of the core thrills of watching tennis, really—then you’ll have fun here.
I also think Alcaraz (and Osaka above, actually) got off pretty well in what’s otherwise been a nightmarish fashion streak for Nike…but that’s something we can perhaps dig more into later.
No. 6 Casper Ruud vs. Jakub Mensik - 7 p.m. on Margaret Court Arena
No. 9 Andrey Rublev was drummed out of the Australian Open in straight sets by Joao Fonseca on Tuesday night; while not nearly as staggering of a talent, Jakub Mensik is another NextGen player who has a vulnerable top-10 seed in his sights here.
Mensik, a big server with raw strength rarely seen in a teen, is part of a Czech renaissance in men’s tennis alongside Tomas Machac and Jiri Lehecka that will be a story to watch this year.
Laura Siegemund vs. No. 5 Zheng Qinwen - 11 a.m. on John Cain Arena
Laura Siegmund is turning 37 in March, but she remains a menace in draws.
Zheng Qinwen had a tougher-than-expected test in her first round against qualifier Anca Todoni, and Siegemund is a headache even for more seasoned pros.
If this match is close or testy, these two strong personalities could have a memorable handshake.
No. 15 Jack Draper vs. Thanasi Kokkinakis - 7 p.m. on John Cain Arena
U.S. Open semifinalist Jack Draper was unconvincing in his first round match, needing five sets to beat clay court specialist Mariano Navone.
Thanasi Kokkinakis is a perennial first-week entertainer at the Australian Open, but he’s still seeking a first appearance in the third round on what’s now his ninth try in the main draw. His campy Greek warrior attire at this tournament deserves a longer run, certainly
Reilly Opelka vs. No. 26 Tomas Machac - 11 a.m. on 1573 Arena
Though still visibly stiff at times due to his back, Reilly Opelka won his first round match with flair, hitting several running winners that I never would have thought he could manage against Belgian qualifier Gauthier Onclin.
He’ll have a much harder time out-athleting Tomas Machac in this one. These are two guys with very different flavors of swagger, and I am very curious how their flavors combine.
Kei Nishikori vs. No. 12 Tommy Paul - Third After 11 a.m. on 1573 Arena
Kei Nishikori, resurgent to start this season after missing years from competition due to injury, pulled off a vintage first-round win over Thiago Monteiro.
Tommy Paul will be able to match Nishikori in baseline rallies, but there could be some concerns about his left shoulder, which received treatment during his harder-than-expected five-set win over Christopher O’Connell in the first round.
Thanks for reading Bounces during the 2025 Australian Open and beyond! -Ben
Muchova v Osaka is going to be must-see TV!! Can't wait.