Australian Open 2026: 114th Edition Begins with Elite Tennis
Get ready for a first-year grand slam of the Australian Open, which starts coming up soon in the tennis world. The Australian Open promises an electrifying tennis spectacle at Melbourne Park. Fans can likely expect exciting matches, with rising stars challenging seasoned champions in top-seed performances. Innovations both on and off court will set the tone for the tennis season ahead. This year offers tennis fans the chance to see records broken and new contenders emerge.
For the 114th edition of the Australian Open and overall 58th in the Open Era for Grand Slams. Additionally, the Australian Open will occur from January 18 to February 1, 2026, at Melbourne Park. Also, this location hosted hard-court play with splendid fans and was the first year of the Grand Slam. However, the Australian Open will feature men’s singles, women’s singles, women’s doubles, and mixed doubles. In addition, these juniors’ events will feature boys’ and girls’ singles and doubles.
While the wheelchair division will include men’s, women’s, and quad singles and doubles. As well as junior wheelchair singles for boys and girls. A crucial clash and expected matches are returning to performance, adding a nostalgic wonder for fans. Notably, junior wheelchair events continue to spot the tournament’s commitment to coverage. In 2026, the Australian Open sets the stage for a vivacious beginning to the global tennis calendar.
Backstory of the Australian Open
In 1905, the Australian Open was founded and held for the first time as the Australasian Championships in Melbourne. In an early year, this tournament shifted to Melbourne more permanently. Afterwards, it was renamed the Australian Championships in 1927 and run with a set of fan bases. Then, in 1969, it reached the Open Era as the Australian Open finalized professional player encounters. For years, the event was played on grass courts at the Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club. In 1988, it moved to Melbourne Park, a modern venue planned to host and grow internationally.
This surface has also grown over time from grass to Rebound Ace and, later, Pelxicushion in 2008. Finally, the Australian Open tournament switched to hard courts in 2020, ensuring consistency for players. The Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the year, features highlights of juniors and wheelchair players. Check out another grand slam tennis tournament.
Event Details for the Australian Open 2026
Qualifiers: January 12, 2026
Start Date: January 18, 2026
Quarter-Finals: January 27, 2026
Semi-Finals: January 30, 2026
Finals: February 1, 2026
Other Events
Wheelchair Events: January 27-31, 2026
Junior Events: January 24-February 2, 2026
Format
The Australian Open 2026 will be played at Melbourne Park and will feature a 128-player singles draw. Even more categories: a 64-team doubles draw and multiple junior and wheelchair tournaments. A main draw event follows a knockout format: a round of 128 filters down to a round of 64. Afterwards, the round of 32, the round of 16, the quarterfinals, the semi-finals, and then the final. Followed by doubles and mixed doubles with a similar elimination format but with smaller draws.
However, the match format is standard across Grand Slam events. The men’s singles draw has 128 players with best-of-five sets. In women’s singles, doubles, mixed doubles, and all junior and wheelchair events, there is a 128-player draw with best-of-three sets. Furthermore, both Men’s Doubles and Women’s Doubles play a 64-team draw with the best of three sets.
Other categories of mixed doubles play on a 32-team draw and best of three sets. Similarly, junior events include boys’ and girls’ singles with 64-player draws and doubles with 32-team draws, both best-of-three sets. Wheelchair events include men’s, women’s, and quad singles and doubles, played to the best-of-three sets. Meanwhile, junior wheelchair singles are also performing with all best-of-three sets.
New Rules for Australian Open 2026
Tie-break formats: All deciding sets include the fifth set in men’s singles and the third set in women’s singles and doubles. Now using a ten-point super tiebreak moves the score range to 6-6.
Shot Clock: A serve for 25 seconds in the middle, and players watch the visible shot clock. This rule keeps the flow strictly on the Australian Open 2026
Seeding
ATP Players
Player
Nationality
Carlos Alcaraz
Spain
Jannik Sinner
Italy
Novak Djokovic
Serbia
Alexander Zverev
Germany
Felix Auger-Aliassime
Canada
Alex de Minaur
Australia
Lorenzo Musetti
Italy
Ben Shelton
USA
Casper Ruud
Norway
Taylor Fritz
USA
WTA Players
Player
Nationality
Aryna Sabalenka
Belarus
Iga Świątek
Poland
Coco Gauff
USA
Elena Rybakina
Kazakhstan
Jessica Pegula
USA
Amanda Anisimova
USA
Jasmine Paolini
Italy
Mirra Andreeva
Russia
Ekaterina Alexandrova
Russia
Madison Keys
USA
Where can I watch the Australian Open 2026?
You can access SuperSport’s broadcast of the Australian Open 2026 for African fans. ATP and WTA players are ready to showcase their potential.
Get ready for the Australian Open 2026, which will air on beIN Sports for Egyptian followers.
In the USA, enthusiasts want to see ESPN and Tennis Channel coverage of the Australian Open 2026.
Catch the Australian Open 2026, which will broadcast on 9Now and Stan Sport for Australian viewers.
Experience the Australian Open 2026, which will air on the CCTV channel from the first round to the final stage of the tournament. Additionally, China fans utensils for QIY streaming options in the Australian Open.
The Australian Open 2026 will air on WOWOW streaming services for Japan’s followers.
In New Zealand, viewers of the Australian Open 2026 will be able to watch it on the Sky channel this year.
Watch the Australian Open 2026 on CJ ENM streaming options for the South Korean followers.
The Australian Open 2026 will air on Sony Sports Selection for the Central Asia region, especially for Afghanistan fans.
Make ready for the Australian Open 2026, which will be broadcast on Eurosport for Azerbaijani followers. Also, this streaming option is more like Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan.
Meanwhile, the Australian Open 2026 will air on Eurosport across Europe. While including Albania, Armenia, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Poland, Romania, Portugal, Spain, and Turkey.
In India, fans want to watch the Australian Open 2026 on Sony Sports, the 1st Grand Slam event of this year. This option is used in Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan.
Alternatively, the Australian Open 2026 can be heard on 99.7FM (Melbourne) and ESPN Sirius XM (US) on the radio; multiple options include Vision Australia Radio, iHeartRadio, and SEN Network.
In the tennis world, the very first Grand Slam of 2026, the Australian Open, will be broadcast in Canada on TSN and RDS.
Schedule-Australian Open 2026
Date & Session
Rounds
Matches Singles
Thursday 1/15 – Day
Qualifying
Qualifying
Friday 1/16 – Day
Qualifying
Qualifying
Saturday 1/17 – Day
Qualifying
Qualifying
Sunday 1/18 – Day
1
First round
Sunday 1/18 – Night
2
First round
Monday 1/19 – Day
3
First round
Monday 1/19 – Night
4
First round
Tuesday 1/20 – Day
5
First round
Tuesday 1/20 – Night
6
First round
Wednesday 1/21 – Day
7
Second round
Wednesday 1/21 – Night
8
Second round
Thursday 1/22 – Day
9
Second round
Thursday 1/22 – Night
10
Second round
Friday 1/23 – Day
11
Third round
Friday 1/23 – Night
12
Third round
Saturday 1/24 – Day
13
Third round
Saturday 1/24 – Night
14
Third round
Sunday 1/25 – Day
15
Fourth round
Sunday 1/25- Night
16
Fourth round
Monday 1/26 – Day
17
Fourth round
Monday 1/26 – Night
18
Fourth round
Tuesday 1/27 – Day
19
Quarterfinals
Tuesday 1/27 – Night
20
Quarterfinals
Wednesday 1/28 – Day
21
Quarterfinals
Wednesday 1/28 – Night
22
Quarterfinals
Thursday 1/29 – Twilight
23
Women’s Semifinals
Friday 1/30 – Day
24
First men’s semifinal
Friday 1/30 – Night
25
Second men’s semifinal
Saturday 1/31 – Twilight
26
Women’s Singles Final | Men’s Doubles Final
Sunday 2/1 – Twilight
27
Women’s Doubles Final | Men’s Singles Final
Australian Open 2026-Prize Pool
Category
Prize Pool
Champion
$4,150,000
Runner-up
$2,150,000
Semi-finalist
$1,250,000
Quarter-finalist
$750,000
Fourth round
$480,000
Third round
$327,750
Second round
$225,000
First round
$150,000
Qualifying – third round
$83,500
Qualifying – second round
$57,000
Qualifying – first round
$40,500
Point Distribution
Senior Points
Event
Men’s Singles
Men’s Doubles
Women’s Singles
Women’s Doubles
Winner
2000
2000
2000
2000
Final
1300
1200
1300
1300
Semi-final
800
720
780
780
Quarter-final
400
360
430
430
Round of 16
200
180
240
240
Round of 32
100
90
130
130
Round of 64
50
0
70
10
Round of 128
10
–
10
–
Qualifier
30
–
40
–
Qualifiers 3
16
–
30
–
Qualifiers 2
8
–
20
–
Qualifiers 1
0
–
2
–
Wheelchair Points
Event
Singles
Doubles
Quad Singles
Quad Doubles
Winner
800
800
800
800
Final
500
500
500
500
Semi-Final
375
375
375
375
Quarter-Final
200
100
200
100
Round of 16
100
N/A
100
N/A
Junior Points
Event
Boys’ Singles
Girls’ Singles
Boys’ Doubles
Girls’ Doubles
Winner
1000
1000
750
750
Final
700
700
525
525
Semi-final
490
490
367
367
Quarter-final
300
300
225
225
Round of 16
180
180
135
135
Round of 32
90
90
–
–
Qualifier
25
25
–
–
Qualifier 3
20
20
–
–
Prediction
This year’s Australian Open bounce-back has remarkable wonders in store for you. A tennis world with one of the grand slams opens up the elite Australian Open. Begins with qualifying from January 12 to January 17. Note it down! In ATP players’ contributions, wild cards are entered into the Men’s Singles category. ATP players are Bu Yunchaokete, James Duckworth, Rinky Hijikata, Kyrian Jacquet, and Patrick Kypson. The following are the WTA players entering the women’s singles main draw. Zarina Diyas, Talia Gibson, Priscilla Hon, Emerson Jones, Elizabeth Mandlik, Taylah Preston, Tiantsoa Rakotomanga Rajaonah, and Venus Williams. This time, there are many more chances to glorify players’ performances in the upcoming Grand Slam event. The Australian Open 2026 keeps coming your way; be ready for that one.