Australian Open 2026 Draw Reaction

Hi loves,

The first grand slam draw of 2026 has been completed, ladies and gentlemen - and it is a cracker. There are some really interesting first round match-ups, and a couple of top players have some rough draws lined up. Let us waste no more time and dive in to my Australian Open 2026 draw reaction! 

There feels like no other place to start other than the world’s best players. Jannik Sinner is looking for the ‘threepeat’ this year in Melbourne, and his draw sets him up rather nicely to do so. From the first round to the final (based on seeding) he is projected to play: Hugo Gaston (R1), James Duckworth (R2), Joao Fonseca (R3), Karen Khachanov (R4), Ben Shelton (QF), Novak Djokovic (SF) and Carlos Alcaraz (F). Rounds one and two could end up being absolute batterings and depending on Fonseca’s fitness (he pulled out of all warm up tournaments with a back injury) round three could also be fairly easy for Sinner. Shelton and Djokovic are of course tougher opponents but I see nothing stopping Sinner from reaching the final and facing Alcaraz for the forth slam in a row.

Speaking of Alcaraz, his draw is more-or-less the same difficulty level as Sinner’s in my opinion. Again, from round one to the final Carlos is projected to play: Adam Walton (R1), Yannick Hanfmann (R2), Corentin Moutet (R3), Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (R4), Alex De Minaur (QF), Alexander Zverev (SF) and Jannik Sinner (F). Alcaraz’s draw is more exciting than Sinner’s, especially if we get Moutet in round 3 and De Minaur in the quarters. De Minaur is the home hope once again this year, so I imagine that it would be a night match if they both get there. De Minaur will also be pleased he is not in Sinner’s half of the draw - we all know the head to head of Sinner and De Minaur… cough 13-0 cough. As I say, I can’t see anything but a ‘Sincaraz’ final, but some fun match ups on the way definitely makes it a more interesting tournament!

Sinner and Alcaraz after the epic Roland Garros final, 2025

On the women’s side of the draw, we have world number one Aryna Sabalenka at the top of the draw, and number two Iga Swiatek at the bottom. Sabalenka’s draw has shaped up as: Tiantsoa Rakotomanga Rajaonah (R1), Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (R2), Emma Raducanu (R3), Clara Tauson (R4), Jasmine Paolini (QF), Coco Gauff (SF) and Iga Swiatek (F). Swiatek’s draw, on the other hand, is: Yue Yuan (R1), Marie Bouzkova (R2), Anna Kalinskaya (R3), Naomi Osaka (R4), Elena Rybakina (QF), Amanda Anisimova (SF) and Sabalenka (F). Swiatek has drawn the short straw out of the two of them, and I would be surprised if she makes it all the way. Rybakina and Anisimova are dangerous for the Pole, with both beating her at big tournaments last year - Anisimova doing so on the hard courts in New York. Osaka is also a tricky customer if she is firing all guns blazing, so Iga will need to make sure she gets some easy wins before potentially facing these players to get some confidence. I imagine Sabalenka will reach the final, and her round three match against Raducanu (if they both get there) is mouth-watering. They had two great matches last year at Wimbledon and in Cincinnati. I hope they can put on a good show for us, and MAKE IT A NIGHT MATCH I BEG YOU!

Now, onto the Brits and their first round draws. We have a fair few Brits in the main draw this year, which is great to see - and two of which are seeded! Emma Raducanu is seeded 28, with Cam Norrie coming in at 26. To make it easy for you, here is a list of all first round matches featuring Brits: 

Emma Raducanu (28) v Mananchaya Sawangkaew

Sonay Kartal v Anna Kalinskaya (31)

Fran Jones v Linda Klimovicova (Q)

Katie Boulter v Belinda Bencic (10)

Cam Norrie (26) v Benjamin Bonzi

Jacob Fearnley v Kamil Majchrzak

Arthur Fery (Q) v Flavio Cobolli (20)

Emma Raducanu celebrating a win in Hobart ahead of the Australian Open 2026

Arthur Fery has qualified and is set for his first grand slam appearance outside of Wimbledon. I keep an eye on Fery’s results throughout the year and he has been slowly building, so I am chuffed for him. He climbed from 483 at the start of 2025 to a current ranking of 185 - almost 300 places! Unfortunately for him he has been handed a tricky draw and will face Cobolli, the 20th seed, in his opening round. Give it your all, Arthur! Katie Boulter has been given a nightmare draw against Bencic, let’s all pray for her…

Some other notable first round clashes include:

Men's Draw

Hubert Hurkacz v Zizou Bergs

Stan Wawrinka v Laslo Djere

Alex Michelsen v Karen Khachanov (15)

Joao Foncseca (28) v Eliot Spizzirri

Novak Djokovic (4) v Pedro Martinez

Alex De Minaur (6) v Matteo Berrettini

Women's Draw

Alexandra Eala v Alycia Parks

Venus Williams v Olga Danilovic

Hailey Baptiste v Marketa Vondrousova (32)

Victoria Mboko (17) v Emerson Jones

Donna Vekic v Mirra Andreeva (8)

The projected quarter-finals are as follows:

Men's Draw

Alcaraz v De Minaur

Zverev v Auger-Aliassime

Musetti v Djokovic

Shelton v Sinner

Women's Draw

Sabalenka v Paolini

Gauff v Andreeva

Anisimova v Pegula

Swiatek v Rybakina

Sabalenka practicing at Melbourne Park, 2026

Winner predictions

BOLD PREDICTIONS INCOMING (or not). I think Alcaraz will achieve the career slam and win the title in Melbourne. I can see him getting more rhythm than Sinner over the course of the tournament and being challenged more, which is only a good thing. And I reckon Sabalenka will pick up a third title in four years - although I would be happy with a surprise candidate popping up! Either Anisimova or Rybakina is my pick for the other finalist, but it would be fun to see someone make their breakthrough instead! Well, either that or Anisimova winning her first slam title.

The men’s draw has so many amazing matches, and the women’s draw is stacked with top players here, there and everywhere. My calendar is cleared for the next fortnight - it is going to be a good slam, I can feel it in my bones…

Until next time, keep serving!

E x