(Getty/William West) In September last year, he lost in the opening round of a French challenger and had a total of 11 ATP Tour-level wins to his name. This week, he booked his ticket to the third round of the Australian Open as the tournament's 30th seed. His name is Valentin Vacherot, and he might be the most unlikely player to (soon) find himself in the world's top 20 in recent memory after defeating Australian Rinky Hijikata 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 in front of a disappointed h

(Getty/William West) On the stroke of midnight, Thanasi Kokkinakis and Nick Kyrgios have been edged out by fellow Aussies Jason Kubler and Marc Polmans 6-4 4-6 7-6(4), with the Special K's struggling to the finish line after being up a break in the third set before both players suffered from flare-ups of their longstanding injuries leaving their futures unknown.   For a long time, it felt like the match that everyone had stuck around for would not deliver. After dropping the

28-year-old Maddison Inglis' dream run continued on Thursday at Melbourne Park, reaching the third round of a major for the second time in her career.   An emotional Inglis took down the experienced Laura Siegemund 6-4, 6-7(3), 7-6(7) in more than three hours before collapsing to the court – and not for the first time this week.   "I can't really believe it yet. I actually didn't know I had that in me," Inglis told the media post-match, with possibly the biggest smile ever se

(Getty/Phil Walter) An unexpected feud erupted on Margaret Court Arena between Sorana Cîrstea and Naomi Osaka, with the latter apologising for comments made in her on-court interview. Osaka, a two-time Australian Open champion, edged another tight three-set contest against her Romanian opponent, recording a 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 win, which ensures a third round clash against Aussie qualifier Maddison Inglis. As the pressure heightened in the final set, former world No.21 Cîrstea was

(Getty/Paul Crock) Tommy Paul has cruised through his first two Australian Open matches, with a strong 6-4 6-3 6-3 win over countryman Aleksandar Kovacevic, followed up with a 6-3 6-4 6-2 victory over Thiago Agustin Tirante. So far, everything seems to be running smoothly for the American 19th seed. When asked if he was somewhat surprised with his first week so far, Paul leaned towards his serve as a big strength. "I don't want to say I was surprised, but I feel like somethin

(AP/Aaron Favila) Alejandro Davidovich Fokina has pulled through in an epic five-set encounter in his second round match at the Australian Open, despite a rowdy crowd, which saw tempers flare. The 14th seed lost momentum after going two sets up against the dangerous big-serving American Reilly Opelka, but found a way to prevail 6-3, 7-6(3), 5-7, 4-6, 6-4 on Kia Arena. The near-four-hour tussle wasn't without drama however, as Davidovich Fokina walked up to a section of the cr

Janice Tjen holding the Chennai title. (WTA) Just a day after Filipino young gun Alexandra Eala set the crowd alight, Indonesia's Janice Tjen did a similar thing at Melbourne Park. Except this time, the script was different. Tjen won. Tjen took down Canada's 22nd seed, Leylah Fernandez, 6-2, 7-6, becoming the first Indonesian to win a main draw match at the Australian Open since Yayuk Basuki back in 1998. Tjen, at just 23, has been on a tear lately, and this victory is the la

(Getty/Paul Crock) Less than a year ago, he was in tennis' abyss and barely ranked inside the world's top 700 players. On Tuesday, Dane Sweeny defeated Frenchman Gaël Monfils for his first-ever Grand Slam win and set up a second-round date with Ben Shelton.    Playing in front of a boisterous Kia Arena, with Australians and French fans seemingly present in equal numbers, Sweeney outplayed and outlasted a tiring Monfils 6-7(3), 7-5, 6-4, 7-5 in three hours and 51 minutes.  "I

(Getty/Lintao Zhang) Having entered the 2026 Australian Open as the only Aussie woman seed, Maya Joint's run has ended early after a straight sets defeat on John Cain Arena. The 30th seed, who was seeking her maiden singles main draw win at Melbourne Park, bowed out 4-6, 4-6 to 18-year-old Tereza Valentova. The last Aussie woman to earn a seed next to their name in the singles draw was Ash Barty when she won the tournament four years ago. The First Serve Live returns on Monda

(Getty/Izhar Khan) Have you ever had to give back the biggest bonus you've earned in your career?  That's the reality for American up-and-comer Michael Zheng, who earned the biggest win of his life on Opening Sunday, defeating compatriot Sebastian Korda 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 6-7(0), 6-3 on Kia Arena.  Zheng, a psychology undergraduate at Columbia University in New York, is subject to the ever-contentious and, arguably, prehistoric NCAA rules of amateurism that prevent student-athlet

Storm Hunter earned one of the best wins of her career. (Getty/William West) As has been the theme of the summer this year, Storm Hunter and Alex de Minaur emerged as Australia’s brightest hopes on what was a largely successful day for the Aussies, with six wins and three losses, including a heartbreaker for Alexei Popyrin, who lost in a fifth-set tiebreak to Alexandre Müller.   Hunter kicked off the day with a straight sets 6-4, 6-4 victory over Jéssica Bouzas Maneiro, fight

(Getty/Cameron Spencer) Arthur Fery, the unheralded world No.186 from Great Britain, delivered the first shock of the 2026 Australian Open, just hours after the gates opened, taking down 20th-seeded Italian Flavio Cobolli, 7-6, 6-4, 6-1. Despite the Italian struggling with his fitness at times, it was a stunning win from Fery, who came through qualifying just to make it into the main draw. Fery, speaking after the match, suggested playing the three matches beforehand, and the

(Getty/James D. Morgan) Australian Open Tournament Director Craig Tiley has responded to record crowd numbers at Melbourne Park, insisting that the wave of fans has come as a surprise. Sunday's Day 1 attendance total set a tournament record of 100,763, with 73,235 spectators flooding through the gates for the day session alone. For the first time in the event's history, ground passes were put on hold due to the high demand, as some fans voiced their anger about overflowing cr

The pain was too much to cope with for Marina Stakusic. (Getty/Quinn Rooney) Australia's Priscilla Hon has survived an incredibly topsy-turvy first round encounter against qualifier Marina Stakusic, who had to be escorted off the court in a wheelchair. In what was a near-flawless first set by Stakusic to drop just one game in the opening set, Hon was lifted by the home crowd on ANZ Arena to take a 5-2 lead in the second. Although she handed her opponent the chance to level th

Talia Gibson celebrates after her first round victory at the AO. (Getty/Darrian Traynor) In front of a packed KIA Arena, 21-year-old Australian Talia Gibson took down a former world No.34 to fly the flag for her nation on Day 1 of the Australian Open. Gibson defeated Anna Blinkova in a dominant 6-1, 6-3 display, most notably firing 43 winners compared to her opponent's five. "I knew that [in] this matchup today I was going to be the more aggressive player out on the court," s

(Getty/Phil Walter) Credit where credit is due. Tennis Australia has pulled off a masterstroke when it comes to marketing and ticket sales for the 2026 Australian Open. And on Sunday's grand opening of the main draw, that momentum from 'Opening Week' didn't sway one bit, as the tournament registered a record day session attendance of 73,235, with the previous record set at 68,883. The First Serve Live returns on Monday February 2nd at 8pm AEDT for its 18th year on the SEN Net

(Getty/Patrick Hamilton) World No.105 Yulia Putintseva has turned villain again by sarcastically celebrating in the direction of heckling fans on Court 6. The former top 20 player, who is heading into the twilight of her career aged 31, took care of business in her opening round match at the Australian Open, coming from behind to defeat Brazil's Beatriz Haddad Maia 3-6, 7-5, 6-3. The First Serve Live returns on Monday February 2nd at 8pm AEDT for its 18th year on the SEN Netw

It was a day to forget for Flavio Cobolli at the AO. (Getty/Cameron Spencer) After a record-breaking and not uncontroversial Opening Week, the main draw is officially underway at Melbourne Park, and Italian 20th seed Flavio Cobolli is the opening seed to fall. Having drawn British qualifier Arthur Fery in the first round, the bookies predicted the 23-year-old Italian would be amongst the early winners on opening Sunday. The world No.185 and Stanford University alumni, however

Record crowds have flooded through the gates at Melbourne Park. (Photo: The First Serve) The very crowded house that was Rod Laver Arena on a Saturday night that included a set from, yes, Crowded House symbolises the transformation of the Australian Open from the far more modest affair it was when Flinders/Melbourne Park shared this writer's Grand Slam debut almost four decades ago. Since 2024, Saturday night has been tournament eve for the now-15-day event, but never like th

Mirra Andreeva in disbelief as she wins Adelaide title. (Getty/Sarah Reed) Mirra Andreeva defeated Victoria Mboko, and Tomas Machac took down Ugo Humbert in the final warm-up tournament in Adelaide before the Australian Open. Andreeva was clinical in beating Mboko 6-3 6-1, with Mboko struggling with injury, while Machac defeated Humbert in a tightly contested 6-4 6-7 6-2 victory.   In the first match of the day, Mboko raced to a 3-0 lead before Andreeva’s defensive skills beg