Tennis fans taking the tram to Rod Laver Arena stop were squashed into every crevice of the vehicle to get to Day 1 of “Opening Week”.
And the grounds of Melbourne Park were bustling in a way not seen on the Opening Day of any the four previous AO Opening Weeks.
It turned out that the impression of far greater crowds today was correct. A total of 29,261 people attended, up from the previous record of 7,543 set in 2025.
A mild summer temperature of 24°C with plenty of sunshine was no doubt a big part of the reason for the large crowd this year.
In another incentive to attend in 2026, Day 1 offered free entry for all children.
The first year of Opening Week, in 2023, was known as Welcome Week and Day 1 felt almost like you had the place to yourself. With the name change to Opening Week in 2024, the rain poured down on the first day and the start of matches was delayed over and over again until play was completely abandoned for the day.
Every year, the Opening Week attractions for families increase at the Ballpark and the Grand Slam Oval.
But most importantly to tennis aficionados, Opening Week is the qualifying event before the start of the tournament proper.
Melbourne Park spans 40 hectares (almost 99 acres) along the Yarra River. Apparently, that’s not big enough for the amount of spectators. Tournament Director Craig Tiley has explained that Tennis Australia’s architect suggested the only way to go was up. So neighbouring Courts 16 and 17 have acquired a new double deck viewing area. Catering to both courts is a new meat pie and beer bar.
These courts were previously part of a larger group numbering up to 23. But 18 to 23 have been demolished and replaced by an area known as The Village, featuring a Clubhouse, bar and AO merchandise shop.
The first match on Court 16 featured an emerging player Germany has pinned its hopes on. Justin Engel turned 18 a couple of days ago and is currently ranked 183.
He made his debut at the Next Gen ATP Finals in December, following the withdrawal of Jakub Mensik. Although he didn’t manage a win against higher ranked opponents Nishesh Basavareddy, Alexander Blockx and Dino Prižmić, he played well enough to take the latter two players to four sets (albeit in the Fast4 format).
Today Engel played 24 year old Brit George Lofthagen in an exciting match, but Lofthagen snatched it in the tiebreaks, 7-6(4), 7-6(2).
Photo: Vanessa Taylor
Now, thanks to the new shared double-decking for Courts 16 & 17, it is possible to keep an eye on two live matches at the same time.
At Court 17, the 2.03 m (6′ 8″) tall American Martin Damm took on Belgian Gauthier Onclin. Damm is the son of the very successful doubles specialist of the same name.
Onclin is at his highest ranking of 192. Last year’s Australian Open is the only Slam he has qualified for so far in his six years as a pro. But despite a close match he couldn’t do it again this year.
Damm won 6-3, 3-6, 6-4. His victory was greatly aided by 22 aces to Onclin’s solitary one.
Photo: Vanessa Taylor
Peach is the flavour theme for 2026. To accompany the now traditional Peach Melbourne ice creams, there’s a peach “AO Official Iced Tea”.
At the newly named ANZ Arena, formerly Show Court 3, the queues for a Peach Melbourne stretched for 100 metres. Those waiting were entertained by a soundtrack of wild cheering for Australian Dane Sweeny, a favourite practice partner of Novak Djokovic in Melbourne. As Sweeny battled Italy’s Andrea Pellegrino in the Arena, the packed crowd urged him on to a 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 win.
Former World No. 3 and US Open winner in 2022, Sloane Stephens has fallen in the rankings to No. 1097. Poor form had caused her decision to take most of 2025 off.
Her opponent in the first round of qualifying, Barbora Palicová from the Czech Republic, is currently ranked 230, down from a career high of 171. She had previously attempted to qualify at grand slams seven times without success.
Stephens whizzed through the first set 6-1 in 38 minutes, as Palicová made a multitude of unforced errors. The Czech gathered herself in the second set to break serve, then stretched her lead out to 4-1.
But Stephens clawed back to 3-4 before being broken again. Her opponent served for the set at 5-4, though Stephens broke back to draw level at 5-5, and went on to win the next two games and the match.
Having lost her last 13 matches, Stephens was well relieved to win this one.
The other American playing on Kia Arena today was two-time doubles Slam winner Taylor Townsend, aiming to qualify and better her two second round results in the singles main draw, from 2020 and 2023.
Her opponent was Nao Hibino of Japan, a 31 year old with a ranking of 204. In singles, Hibino has never made a grand slam main draw, but in doubles has made the third round of the Australian, French and US Opens.
Hibino played well in what turned out to be an exciting match that drew the spectators in. The first set took almost an hour in a hard fought tussle. The speedy Japanese player ran all over the court getting balls back and winning enough points to force a tiebreak. She went up 4-0 before clinching it 7-3 to claim the set.
Then in a sudden reversal of form, she lost the second set 0-6. The skills that make Townsend a champion doubles player came to the fore – sharps volleys and lobs with the occasional serve/volley combo thrown in.
The deciding set was a rollercoaster. With the score at 2-2, Hibino lost her serve. Eventually, the set progressed to 5-3 to Townsend.
But she blew five match points on Hibino’s serve, then lost her own serve to love, to see the score level at 5-5. Hibino promptly lost her serve and watched Townsend hold for a 6-7(3), 6-0, 7-5 victory.
It was possible to locate Australian Bernard Tomic’s match by following the resounding anthem, “Here we go Bernie, Here we go. (clap, clap)” to 1573 Arena.
There, the 33 year old Tomic played better than he has in years. In 2025, he played only three main draw matches. He won in the first round of the ATP 250 Mallorca Championships, before losing in second. The other main draw match was a loss at the Astana Open in Kazakhstan.
Now ranked 184, he faced Bolivian Hugo Dellien, world No, 137, and surpassed his play of that Mallorca winning match. He moved well around the court, having no trouble reaching most balls and often sending them back for winners. His whipped cross-court forehands and delicate drop shots contributed greatly to his 6-3, 6-3, win. Most importantly, he looked confident throughout the match.
Updates – Qualifying
Sloane Stephens was down 2-5 t0 Olivia Gadecki in the first set of the second round but came back to win 3-6, 6-3, 6-3. In the final round, she had a 6-1, 7-5, win over Lucia Bronzetti.
Taylor Townsend beat Jazmin Ortenzi, 6-4, 6-4, before local girl Storm Hunter ended her main draw hopes, 7-6(6), 6-2.
George Lofthagen benefitted from the retirement of Yoshihito Nishioka, 6-3, 3-1, before an almost three hour match where Nishesh Basavareddy got the better of him, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.
Martin Damm had an easy win against Titouan Droguet, then defeated Gilles Arnaud Bailly, 7-5, 7-5.
Against Brit Arthur Fery, Bernard Tomic played well but couldn’t pull off a win. Fery needed three set points, but took the first set 6-4. At 2-2 in the second set, Tomic lost his serve to love. Lethargy seemed to have set in and he also lost the next game to love. His footwork was below par and his ball often found the net. Fery won the second set with an ace, 6-2.
Fery qualified for the main draw by winning his third round against Dino Prižmić, 6-4, 6-1. As it turned out, Prižmić made it into the main draw as a Lucky Loser anyway.
The Opening Week cumulative attendance was 217,999 people, surpassing the previous record 116,528 set in 2025.
Updates – The main draw
Sloane Stephens was defeated in the first round by Karolina Plíšková, 7-6(7) 6-2.
Taylor Townsend entered the main draw as a Lucky Loser after Ekaterina Alexandrova pulled out due to injury. Townsend was defeated by Hailey Baptiste in the first round, 6-3, 6-7(3), 6-3.
Dane Sweeny won his first ever grand slam match by beating Gael Monfils, 6-7(3), 7-5, 6-4, 7-5, in the Frenchman’s final ever match at the Australian Open. Sweeny then lost to 8ᵗʰ seed Ben Shelton, 3-6, 2-6, 2-6.
Martin Damm was defeated by Valentin Vacherot in the first round, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.
Arthur Fery defeated 20ᵗʰ seed Flavio Cobolli, 7-6(1), 6-4, 6-1, to get to the second round, where he was defeated by Tomás Martín Etcheverry 7-6(4), 6-1, 6-3.
Lucky Loser Dino Prižmić played James Duckworth, who prevailed in a 261 minute match, 7-6, 3-6, 1-6, 7-5, 6-3.
Title photo of the crowd watching Bernard Tomic on the screen at Grand Slam Oval by Tennis Australia / Luke Hemer