The 2026 Australian Open, the 114th edition of the season’s first Grand Slam, is set to ignite Melbourne Park from 18 January to 1 February, promising two weeks of blistering tennis, bold storylines, and a field stacked with talent hungry for early-season supremacy.
As the tour arrives refreshed, and in some cases reconfigured, after the off-season, the year’s opening major once again becomes the sport’s ultimate proving ground.
In the men’s singles, all eyes will fall naturally on Jannik Sinner, the defending champion whose 2025 campaign confirmed his transformation from rising star to entrenched powerhouse. His baseline precision and mental steel have made him one of the tour’s most reliable performers, but defending a title in Melbourne is rarely straightforward.
Carlos Alcaraz returns looking to reclaim momentum after an up-and-down 2025 season, and the faster conditions Down Under could play perfectly to his explosive first-strike instincts. Then there is Novak Djokovic, the perennial Melbourne master, whose extraordinary record at the Australian Open makes him dangerous no matter his age, ranking, or recent form.
And Daniil Medvedev, ever the disruptor, continues to thrive on big stages; his elastic defense and tactical stubbornness have carried him to multiple Melbourne finals, and he remains a threat to outlast and outthink anyone in a best-of-five dogfight. With this quartet circling the same prize, the men’s draw looks primed for a fortnight of heavyweight collisions.
The women’s singles landscape feels even more unpredictable. Madison Keys, the defending champion, produced one of the biggest stories of 2025 with her resurgence, but repeating that magic will require surviving a field stacked with ferocious frontrunners. Iga Świątek, still the game’s most complete and ruthlessly consistent competitor, begins the season with the No. 1 target firmly on her back—and seems energized rather than intimidated by it.
Aryna Sabalenka, whose raw power and emotional fearlessness have turned her into a Melbourne fan favorite, will again be one of the toughest outs on hard courts. And Coco Gauff, now fully settled into life as a major champion, brings the blend of athleticism, resilience, and fast-improving aggression that makes her a constant title threat.
With champions defending, rivals surging, and the Melbourne heat unforgiving as ever, the 2026 Australian Open looks set to launch the tennis season in grand, volatile, and high-drama style, exactly as fans have come to expect.
Tune in for the Australian Open from Sunday, 18 January, 1pm WAT (day sessions) and 9am WAT (night sessions), live on SuperSport Tennis, SuperSport Variety 1, and SuperSport Variety 2.
