The 2026 Australian Open began on January 18th, with the men’s and women’s draws taking place on Thursday. Italian Jannik Sinner and American Madison Keys are the current men’s and women’s champions respectively.
Sinner is aiming for his third straight Australian Open title. He has reached the finals in each of his past five Grand Slam appearances, including wins at Wimbledon and the US Open. Keys’ win last year is her only Grand Slam victory. Her only other Grand Slam final was at the 2017 US Open, where she lost to Sloane Stephens.
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Possibility of Novak Djokovic vs. Jannik Sinner semi-final
Second-seeded Sinner will begin his fight for his fourth consecutive title against Hugo Gaston (France). Sinner’s path to another title could end with a matchup against American Ben Shelton in the quarterfinals. Sinner has an 8-1 record against Shelton, and the pair met in the Australian Open semifinals last year, with the Italian coming out on top in straight sets, 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-3.
A potential opponent for Sinner in the semi-finals will be Novak Djokovic, a 10-time winner of the under. Djokovic has reached the semifinals the past two years, losing to Sinner in 2024 and dropping out last year against Alexander Zverev.
Djokovic is 4-6 overall against Sinner, with his last win over the Italian coming at the 2023 ATP Finals. Sinner has won the last three times they met at a Grand Slam (Wimbledon and Roland Garros in 2025, and Australian Open in 2024).
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The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam that No. 1 seed Carlos Alcaraz has yet to win. The reigning French Open and US Open champion will begin his journey to the Career Slam against Australia’s Adam Walton.
Shelton, the eighth seed and the highest-ranked American, will face Hugo Humbert of France in the opening round. If both men advance, they could face the retiring Gael Monfils. No. 9 seed Taylor Fritz is looking to improve after losing in the third round last year. He will start against Valentin Royer.
Venus Williams, a seven-time Grand Slam champion, will enter the tournament as a wild card. (Photo by Steve Bell/Getty Images)
(Steve Bell, via Getty Images)
Venus Williams returns and could face Coco Gauff
Venus Williams, 45, will play at the Australian Open for the first time since 2021 after qualifying for the singles tournament as a wild card. The seven-time Grand Slam champion has won five titles in this tournament, all in doubles and mixed doubles. She has reached the singles final twice, losing to her sister Serena in both 2003 and 2017.
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If Williams can beat Serbia’s Olga Danilovic and reigning French Open champion Coco Gauff and defeat Kamila Rakimova, it would be the first time two American women have faced each other since the 2020 Australian Open.
Gauff holds a 2-0 record against Williams, including their first meeting at Wimbledon in 2019, where the 15-year-old earned her first Grand Slam victory and reached the fourth round.
Top seed Aryna Sabalenka has reached the Australian finals in each of the past three years, winning in 2023 and 2024 before losing to Keys last year. Sabalenka faced Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the quarterfinals last year and after going the distance, she could face Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the second round.
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Second seed Iga Świętek was a semifinalist a year ago and is aiming for a career slam with victory in Australia. Her path could include a fourth-round match against two-time Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka, an American.
Amanda Anisimova, who was eliminated in the second round last year, is the fourth seed and could face Keyes in the quarterfinals. Jessica Pegula has not made it past the third round since reaching the quarterfinals of three consecutive tournaments from 2021 to 2023. The sixth seed will start her match against 23-year-old Russian Anastasia Zakharova, with a chance to advance to the finals potentially including a fourth-round match against Keyes.
