2024: Major & WTA Tour debuts and first title
Kessler made her WTA Tour debut at the Auckland Open after qualifying. [10] She lost in the first round to Lulu Sun. [11]
For her major debut, she received a wildcard at the Australian Open [12] [13] after winning the USTA's Wild Card Challenge, and reached the second round, recording her first major match win over qualifier Fiona Ferro. She lost in the second round to Linda Nosková. [14] In February, she won the biggest title of her career to that date at the WTA 125 in Puerto Vallarta, defeating Taylah Preston in the final. [15]
In March, she received a wildcard for the Indian Wells Open making there her WTA 1000 debut, [16] losing to Nuria Párrizas Díaz in the first round. [17] In April, she entered the main draw of the WTA 500 Charleston Open as a lucky loser, making her debut at this level. She lost in the first round to Caroline Wozniacki. [18]
Kessler qualified for the Wimbledon, making her debut at this Grand Slam tournament, [19] losing to ninth seed Maria Sakkari in the first round. [20]
Following winning the W100 title in Landisville, Pennsylvania, she reached the top 100 on 12 August 2024. [21] [22] [23]
At the Tennis in Cleveland, she reached her first WTA Tour quarterfinal by defeating fellow wildcard Katrina Scott [24] [25] and fourth seed Wang Xinyu for her first top 50 win. [26] [27] Next, she defeated Arantxa Rus in straight sets. [28] [29] Kessler reached her first final with a come-from-behind three set victory over fifth seed Anastasia Potapova, for her second top 50 win, [30] [31] and won her maiden Tour title defeating top seed Beatriz Haddad Maia. [32] [33]
She also received a wildcard for the US Open making her debut at her home slam, [34] losing in the first round to 19th seed Marta Kostyuk. [35]
2025: Hobart title, top 50
Kessler started her season at the 2025 Brisbane International, where she defeated Magda Linette, [36] before losing to 15th seed Yulia Putintseva in the second round. [37] The following week, she reached the final at the Hobart International with wins over seventh seed Rebecca Šramková, [38] María Lourdes Carlé [39] top seed Dayana Yastremska [40] and sixth seed Elina Avanesyan. [41] [42] In the championship match, Kessler defeated second seed Elise Mertens in three sets to secure her second career title. [43] [44] As a result, she reached the top 50 at world No. 47 in the WTA singles rankings on 13 January 2025. [45] [46]
In February, at the Dubai Tennis Championships, Kessler defeated Amanda Anisimova in the first round [47] and then overcame world No. 3, Coco Gauff, to record her first win against a top-10 ranked player. [48] [49] She lost in the third round to Karolína Muchová in a match which went to a deciding set tiebreak. [50]
Kessler reached the final at the ATX Open, but despite losing to top seed Jessica Pegula, returned to the top 50 at world No. 48 on 3 March 2025. [51] Alongside Zhang Shuai, she was also runner-up in the doubles at the same tournament, losing the championship match to Anna Blinkova and Yuan Yue. [52]
United States 
