Coco Gauff At Australian Open 2026: American Youngster's Possible Path To Maiden Title

Coco Gauff's potential meeting with fellow American and tennis legend Venus Williams in the second round of the Australian Open 2026 is one of the key talking points ahead of the season-opening Grand Slam. The main draw for the 114th edition was revealed on Thursday (January 15).

Gauff is one of the 11 Grand Slam champions, including four previous winners here, in the women's singles main draw.

The 21-year-old from Florida enters the Melbourne Major as the third seed, while Williams, now 45, is a wildcard. A four-time winner, Williams will be the oldest woman to compete in the Australian Open singles main draw when she takes on Olga Danilovic of Serbia.

Both Americans are in the same half of the draw as top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka, who faces French wildcard Tiantsoa Rakotomanga Rajaonahin in her opener.

Here's A Look At Coco Gauff's Potential Path To The Final:

• First Round: Kamilla Rakhimova

• Second Round: Venus Williams/Olga Danilovic

• Third Round: Marketa Vondrousova/Jessica Bouzas Maneiro

• Fourth Round: Karolina Muchova/Emma Navarro/Alexandra Eala

• Quarterfinal: Elina Svitolina/Mirra Andreeva/Diana Shnaider/Dayana Yastremska/Maria Sakkari

• Semifinal: Aryna Sabalenka/Jasmine Paolini/Clara Tauson/Emma Raducanu/Victoria Mboko/Marta Kostyuk/Ekaterina Alexandrova

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

This will mark a seventh Australian Open appearance for Coco Gauff. Her best run at the tournament was reaching the semi-final in 2024, where she lost to the eventual champion, Aryna Sabalenka. Last year, she was beaten by Spain's Paula Badosa in the quarter-finals.

As a two-time Grand Slam winner (US Open in 2023, French Open in 2025), Gauff enters the tournament as one of the pre-tournament favourites.

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.

Australia 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.