Grand Slam | DD News

January 18, 2026 11:42 AM

Wimbledon expansion plans back in UK court for latest legal battle

Wimbledon's plans to expand the grounds for the world's oldest and most prestigious Grand Slam tennis tournament were back in court on Friday, as campaigners again seek to block the project. The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club wants to treble the size of its main site, which has been home to the Championships since 1877, in a 200 million-pound ($267.9 million) project which would feature 39 new courts. The AELTC's plans to redevelop a former golf course which it owns are supported by ...

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...

January 18, 2026 11:38 AM

Australia’s great hope Alex de Minaur balances ‘noise’ and perks at home Slam

Alex de Minaur knows there is no hiding at the Australian Open, especially as the home nation’s biggest hope of ending a 50-year drought for a men's champion. The sixth seed has grown accustomed to the attention that comes with playing in Melbourne, while finding the buzz a double-edged sword as he tries to balance expectations, obligations and his own competitive needs. “There's definitely a lot more off-court activities, off-court noise, stuff that you've got to deal with and handle that...

January 18, 2026 11:38 AM

Aryna Sabalenka primed for Australian Open after exhibition experiments

Aryna Sabalenka's off-season featured a string of exhibition matches and the world number one said on Friday they had given her the ideal platform to experiment and refine her game ahead of her push for a third Australian Open title. While the majority of players chose to wind down after a gruelling 11-month campaign, Sabalenka played exhibition matches in Atlanta and New York last month before facing Nick Kyrgios in a controversial "Battle of the Sexes" showdown in Dubai. She began the 2026 s...

January 18, 2026 11:36 AM

Stefanos Tsitsipas seeks the joy of competition ahead of Melbourne Park return

Stefanos Tsitsipas returns to Grand Slam tennis following a back injury that derailed the second half of his 2025 campaign and the former Australian Open runner-up said on Friday he was only focused on enjoying himself at Melbourne Park. The former world number three played two singles matches for Greece in the Davis Cup in September after his second-round exit at the U.S. Open a month earlier, before taking time off to recover from the niggling issue.Ahead of the year's opening major, where he...

January 18, 2026 11:53 AM

Djokovic hunts Grand Slam record, Gauff and Swiatek in action at Australian Open

The first round of the Australian Open continues on Monday with Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek beginning their campaigns and Novak Djokovic resuming his quest for a record 25th Grand Slam title. TOP MEN'S MATCH: DJOKOVIC V MARTINEZ Djokovic has been stuck on 24 Grand Slam titles since winning the U.S. Open in 2023 but the Serb will see Melbourne Park as his best chance to win another major and move past Margaret Court to take sole possession of the record. A 10-times Australian Open champion, Djo...

January 18, 2026 12:45 PM

‘Fully Australian’ Daria Kasatkina ready to embrace home expectations at Melbourne Park

Russian-born Daria Kasatkina said she is ready to embrace the "good pressure" of a home Grand Slam when she steps onto the Melbourne Park court as an Australian citizen for the first time. The 28-year-old played on the tour as a neutral athlete after Russian players were banned from competing under their own flag following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Having found herself thrust into the political spotlight, Kasatkina became one of the few Russian-born players to publicly criticise th...

January 18, 2026 12:43 PM

Venus Williams grateful for Australian Open wildcard

Seven-times Grand Slam champion Venus Williams thanked Australian Open organisers on Saturday for giving her a wildcard that will see the 45-year-old American become the oldest woman ever to compete in the singles main draw. Williams returned to tennis last season after a 16-month break, winning one of her four tour-level matches before starting 2026 with a first-round defeat by 53rd-ranked Pole Magda Linette as a wildcard at the Auckland Classic last week. Granted another wildcard for the Hob...