It’s time to start the professional tennis season anew with the first major of the year — the Australian Open — when hundreds of the world’s top tennis players will gather in Melbourne to test their chances on the hard courts (and in the Aussie summer heat).

The main draw kicks off at 7:00 pm ET on Saturday, January 17, 2026. The tournament will close with the men’s singles final and women’s doubles final on Sunday, February 1, 2026, at 3:30 am ET.

Here’s a preview of this year’s Australian Open, with a look at some of the big questions and fine details so you can get the most out of the next two weeks of action at Melbourne Park.

In the U.S., ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPN+ are the main avenues for catching matches throughout the next two weeks of the Australian Open. ABC will pick up a pocket or two of coverage, and Tennis Channel will host a program before coverage begins each day, as well as show replays.

For more details, consult Tennis Watchers and the Australian Open for its list of global broadcast partners.

1) Will anybody win the career slam? Well, not just anybody. We have two players chasing the career slam in Melbourne: Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek. Most of us figured Alcaraz would get there sooner rather than later. With Swiatek, it was reasonable to assume that Wimbledon would be the sticking point, not the Australian Open. But here we are — a year when not one — but two! — great champions have a shot at making history. Let’s hope they both get it!

2) Will Madison Keys defend her title? Magic 8 Ball says: “Don’t count on it.” That’s no knock on Keys. Even the most dominant players have a hard time defending their titles (just ask Daniil Medvedev 🥴). And, let’s face it, Keys has not been dominant. Since this time last year, she’s reached only four quarterfinals and two semifinals. A more appropriate goal might be to beat her seeding and make the quarterfinals — a goal that would keep her from hemorrhaging points. Still, let’s not close the door on a big run from Keys. Nobody saw last year’s coming.

3) What can we expect from Carlos Alcaraz? With his longtime coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, decamped, what version of Carlos Alcaraz will we see in Melbourne? With Samuel Lopez stepping up, Alcaraz says he feels confident in his team. But does Lopez have the magic words that will snap Alcaraz out of his frequent mid-match walkabouts? There’s only one way to find out.

4) Who are the Australian Open surprise candidates? With Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz scooping up the last two-plus years of majors, it’s hard to imagine a dark horse among the men. But check these names for players who can wreak havoc on the draw: Jakub Mensik (if his fitness holds up in the summer heat), Hubert Hurkacz (if his body is in full cooperation), and Sebastian Baez (if he’s not taken down by the gentle giant, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, in the first round).

In the women’s draw, watch newcomer Victoria Mboko. That might feel like a strange label given her top 20 ranking. But since she was playing ITF events this time last year, 2026 marks her first Australian Open. Be sure to check out 18-year-old American Iva Jovic. She snuck into the seedings, and she’s coming off a strong pre-Australian Open run, making the semifinals in Auckland and the final in Hobart. And she’s got one of the unfortunate first-round matches against compatriot Katie Volynets.

It’s rare that all the top 8 seeds make it to the quarterfinals of a major, but — who knows? — maybe we can make Australian Open history this year. And if that happens, here are the projected quarterfinal match-ups based on seedings.

Women’s quarterfinals:
1 Aryna Sabalenka vs. 7 Jasmine Paolini
3 Coco Gauff vs. 8 Mirra Andreeva
6 Jessica Pegula vs. 4 Amanda Anisimova
5 Elena Rybakina vs. 2 Iga Swiatek

Men’s quarterfinals:
1 Carlos Alcaraz vs. 6 Alex de Minaur
3 Alexander Zverev vs. Gabriel Diallo
7 Felix Auger-Aliassime vs. 5 Lorenzo Musetti
4 Novak Djokovic vs. 2 Jannik Sinner

Take a look at the full up-to-date women’s singles draw and the men’s singles draw on the Australian Open site.

Whether it’s fellow country people or fan favorites facing off — or just the unluckiest of draws — here are some first-round Australian Open matches that we simply wish weren’t happening.

In the women’s draw:

In the men’s draw:

Eight men and eight women received wild cards into the Australian Open. Big names, scrappy upstarts, and junior stars have made their way onto the list.

Men’s Singles Wild Cards: Yunchaokete Bu (CHN), James Duckworth (AUS), Rinky Hijikata (AUS), Kyrian Jacquet (FRA), Patrick Kypson (USA), Christopher O’Connell (AUS), Jordan Thompson (AUS), Stan Wawrinka (SUI)

Women’s Singles Wild Cards: Zarina Diyas (KAZ), Talia Gibson (AUS), Priscilla Hon (AUS), Emerson Jones (AUS), Elizabeth Mandlik (USA), Taylah Preston (AUS), Tiantsoa Rakotomanga Rajaonah (FRA), Venus Williams (USA)

Doubles wild cards to be announced.

After four days of grueling qualifying rounds at Melbourne Park, here are the 16 women and men who qualified for this year’s Australian Open main draw:

Women’s singles: Zhuoxuan Bai (CHN), Nikola Bartunkova (CZE), Linda Fruhvirtova (CZE), Storm Hunter (AUS), Maddison Inglis (AUS), Anhelina Kalinina (UKR), Linda Klimovicova (POL), Guiomar Maristany Zuleta De Reales (ESP), Himeno Sakatsume (JPN), Aliaksandra Sasnovich (BEL), Zeynep Sonmez (TUR), Marina Stakusic (CAN), Yuliia Starodubtseva (UKR), Sloane Stephens (USA), Lanlana Tararudee (THA), Yue Yuan (CHN)

Men’s singles: Nishesh Basavareddy (USA), Martin Damm (USA), Liam Draxl (CAN), Jaime Faria (PRT), Arthur Fery (GBR), Arthur Gea (FRA), Raphael Jodar (ESP), Nicolai Budkov Kjaer (NOR), Jason Kubler (AUS), Francesco Maestrelli (ITA), Rei Sakamoto (JPN), Dane Sweeny (AUS), Zach Svajda (USA), Yibing Wu (CHN), Elias Ymer (SWE), Michael Zheng (USA)

Players at the Australian Open will compete for their share of AUD $111.5 million (U.S. $74.9 million) prize pool this year, after Tennis Australia announced a 16 percent bump in the total prize money for 2026.

*Conversion based upon exchange rate at time of writing.

Majors are the time for cashing in not just on prize money, but also on ranking points. Here’s how the singles points break down:

A few things to get you in the mood:

Keep up with the Australian Open conversations on social media: