2026 Australian Open draw: Jannik Sinner seeks 3rd straight title; Coco Gauff, Venus Williams could meet in 2nd round
- - 2026 Australian Open draw: Jannik Sinner seeks 3rd straight title; Coco Gauff, Venus Williams could meet in 2nd round
Sean LeahyJanuary 15, 2026 at 9:48 PM
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The 2026 Australian Open begins on Jan. 18 with Jannik Sinner looking to win for the third straight year and Madison Keys defending her women's singles title. (Photo by YUICHI YAMAZAKI/AFP via Getty Images) (YUICHI YAMAZAKI via Getty Images)
The 2026 Australian Open begins on Jan. 18 and the draws for the men's and women's brackets were held on Thursday. Italy Jannik Sinner and American Madison Keys are the men's and women's reigning champions, respectively.
Sinner is seeking his third straight Australian Open title. He has reached the finals in each of his past five appearances at a Grand Slam, which also includes wins at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. Keys' win last year is her only Grand Slam victory. The only other time she has reached a Grand Slam final was the 2017 U.S. Open, where she fell to Sloane Stephens.
Novak Djokovic-Jannik Sinner semifinal a possibility
Sinner, seeded No. 2, will begin his quest for a four-peat against Hugo Gaston of France. His road to another title could also see a matchup with American Ben Shelton in the quarterfinals. Sinner has an 8-1 lifetime record against Shelton with the pair squaring off during last year's Australian Open semifinal, which saw the Italian coming out on top in straight sets 6-3, 7-6[4], 6-3.
Potentially waiting for Sinner in the semifinals is Novak Djokovic, a 10-time winner down under. Djokovic has reached the semifinals the past two years, losing to Sinner in 2024 and withdrawing against Alexander Zverev last year.
Djokovic is 4-6 lifetime against Sinner with his last win against the Italian coming in 2023 at the final of the ATP Finals. Sinner has won out the last three times they've met in Grand Slams (2025: Wimbledon, French Open; 2024: Australian Open).
The Australian Open is the lone Grand Slam that No. 1 seed Carlos Alcaraz has yet to win. The reigning French Open and U.S. Open champion will begin his journey for the Career Slam against Australia's Adam Walton.
Shelton, the highest ranked American as the No. 8 seed, will face Ugo Humbert of France in the opening round. He could face the retiring Gaël Monfils should they both advance. No. 9 seed Taylor Fritz is looking to improve upon his third-round exit last year. He'll face Valentin Royer to start.
Venus Williams, a seven-time Grand Slam champion, is entered into the tournament after receiving a wild-card entry. (Photo by Steve Bell/Getty Images) (Steve Bell via Getty Images)Venus Williams returns, could face Coco Gauff in second round
After being granted a wild-card entry into the singles field, 45-year-old Venus Williams will play in her first Australian Open since 2021. The seven-time Grand Slam champion has five career titles in this event, but all in doubles and mixed doubles. She’s reached the singles final twice, losing to her sister Serena in both 2003 and 2017.
If Williams can get by Serbia's Olga Danilović and reigning French Open champion Coco Gauff and beat Kamilla Rakhimova, it would set up the first meeting between the American women since the 2020 Australian Open.
Gauff holds a 2-0 career record against Williams, which includes their first meeting at Wimbledon in 2019 as a the-15-year-old Gauff went on to win her first Grand Slam match and reach the fourth round.
Top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka has reached the final in Australian in each of the past three years, winning in 2023 and 2024 and losing to Keys last year. Sabalenka could see Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the second round after the two previously met in last year's quarterfinals, which went the distance.
No. 2 seed Iga Świątek was a semifinalist a year ago and is seeking the Career Slam with victory in Australia. Her road could include a fourth-round match against American Naomi Osaka, a two-time Australian Open winner.
Amanda Anisimova, who was bounced in the second round last year, is seeded fourth and could meet Keys in the quarterfinals. Jessica Pegula has not gotten out of the third round since reaching three consecutive quarterfinals from 2021-2023. The No. 6 seed will begin against against 23-year-old Russian Anastasia Zakharova and her path to the final could include a fourth-round meeting with Keys.
Source: “AOL Sports”
