Australian Open

Tournament basics

Australian Open 2026 dates: January 19 - February 2. Surface: hard (GreenSet, installed 2020 as Plexicushion replacement). Draw size: 128 men's and 128 women's singles. Total prize pool: A$96.5 million; the singles champions take home A$3.5 million each. Qualifying starts the previous Thursday.

Draw path watch

Defending men's champion: Jannik Sinner (won the 2025 final in straight sets against Alexander Zverev). Defending women's champion: Aryna Sabalenka (won the 2025 final against Madison Keys). The men's draw features Alcaraz, Djokovic, Medvedev and Zverev in the top eight seeds.

Hard-court form is the leading indicator at the GreenSet surface. The Australian summer's heat policy is the dominant variable; players often arrive two weeks early to acclimatise. The desk's hard-court model weights serve speed and first-strike points alongside heat tolerance.

Surface notes

Australian Open GreenSet courts are slightly slower than US Open DecoTurf. Average rally length in 2025: 4.3 shots. Service holds: 77%. The ball bounces slightly higher; kick serves are more effective. Heat is the dominant variable; the extreme heat policy scales breaks from 10 to 20 minutes when wet-bulb exceeds thresholds.

Seeds and venues

Men's seeds: 1. Sinner, 2. Alcaraz, 3. Djokovic, 4. Zverev, 5. Medvedev, 6. Rublev, 7. Fritz, 8. Ruud. Women's seeds: 1. Sabalenka, 2. Swiatek, 3. Rybakina, 4. Gauff, 5. Pegula, 6. Zheng, 7. Jabeur, 8. Vondrousova. Main courts: Rod Laver Arena (15,000, retractable roof since 1988), Margaret Court Arena (7,500, retractable roof since 2015), John Cain Arena (10,000, retractable roof since 2024).

Editor's note

The desk's coverage starts two weeks before the tournament with seed-by-seed reads, then moves to daily draws from the Sunday before the first round. Refresh cadence: every 30 minutes during matches. Coverage note: extreme heat policy is the standard '20-minute break between second and third sets' when wet-bulb exceeds 32°C; all three primary show courts have retractable roofs.