The first week of the 2026 tennis season is in the books, and the Australian Open qualifying is ramping up. What are the takeaways from the opening week, and is there anything we might be able to take to the bank for the remainder of the year?
The New Season Should Always Start in the New Year
Recently, we’ve seen the new tennis season begin before the calendars have turned over to January, really making it feel as though there’s no break. Thankfully this year we were able to get a couple of days into 2026 before the first ball was struck. Let’s keep it this way.
Sabalenka Picks Up From Where She Left Off
Aryna Sabalenka reminded everyone why she is the number 1 player in the world, with a dominant display at the Brisbane 500. This is the 5th time in 8 seasons Sabalenka has won the opening event. A perfect way to let her rivals know that she’s not going anywhere.
The Mum’s are Doing it for the Kids
It’s so good to see women take time away from the sport to start a family, and come back better than ever. Elina Svitolina and Belinda Bencic both showed the world that just because you’re a mum, that doesn’t mean you can’t compete and beat, the elite of tennis. Svitolina took out the Auckland 250 event, while Bencic was undefeated in singles throughout the United Cup.
The Older Men’s Generation is Making a Stand
It was also great to see some of the older brigade of men playing good tennis too. Grigor Dimitrov played a couple of good matches, Hubert Hurkacz returned to the court, looking in better form that he’s ever been, and Stan Wawrinka, aged 40, in his last season, doesn’t look like he’ll leave anything in the tank this year!
Daniil Medvedev Needs More Cities
Medvedev won his 22nd title of his career at the Brisbane 250. Amazingly, he’s won in 22 different cities. No doubt he’d like to add Melbourne to that list, after coming so close on multiple occasions. Regardless though, it’s an extraordinary record, and if you’re a gambling person, it’s probably best to stay away from him if he’s playing an event he’s won before.
Alexandra Eala is the New Marketing Superpower of the WTA
The 20 year old Filipino woman had a breakout year last year, moving into the top 50, off the back of a semi-final run in Miami, a 125 title, and a 250 final. She has become the new darling of Asian tennis, and the crowds are flocking to see her play, and practice. If the WTA are looking for social media engagement, they should be instructed to push as much Eala content as possible!
The Australian Open is Showing No Signs of Slowing Down
While not technically in week 1 of the year, it would be remiss not to mention that nearly 30,000 people attended day 1 of Qualifying. Not day 1 of the main tournament, but day 1 of qualifying. The previous record at the AO was under 8000. An extraordinary result, and an amazing show of support for an event that is possibly in danger of getting too big for its own good.
The NextGen Poised to Make a Move?
At the Canberra Challenger last year, Joao Fonseca was coming off the NextGen title, just a couple of weeks earlier. He would go on to win the title, then qualify for the Australian Open, before defeating Andrey Rublev in Rd.1. This year, Alexander Blockx of Belgium, was coming off the final of the NextGen event, and has also taken out the Canberra title. It will be interesting to see how far he goes this season.
It’s impossible to keep up with every storyline in tennis. But that’s what makes it so good. There’s always something to talk about….
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