A flurry of tournaments and exhibitions from Perth to Brisbane sets the stage for the Australian Open, though top seeds Alcaraz and Sinner are notably absent from early events.
The global tennis circuit has descended on Australia and New Zealand for a bustling two-week warm-up season ahead of the year’s first Grand Slam, the Australian Open, which begins January 18 in Melbourne.
The action kicks off this Friday with the United Cup, a mixed-team event hosted in Perth and Sydney. Featuring top-10 stars like Iga Świątek, Coco Gauff, Alexander Zverev, and Alex de Minaur, the tournament runs until January 11. It will also see the return of former major champions Naomi Osaka and Emma Raducanu, while Swiss veteran Stan Wawrinka begins his farewell season.
Concurrently, the Brisbane International opens with defending champion Aryna Sabalenka headlining the field. All eyes will be on her potential clash with rising Russian star Mirra Andreeva, who at 18 is tipped as the sport’s next major force. “Maybe the rivalry is a little bit there but she is leading… for now,” Andreeva remarked about Sabalenka, whom she defeated in the 2025 Indian Wells final.
Notably absent from these early tournaments are the two dominant men’s players: world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz and second-ranked Jannik Sinner. Instead, they will play a January 10 exhibition in Incheon, South Korea, before heading to Melbourne. Alcaraz will do so without long-time coach Juan Carlos Ferrero, following their recent split.
The second week of preparations features the Adelaide International, where 24-time major winner Novak Djokovic is set to compete, alongside ATP and WTA events in Auckland and a WTA 250 in Hobart. Nick Kyrgios and Frances Tiafoe are scheduled for an exhibition at Melbourne’s Kooyong club in the days before the Open.
A new ATP heat rule will also debut in 2026, allowing for 10-minute breaks in best-of-three-set matches during extreme conditions—a policy long established on the WTA tour.
With a mix of team glory, individual rivalries, and farewell tours, the Australian summer promises intense competition as players fine-tune their games for Melbourne Park.
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