This Australian Open arrives with several massive storylines, maybe none bigger than the one surrounding the 24-time major winner.
While much of America and Europe is bundled up, dodging snowstorms or sick with the flu, there’s a reason they call the Australian Open the “Happy Slam.”
Fresh from tennis’ offseason, most players have already been Down Under for a couple weeks basking in summer heat and sunshine as they prepare for the first big event of the year. While casual fans might consider the Australian Open an afterthought compared to Wimbledon, Roland Garros and the U.S. Open, it has sneakily become a lot of players’ favorite tournament for the logistics, hospitality and atmosphere. It also helps that most competitors have spent the last couple months healing up injuries, refreshing their minds and arrive in Australia eager to compete for one of the sport’s biggest prizes before the monotony of the tour season sets in.
Here are the seven storylines to know as the Australian Open kicks off Saturday night in the U.S.:
The world No. 1 has a new coach
When we last checked in on the best rivalry in tennis, Carlos Alcaraz defeated Jannik Sinner handily in the U.S. Open final to win his sixth Grand Slam title. After the match, a concerned Sinner said he needed to add more variety to his game, even if it meant some growing pains along the way.
But actually, it’s Alcaraz who enters 2026 amid more significant change after separating from longtime coach Juan Carlos Ferrero.
The underlying dynamics of why they split are a bit murky. It obviously wasn’t based on results, and Ferrero has denied there was a financial dispute. There’s been speculation in the Spanish press that Alcaraz’s father and Ferrero were not on the same page on a variety of issues.
However it went down, Ferrero’s absence will be very different for Alcaraz, who often leaned on his coach for guidance during rough patches, almost to the point of being overly dependent. It’ll be interesting to see how he reacts now that Samuel Lopez, who was previously part of the team, is the head coach. It also appears Alcaraz has made some technical adjustments to his serve motion in the offseason.
Another ‘Sincaraz’ final on deck?
One of the subplots of this year is the race between Alcaraz and Sinner to complete the career Grand Slam.
Alcaraz gets the first shot in Australia, where he’s been bounced in the quarterfinals each of the last two years. Sinner, who has won the last two Aussie titles, is hoping to complete the set in Paris.
Until proven otherwise, they have to be considered the favorites to face off in a fourth straight Grand Slam final, which last happened between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal across the 2011 and 2012 seasons.
Interestingly, they both opted to skip the warm-up events and instead began 2026 with a big-money exhibition match against each other in Korea (Alcaraz won 7-5, 7-6, for whatever that’s worth) before sharing a private jet to Australia.
Djokovic’s last stand?
Speaking of the 38-year old Djokovic, you never know if this will be a final trip to Australia, where he’s won 10 of his record 24 Grand Slam titles. How competitive will he be this year? It may determine how long he continues to chase No. 25.
Though Djokovic made the semis of all four majors last year, it felt like he was getting further away from winning one. After the U.S. Open, he admitted that beating both Alcaraz and Sinner in best-of-five matches was a huge physical hurdle at this stage of his career and that he would have a better chance in best-of-three.
The endurance issue is complicated by several factors besides age. Djokovic barely plays the regular tour anymore, so he doesn’t come into the Slams with a great foundation of match fitness. He’s also had a tendency the last couple years to pick up injuries during the Slams, and there’s been reporting in recent days he’s dealing with some type of neck issue that has limited his time on court.
If Djokovic can make his way through the draw, his best shot might be rooting for someone else to knock out one of the top two. Seeded No. 4, he would project to play 27th seeded American Brandon Nakashima in the third round, No. 16 seed Jakub Mensik in the fourth and No. 5 seed Lorenzo Musetti in the quarterfinals. After that, it’ll probably be hard to dodge Sinner in the semifinals — unless rising Brazilian star Joao Fonseca beats him in a blockbuster potential third round.
Meddy magic is back
If it’s not Sinner, Alcaraz or Djokovic holding the trophy, look out for former No. 1 Daniil Medvedev. A three-time finalist in Australia, with heartbreaking five-set losses to Nadal in 2022 and Sinner in 2024, the 29-year old Russian seems to be back on form after a miserable 2025.
After winning just one Grand Slam match last year, Medvedev dropped out of the top 15 for the first time since 2019 and made a coaching change. By the fall, he started to put the pieces back together. Now, he enters the Australian Open off winning his 22nd career ATP title at a warm-up event in Brisbane. It was particularly notable that Medvedev’s serve, which was such a weapon at his peak, looked far more effective than it had been the last couple years. If he’s got his A game, he’s proven that he can be a nuisance to the top two.
Women’s No. 1 out for revenge
In an otherwise fabulous year, Aryna Sabalenka’s loss to Madison Keys in last year’s final stands out as a low point. Going for three Australian titles in a row, Sabalenka lost most of the big points in a tense third set and felt like she let a huge opportunity slip through her fingers.
Still, Sabalenka is clearly the best player in women’s tennis right now and deserves to be the favorite here. The last time she failed to make a final at a hardcourt major? The U.S. Open in 2022 when she lost in the semis.
Sabalenka looked sharp last week in Brisbane, winning the title without dropping a set — including a 6-3, 6-3 win over Keys. Her draw could present some interesting challenges, including a potential third round against the very talented Emma Raducanu and a fourth round against Canadian teenage sensation Victoria Mboko.
Concerns hover over Iga
No. 2 Iga Swiatek, who needs an Australian Open to complete her career Slam, did not start 2026 with aplomb. Though her Polish team won the United Cup last week, Swiatek lost matches to Coco Gauff (6-4, 6-2) and Belinda Bencic (3-6, 6-0, 6-3), continuing the shaky form with which she finished 2025.
What’s the deal? Early in 2025, Swiatek started to implement some adjustments in her game alongside new coach Wim Fissette to become more reliable under pressure. Overall, her results have been uneven since then with notable highs (like last year’s surprise Wimbledon title) and some earlier exits than she’s used to. Swiatek has been committed to taking the longer view of her career, even if there’s a painful short-term transition, but she has been susceptible at times of retreating to old habits.
With someone that talented but in a period of internal conflict, you never know what you’re going to get. It wouldn’t be surprising if Swiatek lost in an early round or ended up with the trophy and her seventh Grand Slam title.
Fight for American No. 1
The 2026 season begins with a very close race between Coco Gauff and Amanda Anisimova for the top-ranked American woman. Gauff, No. 3 in the world, leads Anisimova by just 103 ranking points, meaning they would flip flop if Anisimova advances further.
Gauff had a very uneven 2025. After winning Roland Garros, she went into a pretty concerning slump and hired a biomechanics expert to help fix a serve that was regularly breaking down.
Her Australian Open draw could include a second-round matchup with Venus Williams, which would be a fitting full-circle moment for Gauff. It was their 2019 first-round match at Wimbledon, which Gauff won 6-4, 6-4 as a 15-year old, that launched her to superstardom.
Anisimova was the breakout player in women’s tennis last year, winning two WTA 1000-level titles and making the finals of Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. For the first time in her career, she comes into a season under a significant spotlight and an expectation to win her first major.
Anisimova’s prodigious baseline power can be mesmerizing when she’s in the flow, but the key to cashing in a Slam title might be whether she can harness her aggression in the biggest moments. She certainly has to like her draw, which looks soft on paper until a potential quarterfinal matchup with American Jessica Pegula.
Category: General Sports
