Australian Open 2026: Guide & Details

When and where does the Australian Open take place?

This year’s Australian Open takes place from January 12th to February 1st in Melbourne instead of. The whole event takes place in Melbourne Park, where there are different stadiums for the matches and enough space for the supporting program. The main draw doesn’t start until January 18th, with qualification taking place the week before.

The junior tournaments begin on January 24th, the wheelchair competition two days later. Melbourne is ten hours ahead of Switzerland. The evening games take place in the morning or midday during Swiss time.

Who will represent Switzerland in Melbourne?

So far the women are from Switzerland Belinda Bencic, Victoria Golubic and Simona Waltert there. The men have Stan Wawrinka a wildcard for his last dance receive. The Romand triumphed at Melbourne Park in 2014. It remains to be seen whether more Swiss will join in the qualification. Roger Federer will certainly be at the new opening ceremony.

What role does Roger Federer play?

In the opening ceremony on Saturday, January 17, Federer will share the court with Andre Agassi, Patrick Rafter and Lleyton Hewitt. There are many indications that in this duel between world number one Federer and Agassi, who won the Grand Slam tournament in Australia four times, they will face the two Australians Rafter and Hewitt in a doubles match. A performance by the rock band Crowded House is also on the program.

Which Swiss have already won the tournament?

The Swiss tennis legend Martina Hingis won the Australian Open a total of ten times during her time, three times in singles and seven times in doubles. Roger Federer returns to the Australian Open this year as a six-time winner for the opening ceremony. Stan Wawrinka won the tournament in 2014, and in the last season of his career he received another invitation to Melbourne.

Are there any local players in Melbourne?

World number six Alex de Minaur is the Australians’ biggest trump card. There are also some local players there thanks to a wildcard.

Eight Australians have already qualified for the main field, including Maya Joint. The 19-year-old is currently Australia’s best tennis player, ranked 32nd in the world, and is taking part in the tournament for the first time. There are more than 50 Australian players taking part across all competitions.

Who triumphed at the Australian Open last year?

Last year Jannik Sinner won the tournament in the final against Alexander Zverev. In the women’s category, the American Madison Keys won the tournament against world number 1 Aryna Sabalenka. It was in the junior category the Swiss Henry Bernetwho won the trophy, was the junior Wakana Sonobe from Japan.

Who are the favorites this year?

A final between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz would be a premiere at the Australian Open and therefore a spectacle. It would be the game between number 1 (Alcaraz) and number 2 in the world – so it only makes sense. A final between the favorites Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek would also be equally exciting for the fans.

Who are the record winners of the Australian Open?

Novak Djokovic has already won ten times in Australia; last year, at 37, he became the oldest player to reach the semi-finals. The Australian Margaret Court won the tournament eleven times during her career, and so far no one has come close to her record.

This year does Venus Williams as the oldest player in the tournament at all. The American returns at the age of 45, thanks to a wildcard.

How is the prize money distributed at the Australian Open?

This year the prize money is almost 60 million francs – a new record. That’s around 19 percent more for the winners than last year, around 2.2 million francs per winner.