Michael Gleeson
Men’s Winner: Sinner again.
Second Place Men: Zverev again
Women’s winners: Coco Gauff.
women’s vice-champion: Swiatek.
The player everyone will be talking about and why: Not everyone will talk about it, but coffee lovers won’t forget Iga Swiatek dissing Melbourne coffee. Because Polish coffee is so good…
The biggest story of the tournament: Casper Ruud leaves the semi-final match midway through the match to fly to Norway to give birth to his first child.
An Australian who captures the public’s attention: Apart from de Minaur, I don’t see many Aussies ringing the bell, but I expect Norway’s Ruud to be intrigued as noted above.
How will the demon handle it? Third round (Tiafoe).
The thing fans will grumble about: Why are there more party courts? Why aren’t there more party courts? And where is Danielle Collins? I miss you.
Coco Gauff is warming up at Melbourne Park this week.Credit: AP
Billie Eder
Men’s Winner: Jannik Sinner.
Second Place Men: Carlos Alcaraz.
Women’s Winner: Elena Rybakina.
women’s vice-champion: Aryna Sabalenka.
The player everyone will be talking about: Ok, big challenge, but I’ll say Australian wild card Taylah Preston. I watched her defeat Emma Raducana on Thursday night and she looked fierce and powerful. She would probably have a tough opponent in the second round in Linda Noskova, but the Aussies always deliver and surprise at Melbourne Park.
The biggest story of the tournament: Here it is, another big challenge, but I think Australia’s Alexei Popyrin will knock out 2025 finalist Alexander Zverev in the second round. Popyrin can pull an amazing tournament out of nowhere and Zverev has been vulnerable since his performance in last year’s final. Listen to it here first.
An Australian who captures the public’s attention: Who else but our newest Aussie Daria Kasatkina? She should win her first-round match against qualifier Nikola Bartunk, but it will be a likely tricky second round, with world number 10 Belinda Bencic tipped to play Kasatkina. First Australian Open as an Australian, it will be quite memorable.
How will the demon handle it? I really want Alex de Minaur to make his Grand Slam semi-final debut in Australia, but unfortunately I don’t think it will happen. He is predicted to face world number one Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter finals and I think that is the end of his tournament.
The thing fans will grumble about: Well, as always, it will be a late finish. Tennis is known for its ridiculous finish times and I can already see fans streaming out of Melbourne Park at 1am or 2am after a five-set epic.
Scott Spitz
Men’s Winner: Carlos Alcaraz. It’s time for the world number one to make her mark in Melbourne.
men’s second place: In a dream final, Alcaraz will pip Jannik Sinner in four sets.
Women’s winners: Elena Rybakina.
women’s vice-champion: Coco Gauff.
The player everyone will be talking about: Jordan Smith. We may have already seen the player on everyone’s lips. An amateur player from NSW took home $1 million – the last player standing in the AO “1-Point Slam”. Everyone was caught in that moment, even Alcaraz.
The biggest story of the tournament: Novak Djokovic. Whatever the 10-time champion does, how far he goes in the tournament, and even his interactions with the TV host — aka his feud with Tony Jones last year — are guaranteed to generate headlines.
An Australian who captures the public’s attention: Maya Joint may be the world No.32 and our best player, but she remains a huge unknown to local audiences. That will change over the next two weeks.
How will the demon handle it? Quarter finals. I’m tipping Alex de Minaur to fight his way through a tough draw before Alcaraz stops him in an oh-so-frustrating quarter-final.
The thing fans will grumble about: Fighting for places on the outer courts. AO is getting bigger and bigger every year. This makes it more difficult to secure great seats on exhibition courts and smaller courts to watch top matches.
Jake Niall
Men’s Winner: Sinner.
In second place: Alcaraz.
Women’s Winner: Sabalenko.
In second place: Amanda Anisimova.
The player everyone will be talking about: Novak Djokovic. At 38, this could be his last attempt at an 11th title.
The biggest story of the tournament: Clumsy use of medical timeouts in a critical match.
An Australian who captures the public’s attention: Maya Joint.
How far the demon will take it: Fourth round.
The thing that will make fans grumble: Prices or lack of beer.
Hannah Kennelly
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Men’s Winner: Sinner.
Second Place Men: Alcaraz.
Women’s Winner: Swiatek.
women’s vice-champion: Sabalenko.
The player everyone will be talking about: Sabalenko. After her controversial Battle of the Sexes match with Nick Kyrgios, I suspect Sabalenka will continue to keep the Aussies talking. He has a brilliant, fiery style of tennis and will undoubtedly remain in the headlines.
An Australian who captures the public’s attention: Dan Sweeney. Ranked as high as 680th in the world last year, Sweeny’s made a meteoric comeback to qualify for the men’s singles this year. There was no vacancy for his qualifying matches this week. The 24-year-old has a fun, almost acrobatic style of tennis and is definitely something to watch.
How far will the demon take it?: The fourth round. I’m a big fan but the Aussie definitely has a tough draw this year. I’m afraid to see how he got over Alexander Bublik, but I’m glad to be proven wrong.
The Bluffer’s Guide to the Open
By Marc McGowan
Not everyone is a tennis enthusiast. But you’ll be able to bluff your mates by reading our guide to Australian Open form, which should quickly familiarize you with what’s going to happen over the next fortnight.
Bankable stars
Ten-time champion Novak Djokovic he is the undisputed king of Melbourne Park and has not lost before the semi-finals since 2018. Even at the age of 38, Djokovic remains a major title threat. World number one Aryna Sabalenka is looking to win her third women’s singles championship in four years – after losing the final to Madison Keys in 2025 – while Jannik Sinner chasing a hat-trick of men’s titles.
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A history of persecution
This is the most poorly executed slam Carlos Alcarazbut he was still a quarter-finalist the last two years and needs an Australian Open trophy to complete his Grand Slam set. Alcaraz would join Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Andre Agassi, Rod Laver, Roy Emerson, Fred Perry and Don Budge as the only men to do so if he saluted at Melbourne Park. Iga Swiatek after winning Wimbledon for the first time last year, he is also eyeing a career Grand Slam in Australia. Margaret Court, Maureen Connolly, Steffi Graf, Doris Hart, Shirley Fry, Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova have each won four majors.
Don’t count on them
Casper Ruud he is a three-time Grand Slam finalist but has reached the fourth round at Melbourne Park on just one of his six previous trips, including four second-round exits. More male seeds with dubious records are here Alexander Bublík (four exits from the first and three from the second round), Lorenzo Musetti (never exceed round 32 in four visits), Arthur Rinderknecht (three losses in the first round of four Opens) a Corentin Moutet (lost in the second round in five of six attempts). On the women’s side, it’s hard to believe Leylah Fernandez (five losses in the second round from six attempts), Lidmila Samsonová (never goes beyond the second round of six trips), Emma Raducanu (three exits from the second round from four attempts) a Ekaterina Alexandrová (five first-round defeats in nine Opens).
New names to watch
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Valentin Vacherot is at the top of this list. Before last year’s Shanghai Masters, the Monaco native was virtually unknown, storming out of qualifying for the title and beating his cousin Rinderknech in an improbable final. His scalps included Bublík, Holger Rune and Djokovic. A powerful trio Gabriel Diallo, Raphael Collignon and Ethan Quinn they also enjoyed breakout seasons in 2025. Indonesian Janice Tjen was one of the biggest risers on the WTA Tour last year, climbing from year-end 412 to a career-high 53 in 2024. Other steep climbers were the Germans Eva Lys and Ella SeidelFilipino Alexander Eale and Colombia Emiliana Arango.
Teenage tyros
João Fonseca and Victoria Mboko they are only 19 but have already made it into the top 30 and Mirra Andreeva he’s even younger at 18, but he’s in the top 10 majors. The Bullet Rebellion is in the American mold Iva Jovicováwhile the Czech Republic Tereza Valentová and Sara Bejlek they are also on the fast track to the top. Australia’s young guns Maya Joint – deployed for the first time on a major – a Emerson Jones have others watch. Among those who qualified for the men’s draw were former junior No. 1s Nicolai Budkov Kjaer and Rei Sakamotoplus other new talents Rafael Jodar. Teenager Nikola Bartůňková advanced from the women’s qualification.
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