Aryna Sabalenka At Australian Open 2026: World No. 1's Possible Path To Third Title

Two-time winner Aryna Sabalenka starts her Australian Open 2026 campaign with a clash against French wildcard Tiantsoa Rakotomanga Rajaonah, and the top seed is likely meet British number one Emma Raducanu in the third round. The main draw for the season-opening Grand Slam tournament was revealed Thursday (January 15).

Sabalenka defeated Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan and Zheng Qinwen of China to win back-to-back titles in 2023 and 2024, but lost to American Madison Keys in the 2025 final. The 27-year-old from Minsk would be eager to reclaim the title.

Here's a look at Belarussian top seed's potential path to the final:

• First Round: Rakotomanga Rajaonah

• Second Round: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova/ Qualifier

• Third Round: Emma Raducanu/Anastasia Potapova/Suzan Lamens

• Fourth Round: Clara Tauson/Victoria Mboko

• Quarter-final: Jasmine Paolini/Ekaterina Alexandrova/Marta Kostyuk/Iva Jovic/Beatriz Haddad Maia

• Semi-final: Coco Gauff/Mirra Andreeva/Elina Svitolina/Karolina Muchova/Emma Navarro

• Final: Iga Swiatek/Elena Rybakina/Amanda Anisimova/Jessica Pegula/Madison Keys/Paula Badosa/Naomi Osaka/Belinda Bencic

The key talking point, of course, is Sabalenka's possible meetings with Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek – two of her greatest rivals – in the semis and final.

And she arrived in Melbourne well-prepared, winning the Brisbane International last week. Before that, she took on Australian maverick Nick Kyrgios in the latest iteration of "Battle of the Sexes".

Women's Singles Seeded Players

1. Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus); 2. Iga Swiatek (Poland); 3. Coco Gauff (USA); 4. Amanda Anisimova (USA); 5. Elena Rybakina (Kazakhstan); 6. Jessica Pegula (USA); 7. Jasmine Paolini (Italy); 8. Mirra Andreeva (Russia); 9. Madison Keys (USA); 10. Belinda Bencic (Switzerland); 11. Ekaterina Alexandrova (Russia); 12. Elina Svitolina (Ukraine); 13. Linda Noskova (Czechia); 14. Clara Tauson (Denmark); 15. Emma Navarro (USA); 16. Naomi Osaka (Japan); 17. Victoria Mboko (Canada); 18. Liudmila Samsonova (Russia); 19. Karolina Muchova (Czechia); 20. Marta Kostyuk (Ukraine); 21. Elise Mertens (Belgium); 22. Leylah Fernandez (Canada); 23. Diana Shnaider (Russia); 24. Jeļena Ostapenko (Latvia); 25. Paula Badosa (Spain); 26. Dayana Yastremska (Ukraine); 27. Sofia Kenin (USA); 28. Emma Raducanu (UK); 29. Iva Jovic (USA); 30. Maya Joint (Australia); 31. Anna Kalinskaya (Russia); 32. Marketa Vondrousova (Czechia).

Australian Open 2026 Telecast And Live Streaming Info

In India and the sub-continent, the Australian Open 2026 will be telecast live on Sony Sports Network, and live streaming will be available on the SonyLiv app and website.

For other countries and regions, check details here.

Australian Open 2026 Singles Schedule

• First Round: January 18, 19 and 20

• Second Round: January 21 and 22

• Third Round: January 23 and 24

• Fourth Round: January 25 and 26

• Quarter-finals: January 27 and 28

• Semi-finals: January 29 (women)

• Semi-finals: January 30 (men)

• Final: January 31 (women)

• Final: February 1 (men)

Australian Open In Brief

The Australian Open is one of the four Grand Slam tournaments, and is held each year around the last two weeks of January, during the summer break Down Under.

It's played outdoors on hard courts at Melbourne Park, located along the Yarra River. The venue has retractable roofs at Rod Laver Arena, Margaret Court Arena and John Cain Arena.

Also known as the Grand Slam of the Asia-Pacific, it was founded in 1905. The women's singles winner is presented with the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup, while the men's singles winners get to lift the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup.

Australian Open Prize Money

Australian Open prize money has increased by 16% from last year (96.5 million Australian dollars in 2025) to a record total of 111.5m AUD (USD 75m). The women's and men's singles champions will earn 4.15 m AUD (USD 2.8m), a 19% increase from last year.