What has happened in the Australian Swing So Far?

Hi loves,

We are well underway in 2026 - tennis is BACK ladies and gentlemen! And it really is back with a bang. The United Cup has delivered entertainment and some really impressive and classy performances, with some surprises sprinkled in there. We have had tournaments all over the place; Brisbane, Auckland, and Hong Kong were all the focus last week. Let’s discuss winners, and the big stories of the week.

*This is the part of the Australian swing where I give my disclaimer; I am based in the UK so my ability to watch live tennis is slightly - okay, VERY - impacted by the time difference. Even so, I am up to date with all the goings on down under so far - so let’s go!

Poland win the United Cup

Iga Swiatek and Poland have, at last, lifted the United Cup trophy. I find the United Cup a fun start to the year, and although the result doesn’t say much to me, the performances of the players is absolutely something to take note of. Poland beat out Switzerland in Sunday’s final, with the tie going all the way to the mixed doubles and Poland’s Kawa and Zielinski beating Switzerland’s Bencic and Paul in straight sets 6-4 6-3. Iga Swiatek may have been the highest ranked player in the tournament, but it was Hubert Hurkacz who was the real hero. After Swiatek lost her match to tournament MVP Belinda Bencic, Hurkacz stepped onto court to face Swiss player-captain Stan ‘The Man’ Wawrinka. An amazing match was played by both men with Hurkacz coming through in three sets to send the tie to the mixed doubles. Bencic was visibly emotional after she failed to guide her team to the win, but following her amazing performances all tournament long she is back into the top 10 for the first time since returning from giving birth to daughter Bella 18 months ago. As Wawrinka said, ‘it’s Belinda’s world and we’re all living in it’. Swiatek’s tournament was a mixed bag, with three wins and two losses, but she has had ample court time to feel prepared and ready to go at the first slam of the year. Iga will be the second seed in Melbourne, with her bid to complete the career slam approaching rapidly.

Team Poland with their trophy (and 'Flammy' the Flamingo)

Brisbane

Brisbane WTA500 and ATP250 concluded on Sunday with Aryna Sabalenka and Daniil Medvedev becoming our 2026 champions. Sabalenka backed up her 2025 Brisbane title by beating Marta Kostyuk 6-4 6-3. Kostyuk had a phenomenal week regardless of the outcome of the final, with top class performances to dominate 4th seed Pegula 6-0 6-3, 6th seed Andreeva 7-6 6-3 and 2nd seed Anisimova 6-4 6-3. Excellent preparation for Melbourne for both women, where Kostyuk will be seeded around 20, and top seed Sabalenka is aiming to win a third title in four years. On her way to the final, Sabalenka was able to get revenge on Madison Keys on Australian soil in their first match in Australia since last year’s Australian Open final. Following her victory, Aryna said she will ‘be fighting’ in Melbourne, where she will be the top seed.

Daniil Medvedev has started his 2026 out strong, winning Brisbane for the first time by beating USA’s Brandon Nakashima 6-2 7-6. One of the most amazing stats in tennis continues to be true - Medvedev has won 22 titles, and never the same title twice. Remarkable really. He joked the ATP needed to add more tournaments as he is running out of titles he can win! Daniil lost just one set all tournament and 2 weeks into the season has not caused any dramas (yet) - is this a new Medvedev we are seeing? One to keep an eye on. The Russian is looking to win his first slam title since the 2021 US Open, and is not scheduled to play any tournaments before the Australian Open gets underway on Sunday so a nice rest should get him ready to put on a show in Melbourne.

Aryna Sabalenka posing with her Brisbane winners trophy.

Auckland

Over in Auckland Elina Svitolina was victorious, beating Xinyu Wang in straight sets. Svitolina didn't have an easy ride. She was pushed by Katie Boulter, although she came through in straight sets; Sonay Kartal served for the match against her, but the Ukrainian was able to break back and win in the final set tiebreak. Since returning from maternity leave a couple of years ago, Svitolina has been a force to be reckoned with. Consistently performing week in week out she is always a name players will not want to see next to theirs in a draw. I could see her going deep at the Australian Open.

A cute little sidenote - Svitolina’s husband Gael Monfils won the ATP Auckland title in 2025. So they now have both won a title at the same tournament for the first time, and are the first husband and wife to hold a title at the same tournament at the same time. Adorable, right? Monfils will not reclaim his title this year though, as he was beaten in the first round by Fabian Marozsan earlier this week. The ATP event in Auckland got underway on Monday, with top seed Ben Shelton looking for his first title since his triumph in Canada last year.

Hong Kong

Big news coming out of Hong Kong to start the season - Alexander Bublik is officially a top 10 player and Lorenzo Musetti is a top 5 player, both for the very first time. What a 12 months it has been for the Kazakh; he became a quarter finalist at a slam for the first time, won 4 titles and achieved a career high ranking of 11 (now 10). He is seriously dangerous now he is taking his tennis more seriously. He is still the fun, upbeat, trick-shotting Bublik we all know and love, but he is really seeing now that he CAN achieve much more when he puts his mind to it which is so refreshing. Bublik got the better of top seed Musetti in straight sets 7-6 6-3. Musetti seemed to have a great week - achieving a 9.7 forehand rating in the semi finals against Andrey Rublev, and he winning the doubles title alongside fellow Italian and fellow Lorenzo, Sonego.. The Italian is an interesting prospect on hard courts. He is a very strong clay court player, but seems to have worked out how to play best on hard courts over the last few months. It is good to see him making some progress on other surfaces other than clay. Admittedly, I did not see any of this match, but by looking at the stats Musetti certainly didn’t bottle it. Both men served well, but Bublik seems to have served very very well. Neither man is due to play again before the slam starts, so we have seen the last of them before they step on court where it really matters.

Bublik celebrating during his match against Musetti.

‘Players to Watch’ Watch

In my 2026 preview I decided Alex Michelsen and Alex Eala were my players to watch for the year (I have just realised they’re both called Alex, what a coincidence). I am very happy with those picks so far, as they both reached the semi-finals this week, in ATP Brisbane and WTA Auckland respectively. As of 9th January, Eala is coming in at the 50th seed for the Australian Open, and Michelsen comes in at 37. I feel good times are going to continue for these two; I await the draw to see if I am right!

Australian Swing Round-Up and Aussie Open Preview

After a while of waiting and wondering, it was finally confirmed that Stan Wawrinka, 2014 Australian Open champion and 2026 retiree, has received a wildcard allowing him to compete in Melbourne for the final time in his career. Absolutely the right decision in my (and most people’s) opinion; as a former champion, a legend of the sport, and a man on his farewell tour he without a doubt should have received a wildcard for the event. Not only for these reasons, but because he has proved through his performances for Switzerland in the United Cup that he can still keep up with the top players of today’s game. A three set victory over France’s world number 27 Arthur Rinderknech in just over three and a quarter hours shows just how much Stan still has to give. He was also able to keep up with Italy’s Fabio Cobolli for two hours and 55 minutes, losing 7-4 in a final set tiebreak. I am sure we are all intrigued to see what Wawrinka’s draw turns out like when the draw is made on Thursday.

On the other side of the coin, Nick Kyrgios has announced he will be focusing on doubles at the Australian Open, opting to try and win a second title alongside his partner and childhood friend Thanasi Kokkinakis. The ‘Special K’s’, as they were nicknamed during their 2022 men's doubles title run, will reunite as they both make their way back from long injuries. Kyrgios lost his first singles match of the year to Aleksandar Kovacevic 6-4 6-3. Kokkinakis on the other hand will be playing singles at the Australian Open using a protected ranking. He is currently ranked at 450 in the world. 

2022 Men's Doubles Champions, Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis

More withdrawals have been announced on the WTA side over the last week, former world number 4 Qinwen Zheng has announced she is not ready to return to the tour following her elbow surgery after Wimbledon. And Veronica Kudermetova has pulled out following a surgery. No more details have been revealed at this stage.

The draw for the first grand slam of the year will take place on Thursday at 2:30pm local time (3:30am UK time). There are some unseeded players who the seeds will not want to see near their name in the draw. Hubert Hurkacz would probably be the main one to note. Making his comeback from 7 months out following knee surgery in July at the United Cup, he has performed match after match, proving he is a challenging opponent for anyone who is unlucky enough to draw him in round one. You also have players such as Ugo Humbert, Gabriel Diallo, Grigor Dimitrov and Matteo Berrettini who are unseeded in the men’s draw. On the women’s side we have Marketa Vondrousova, Maria Sakarri - who played exceptionally in the United Cup - and Sonay Kartal lurking outside of the seeded positions.

I’ll be back tomorrow with a post-draw preview. We will also touch on the goings-on in Adelaide, Hobart and the ATP event in Auckland which all got underway earlier this week. We are set up nicely for a great grand slam so far, and the draw can tell us so much - it is always exciting to see where the drama or big stories could come from (especially with the career slam on the line for Alcaraz and Swiatek). 

Until next time, keep serving!

E x