VIEW: Men’s singles entry list | List of women’s singles participants
World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz, who is aiming for a Grand Slam career at AO 2026, leads the men’s rankings, while two-time AO champion Aryna Sabalenka, who has competed in the past three AO finals, leads the women’s list.
Alcaraz has yet to progress beyond the quarter-finals at Melbourne Park and will face stiff competition from world No. 2 Jannik Sinner, the 2024 and 2025 champion who is aiming to become only the second man in the Open era after Novak Djokovic to win three consecutive AO singles titles.
He and Alcaraz have met in the past three Grand Slam finals, with the Australian Open being the only major tournament where they have yet to meet.
Djokovic, a 10-time AO champion, enters as world number four after reaching all four major semifinals in 2025, making him the oldest man in the Open era to achieve the feat in a single season.
The notable absentee among the men is Holger Rune, number 15 in the world, who continues to rehabilitate a torn Achilles tendon.
Sabalenka is joined on the women’s side by defending champion Madison Keys, world number 2 Iga Swiatek – who is targeting a career Slam in Melbourne after her victory at Wimbledon in 2025 – and reigning Roland Garros champion Coco Gauff, who defeated Sabalenka in the French final.
World number 64 Danielle Collins and 76th ranked Ons Jabeur, the latter currently on maternity leave, will miss the tournament, while former world number 1 Karolina Pliskova, China’s Wang Yafan and rising Thai talent Mananchaya Sawangkaew have entered via protected rankings.
Four men – Chinese stars Shang Juncheng and Zhang Zhizhen, Finn Emil Ruusuvuori and Australian favorite Thanasi Kokkinakis – entered the tournament with protected rankings.
That makes Argentinian Thiago Agustin Tirante the last direct acceptance, ranked number 101 in the world at the time of the November 17 rankings on which the men’s entries are based. Frenchwoman Leolia Jeanjean is the last direct entry into the women’s field and was ranked 103rd at the time of the registration deadline of December 8.
Meanwhile, world number 7 Alex de Minaur leads the Australian contingent. The AO 2025 quarter-finalist is one of six Aussies in the men’s event, while the country’s top-ranked woman, world number 32 Maya Joint, leads four rural women into the women’s event.
Eight wildcards and 16 qualifiers round out the 128-player field in both men’s and women’s singles, with three of those wildcards already announced.
The qualifier will take place from January 12 to 15 at Melbourne Park as part of the opening week presented by Herald Sun
Australian Open 2026, supported by key partner Kia in collaboration with ANZ, Emirates, Luzhou Laojiao and Rolex, will take place at Melbourne Park from January 12 to February 1, 2026.
Ticket sales via Ticketmaster. Visit ausopen.com for more information.
#Novak #Djokovic #among #leading #Australian #Open #entries #Serbian #legend #11th #title