Australian Open: first Grand Slam 2026

The Australian Open has been the first Grand Slam tournament of the tennis season since 1986. It is played at Melbourne Park. The tournament is organized by Tennis Australia, the current name of the Lawn Tennis Association of Australia (LTAA). The finals (women's and men's) will be played on 31 January and 1 February 2026.

Australian Open, January 18 – February 1, 2026

The program Australian Open It has been the first Grand Slam tournament of the tennis season since 1986. It is played at Melbourne Park (sports complex). The tournament is organized by Tennis Australia, the current name of the Lawn Tennis Association of Australia (LTAA). As with all Grand Slam tournaments, juniors also compete alongside men's and women's singles, men's and women's doubles, and mixed doubles. A tournament is also organized for wheelchair tennis players. Since 1988, play has taken place on hard court (hard surface).

The main stadium, the Rod Laver Arena (named after Rod Laver) and the part-time jobs (Melbourne Arena and Margaret court (Arena) all three have a retractable roof so that tournaments can proceed in high temperatures or during rainfall. The retractable roof was emulated by other Grand Slam tournaments, which were often plagued by rain. In 2009 and 2019, Wimbledon's Centre Court and Court No. 1 received such a roof, and in 2016, the main court of the US Open, the Arthur Ashe Stadium, followed suit. Roland Garros did not follow until 2020. That year, Court Philippe Chatrier finally received a retractable roof as well, so that it too can be covered in the rain. Before that time, this was the only Grand Slam tournament that still had to be interrupted by rain, potentially requiring adjustments to the schedule. Since 2020, this is a thing of the past.

Among the women, the Australian won Margret Court the women's singles eleven times, a record. [/ One_half] [one_half_last]                  [/ One_half_last] Roger Federer (1981) has won 20 Grand Slams, including six Australian Opens. Roger Federer lost the final to Rafael Nadal in 2009. [/ One_half] [one_half_last]           [/ One_half_last] Novak Djokovic (1987) is a Serbian tennis player. Since 2020, Djokovic has held the title of 'Big Titles King', having won 72 titles across the four most prestigious tournament categories.

Djokovic is met 24 victories sole record holder for most Grand Slam titles in men's tennis, of which convenient Australian Open titles, seven Wimbledon titles, four US Open titles, and three Roland Garros titles. By winning Roland Garros in 2016, he became the eighth player in men's tennis history to achieve a Career Slam and the third player to win all four Grand Slam tournaments consecutively. With his title at Roland Garros in 2021, Djokovic became the first tennis player in the Open Era and the third overall with a double Career Slam. By winning Roland Garros in 2023, Djokovic became the first and only tennis player to ever achieve a triple Career Slam. Djokovic played in a record 37 Grand Slam finals. Carlos Alcaraz (2003) is a tennis player from Spain. On September 11, 2022, at the age of 19, he won the US Open, after which he became the youngest world number 1 ever. A year later, he secured his second Grand Slam title at Wimbledon by defeating Novak Djokovic in the final. In 2024, this final occurred again, with Alcaraz also winning the Roland Garros Grand Slam tournament. In 2025, Alcaraz won the Roland Garros tournament again. He achieved a total of 6 Grand Slam titles but never won the Australian Open.  

Australian Open Finals

Singles results: Women Aryna Sabalenka – Elena Rybakina 1 – 2. Men Carlos Alcaraz – Novak Djokovic 3 – 1. The other results can be found on the Australian Open website.  

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Australian Open, January 18 – February 1, 2026: https://ausopen.com/