The Australian Open ’26 left rich impressions.
The “Bits And Bobs” included…
Big Bikkies…
The Australian Open established a new standard… awarding AU$111.5 million in prize money. This meant a 16% increase from 2025.
Chock-A-Block…
With 1,150,044 people coming through the Melbourne Park gates, the AO set an attendance record for the main draw fortnight.
During the three weeks, including Opening Week with the qualies, a record 1,368,043 fans attended.
The first Sunday attracted the biggest Day/Night total attendance in tournament history – a record which was broken the next day. Two days later, that record was surpassed, and immediately broken again for the ultimate record. The first Thursday now holds the all-time record at 103,956 people attending across its day and night sessions.
Only four of the 15 days did not set a day or night session record for the particular day. On two of those days, the first Saturday and the second Tuesday, temperatures reached 43°C (109.4°F) and 45°C (113°F).
The weather did not prevent a record for a middle Sunday Day/Night Total being set despite the delay to play caused by a “Very Poor” air quality rating. Bushfire smoke had blown into Melbourne from the Otway Ranges, 162 kilometres (101 miles) away, and play had to be suspended until after midday when it had cleared.
Two And Two…
Aryana Sabalenka made her fourth straight Women’s Singles final. Martina Hingis is the record holder, with six consecutive appearances between 1997 and 2002 – winning the first three.
Sabalenka is now two and two. In 2023, she defeated Eleana Rybakina 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, the next year downed Zheng Qinwen 6–3, 6–2. She lost to Madison Keys in a three dramatic sets in 2025, and to Rybakina, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 this outing.
Bushfire Appeal…
On January 13th at Rod Laver Arena exhibition matches between Top 10 seeds. Elena Rybakina and Jasmine Paolini, followed by Alexander Zverev and Lorenzo Musetti, were staged to benefit the 2026 Victorian Bushfire Appeal.
Vicki Reid, Executive Director of the Australian Tennis Foundation, said, “It is heartbreaking to see the devastation these bushfires are causing across Victoria and to see so many people and communities suffering.
“The tennis community is rallying together to help… Tonight is about coming together for a great cause while enjoying an incredible evening of tennis.”
Those attending were encouraged to purchase Australian Tennis Foundation Lottery tickets, which supported relief efforts.
Never Before…
For the first time ever both the Men’s and Women’s Doubles final scores were the same. Christian Harrison and Neil Skupski, the No. 6 seeds, downed wild cards Jason Kubler and Marc Polmans while Else Mertens and Zhang Shuai, seeded No.4, defeated Anna Danilina and Aleksandra Krunic, No. 7 seeds, both by 7-6, 6-4 scores.
Adding to the the men’s final, the retired older brothers of the winners, Ryan Harrison, the 2017 Roland Garros doubles champion, and Ken Skupski, a quarterfinalist in Melbourne and at The Championships, joined the champions on court for the trophy presentation.
Mertens secured her third Australian doubles championship having won with Aryana Sabalenka in 2021 and Hsieh Su-Wei in 2024. For Zhang, it was her second after teaming with Samantha Stosur in 2019.
Mixed Doubled…
John Peers and Olivia Gadecki, the “Wonderful Wild Cards”, who defeated their fellow wild cards John-Patrick Smith and Kimberly Birrell in three sets last year, won the Mixed Doubles again… this time over Manuel Guinard and Kristina Mladenovic, 4-6, 6-3, 10-8.
They became the first Australian back-to-back champion team since Ken Fletcher and Margaret Court in 1963 and ’64.
Age Was A Number…
And that was proven when Novak Djokovic, at 38, “Seeking No. 25 Slam” was a Men’s Singles finalist. But that wasn’t the only “Golden Oldie” showing.
Stan Wawrinka, at 40, edged Laslo Đere in the first round, then went the 4-6, 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 7-6 distance against qualifier Arthur Géa in his next match, before losing in four sets to Taylor Fritz.
Marin Čilić, the “Kid” at 37, won two matches in straight sets against Daniel Altmaier and Dennis Shapovalov before losing to Casper Ruud in four sets.
Venus Williams, at 45 years and 7 months old, was “Timeless…” Though she lost in the first round in both singles (in three sets) and doubles, she was the “Ageless Leader…”.
She was followed by 41-year-old Vera Zvonareva who teamed with Ena Shibahara to reach the Women’s Doubles semifinals, where the eventual tournament winners Elise Mertens and Shuai Zhang were better. In the second round, the Mertens/Zhang duo defeated teenagers Iva Jovic and Victoria Mboko, 5-7, 6-4, 7-6, whose combined age was 37, the same as Zhang.
Hsieh Su-Wei, who turned 40 on January 4th, was a Women’s Doubles quarterfinalist with Jeļena Ostapenko.
Tatjana Maria, at 38, was defeated by Petra Marčinko 6-3, 7-5 in the first round. But compatriot Laura Siegemund was better than her 37 years, edging 18th seed Liudmila Samsonova 0-6, 7-5, 6-4 in the first round, before Maddison Inglis defeated her, 6-4, 6-7, 7-6. Siegemund and Sofia Kenin reached the round of 16 in the doubles before Hsieh and Ostapenko dismissed them.
Qualifiers And Lucky Losers…
Those who qualify at a Slam survive three rounds of stress.
Those who succeeded…
The US topped the Men’s Qualifying count with four – Nishesh Basavareddy, Martin Damm, Zachary Svajda and Michael Zheng.
For Australia, Jason Kubler and Dane Sweeny made the grade.
Then it was “One-offs…”
Canada – Liam Draxl
China – Wu Yibing
France – Arthur Géa
Great Britain – Arthur Frey
Italy – Francesco Maestrelli
Japan – Rei Sakamoto
Norway – Nicolai Budkov Kjær
Portugal – Jaime Faria
Spain – Rafael Jódar
Lucky Losers were:
Belgium – Alexander Blockx
Croatia – Dino Prižmić
US – Mackenzie McDonald
Four countries were the Women’s Qualifying leaders with two players each:
Australia – Storm Hunter and Maddison Inglis
China – Bai Zhuxuan and Yuan Yue
Czech Republic – Linda Fruhvirtová and Nikola Bartůňková
Ukraine – Yuliia Starodubtseva and Anhelina Kalinina
More “One-offs…”
Canada – Marina Stakusic
Japan – Himeno Sakatsume
Poland – Linda Klimovičová
Russia – Aliaksandra Sasnovich
Spain – Guiomar Maristany
Thailand – Lanlana Tararudee
Turkey – Zeynep Zeynep Sönmez
US – Sloane Stephens
Lucky Loser was:
US – Taylor Townsend
Recognized…
Bill Bowrey was inducted into the Australian Tennis Hall of Fame, with his bronze bust being added to the collection of luminaries in Garden Square at Melbourne Park.
Bowrey was the last amateur to win the Men’s Singles when he defeated Juan Gisbert Sr. 7-5, 2-6, 9-7, 6-4 in the 1968 final of the Australian Championships (now the Australian Open).
He learned to play on the loam (clay) courts at the Glebe Police Boys Club in Sydney and was coached by Don Ferguson.
Lesley Turner Bowrey, his wife of more than 60 years – 13 times grand slam champion and Hall of Fame honoree in 1998 – joined in the Rod Laver Arena ceremony.
Kia Quarter Century…
Kia has been an AO partner for 25 years, which was the reason for the “Night of Legends” on the final day of the tournament. Kia Australia Ambassadors, Ashleigh Barty and Dylan Alcott were part of the presentation.
Rafael Nadal, Kia’s Global Ambassador since 2004, was flown over to mark the occasion with a Q&A session for fans before he watched the men’s final.
The Kia partnership, one of the longest-standing sports sponsorships in Australia, currently runs until 2028.
Fed Back…
Roger Federer, who had not been to the AO since 2021, hit in a practice session with Casper Ruud then participated in the Opening Ceremony, teaming with Andre Agassi against Lleyton Hewitt and Pat Rafter. Agassi “Subbed Out” for Ash Barty… and she and Federer were the 2-4, 4-2, 4-2 “Exo” winners.
ATP journalist Andy West wrote about Federer’s January 15th press conference, saying, “Even in a career as packed with highlights as Roger Federer’s, some moments still stand out.
“The Swiss icon was a six-time champion at the Australian Open, where on Thursday he spoke to media ahead of his appearance at the opening ceremony of the 2026 edition of the hard-court major. Yet for a number of reasons, Federer identifies his fifth title in Melbourne as the one that stands out the most…
“Federer overcame his great rival Rafael Nadal in a five-set championship-match thriller to cap his 2017 run at Melbourne Park. The match included a 26-shot rally, with Nadal serving at 3-4, deuce in the fifth set, which Federer claimed with a stunning forehand down the line. It was a shot that has lived long in the memory of tennis fans.”
Ball Kid Record…
When I improved enough to play real tournaments, ones that were sanctioned, one of the tasks that faced those who had won first round was to be a ball boy, fetching wayward shots that were caromed around the court. I began my illustrious “I have no idea what I am doing” career at the historic Los Angeles Tennis Club.
It was “Thankless…” which is why learning that this year’s AO Ball Kid squad was a record setting number – 435, I had to mention the fact in my tournament wrap up.
The group reflected the tournament’s global appeal. There were participants from international exchanges: two from Roland-Garros, six from the China Open, and 20 from Korea.
The 28 interstate Ball Kids, including “Top Guns” from the 2025 Summer of Tennis, along with the return of the First Nations Ball Kids Program with seven participants, was record setting.
The youngsters trained for six months and made their debut on the first day of AO Qualifying, January 12th Monday.
Story Telling…
The AO set a broadcasting standard beaming 24/17 for 15 days as Tennis Australia Chief Content Officer Darren Pearce explained, “We revel in designing a world-class experience for everyone who comes to the Australian Open, however the vast majority of our fans consume the AO via our many broadcast and content streams across multiple platforms,”
“That’s why we’re obsessed with constantly evolving, expanding what we offer, finding new ways to tell stories and creating fresh and exciting content consumption experiences.
“We’re always looking for ways to keep fans hooked, whether it’s through striking visuals, data-driven storylines or technology that brings them closer to the action, AO26 is about elevating the tennis, the stage and the player – entertainment, culture and connection on a global scale.”
The US commentary team included Tim Henman, Mark Petchey, Andrea Petkovic, Daniela Hantuchova, Laura Robson, Robbie Koenig, Chanda Rubin, Chris Stubbs, John Fitzgerald, Ryan Harrison, Rennae Stubbs, Brad Stine and Coco Vandeweghe. On court, Jim Courier again proved why he is “Unrivaled” while Petkovic, in her post-match chats with players and in her Finite Jest columns, was in Top 10 form a position she achieved during her 16 year career… She drew praise for the fact she speaks German, English, French and Serbian and writes in English better than most who claim the language is their native tongue. Always a keen observer, she was magnificent, pointing out, “… seven of the top eight men’s seeds and six of the top eight women’s seeds reached the quarterfinals for the first time in the 58 years of the Open Tennis.”
Big Brother…
For almost a decade the AO has monitored what was taking place in some player areas. Mounted cameras hang from the ceiling and provide a constant stream of behind-the-scenes vision to the control room.
But Coco Gauff, having disappeared in a 6-1, 6-2 quarterfinal loss to Elina Svitolina, discovered video of her off-court post-match racquet smashing had been recorded.
Unhappy with her play, the No. 3 seed had held it together until she reached the walkway in the players’ area then destroyed her racquet. Channel 9 and TNT Sports broadcast the demolition which became “A cause célèbre…”
Gauff from the beginning of her career has been a “Cut above…”. That she lost it isn’t surprising, it’s called “Being human…”
She explained, “I tried to go somewhere where they wouldn’t broadcast it, but obviously they did. Maybe some conversations can be had, because I feel like at this tournament the only private place, we have is the locker room…
“I think for me… I don’t want to lash out on my team. They’re good people. They don’t deserve that, and I know I’m emotional. I just took the minute to go and do that. I don’t think it’s a bad thing. Like I said, I don’t try to do it on court in front of kids and things like that, but I do know I need to let out that emotion”.
Asked in an ESPN interview about the lack of privacy, Iga Świątek said, “The question is, are we tennis players or are we, like, animals in the zoo where they are observed even when they poop (which she apologized for saying)… OK, that was exaggerating obviously, but it would be nice to have some privacy.
“It would be nice also to, I don’t know, have your own process and not always be, like, observed.”
In the same ESPN story, Jessica Pegula said, “Coco wasn’t wrong when she said the only place is the locker room. We’re on the court on TV, you come inside, you’re on TV. Literally the only time you’re not being recorded is when you’re going to shower and going to the bathroom. I think that’s something we need to cut back on for sure.”
Pegula, hoping the Gauff’ situation would increase discussions about player privacy, added, “It seems to be worse here than other years, so I think now it’s going to definitely be talked about and highlighted again moving forward. It’s very intrusive.”
The players united in expressing their unhappiness with “Cameras everywhere…” or as Novak Djokovic called it, “Big Brother…”
In response to the players’ concerns, Tennis Australia issued a statement saying they strive for “the right balance between showcasing the personalities and skills of the players, while ensuring their comfort and privacy.”
“Cameras capturing behind-the-scenes are positioned in operational areas where the players warm up, cool down and make their journey to and from the court. This is all designed to provide fans with a deeper connection to the athletes and help them build their fan base.
“As always, we value feedback from the players and will continue to work collaboratively to ensure the right balance.”
Mothers Tenning …
…is a fitting way to end “Australian Open ’26… Bit And Bobs”…
On February 2nd, when the new rankings were released, Belinda Bencic and Elina Svitolina had created history. For the first time, two mothers were ranked inside the WTA Top 10 at the same time.
Bencic rose a point to No. 9 ranking despite losing to qualifier Nikola Bartůňková in the second round, 6-3, 0-6, 6-4, while Svitolina, a 6-2, 6-3 semifinalist to Aryana Sabalenka, jumped from No. 12 to 10.
Title photo by Vanessa Taylor