Australian Open

January 20, 2026 10:34 PM

Short shift for Sinner, Keys through as Osaka makes bold Melbourne statement

Jannik Sinner and Madison Keys made winning starts to their Australian Open title defences on Tuesday but former champion Naomi Osaka made the biggest splash on day three of the tournament with a dazzling entrance before her match. Sinner, who is aiming for a third straight title at Melbourne Park, spent only 68 minutes on court in his first outing of the 2026 season before Hugo Gaston retired because of injury while losing 6-2 6-1. The world number two consoled the weeping Frenchman and wishe...

January 20, 2026 3:25 PM

Jannik Sinner through to Australian Open second round after Gaston retires

Double defending champion Jannik Sinner advanced to the second round of the Australian Open on Tuesday in just over an hour of tennis after his French opponent Hugo Gaston retired upon losing the first two sets 6-2 6-1. In his first official match since beating Carlos Alcaraz for the ATP Finals crown, the Italian world number two was in ominous form on the Rod Laver Arena court he has ruled for two years before the match was cut short. After losing the second set, Gaston gestured he could no l...

January 20, 2026 3:03 PM

Australian Open: Venus Williams exits women’s doubles in first round

Seven-time Grand Slam singles champion Venus Williams and partner Ekaterina Alexandrova were knocked out of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open on Tuesday, losing 6-3, 6-4 to France’s Elsa Jacquemot and Colombia’s Emiliana Arango in the first round. The defeat ended Williams’ campaign at Melbourne Park, following her first-round exit in the singles to Serbia’s Olga Danilovic. The American was making her first appearance at the Australian Open since 2021 and her first competitiv...

January 20, 2026 9:57 AM

Australian Open stands firm on prize money amid player concerns

Governing body Tennis Australia (TA) has defended the amount of prize money on offer at the Australian Open as twice Grand Slam champion Coco Gauff warned that players would raise the pressure if their demands were not met. The Australian Open hiked prize money to A$111.5 million ($74.56 million) for the current tournament, bringing it ahead of last year's French Open ($65.42 million) and Wimbledon ($71.60 million) but short of the U.S. Open's purse ($90 million). The world's top pla...

January 19, 2026 10:07 PM

Djokovic leads old guard through in Melbourne, Swiatek and Gauff progress

Novak Djokovic safely negotiated the first hurdle in his quest for a 25th Grand Slam title at the Australian Open on Monday as women's title challengers Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff also eased into the second round on day two of the championships. There were straightforward victories for Daniil Medvedev, local hope Alex De Minaur as well as top Americans Amanda Anisimova and Jessica Pegula in front of another bumper crowd of 100,763 fans at Melbourne Park. Djokovic was last out on the Rod Laver ...

January 18, 2026 5:50 PM

Fans frustrated as record day one crowd packs out Australian Open

Australian Open organisers came under fire on a record-breaking opening day on Sunday as frustrated fans sweated in long queues and complained of confusion over a halt in ticket sales. The year's opening Grand Slam saw 73,235 people come through the gates in the first day session at a heaving Melbourne Park, smashing the record of 68,883 set during the 2019 Australian Open. Plenty more fans were turned away in disappointment after officials paused sales of the cheaper "ground pass" tickets wit...

January 18, 2026 11:56 AM

Marketa Vondrousova withdraws from Australian Open with injury

Former Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova withdrew from the Australian Open on Sunday after the Czech player said she was dealing with a shoulder injury. Vondrousova, who won her lone Grand Slam title at Wimbledon in 2023, has struggled for form since a quarter-final run at the U.S. Open last year, making several first-round exits. "I'm really sorry that I had to withdraw from the Australian Open due to ongoing shoulder issues," she wrote on Instagram. "After everything I've been dealing ...

January 18, 2026 1:04 PM

Jannik Sinner returns to Melbourne stronger after doubts and doping cloud

Defending champion Jannik Sinner arrives at the Australian Open a different man to the one who walked into Melbourne Park a year ago, stronger in body and mind after navigating a period he describes as the most difficult of his young career. The 24-year-old Italian was playing under the cloud of an unresolved doping case last year, with questions following him onto court and a feeling that other players were looking at him differently. He successfully defended his title but later said he had c...

January 18, 2026 11:40 AM

Carlos Alcaraz focused on career Grand Slam at Melbourne Park after Ferrero split

Carlos Alcaraz said winning the Australian Open to complete the career Grand Slam was the main goal of a season in which Juan Carlos Ferrero is not by his side as head coach for the first time since he turned professional at 15. The world number one split with Ferrero last month, abruptly ending a seven-year partnership that delivered 24 titles including six Grand Slam crowns. The 22-year-old would eclipse Don Budge as the youngest man to achieve the career Grand Slam by winning at Melbourne P...

January 18, 2026 11:39 AM

Stan Wawrinka at peace as former champion plays last Australian Open

Stan Wawrinka will play his final Australian Open with a sense of nostalgia for the Grand Slam that made his career as well as a feeling of calm about the road ahead. The 40-year-old Swiss, who won three Grand Slam titles during the golden era of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, confirmed that 2026 will be his last season on the professional tour. A slow-burning career defined by a glorious, one-handed backhand bloomed at the 2014 Australian Open when he beat Rafa Nadal in the final after pro...