The Australian Open kicks off the tennis grand slams in 2026 as Jannik Sinner and Madison Keys return as defending champions.
Sinner will be attempting to become just the second man in the Open era, after Novak Djokovic, to win three Australian Open singles titles in a row, while women’s No 1 Aryna Sabalenka will be determined to regain her crown after Keys ended her bid for a hat-trick in last year’s final.
Two players will enter the tournament with the mission of completing the career grand slam. Both Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek are an Australian Open title away from having won all four of the major titles – Alcaraz would be the youngest man to achieve the feat if he does so this year.
After competing in the finals of the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open last season, Melbourne is the only one of the major stages where Alcaraz and Sinner are yet to meet.
Djokovic and Rafael Nadal were the last men to play in four grand slam finals in a row, which came between the 2011 Wimbledon and the 2012 French Open.
Here’s everything you need to know
Is the Australian Open on TV?
The tournament will be shown live on TNT Sports in the UK as well as online on Discovery+.
In the US, it will be shown live on ESPN and Tennis Channel.
Australian Open schedule
The tournament main draw gets underway on Sunday 18 January. Finals weekend is across Saturday 31 January and Sunday 1 February.
When is the Australian Open draw?
The Australian Open draw will take place on Thursday 15 January at 2:30pm local time, which is 3:30am UK time. The final round of qualifying also takes place on Thursday 15 January.
What is the Australian Open prize money?
The prize fund for this year’s Australian Open has been increased by 16 per cent to £55.4m, making it the largest purse in the tournament’s history.
The two singles champions will each pocket £2.1m, up from the £1.7m which Jannik Sinner and Madison Keys took home last year.
