1h agoSat 17 Jan 2026 at 11:53pmAustralians in action on day one of the Aus Open
Here are all the local hopes taking to the court on day one of the Australian Open (all times AEDT).
Coming up:
Corentin Moutet (32) vs Tristan Schoolkate second on Kia ArenaFrances Tiafoe (29) vs Jason Kubler (Q) from 5pm on John Cain ArenaCarlos Alcaraz (1) vs Adam Walton last on Rod Laver Arena
Completed:
Talia Gibson (WC) def Anna Blinkova 6-1, 6-316m agoSun 18 Jan 2026 at 1:28amLocal wildcard Talia Gibson is the first winner of the 2026 Australian Open
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Australian wildcard Talia Gibson is through to the second round of her home slam for the second straight year with a decisive 6-1, 6-3 victory over Russian Anna Blinkova in just 76 minutes.
Gibson was fearless and finished the match by ripping a 43rd winner across the court (Blinkova only had five).
It’s a phenomenal victory for Gibson, who is ranked 119th, 57 spots below Blinkova.
Gibson gets emotional as she thanks the fans on Kia Arena for getting behind her.
“I couldn’t believe the number of people that were in here today. It just means a lot. Thank you so much.”
20m agoSun 18 Jan 2026 at 1:24am
Live: Upset watch on John Cain Arena
What is happening with Flavio Cobolli on JCA? Trainers have been with him at every change of ends
– Stanchez
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Italian 20th seed Flavio Cobolli has just dropped the first-set tiebreak 7-1 to qualifier Arthur Fery and immediately left the court for a toilet break.
The Italian has been struggling a little physically and certainly looked out of sorts.
It’s also been a weird match with a video review for a net touch and a let played after an underarm serve because the ballkid was moving behind Cobolli.
26m agoSun 18 Jan 2026 at 1:18am
Live: Talia Gibson tightening up a little
Australian wildcard Talia Gibson could be the first winner at this Australian Open, but the 21-year-old is showing some nerves as her match against Anna Blinkova rolls on.
The match is just over an hour old and she leads Blinkova 6-1, 4-3 thanks largely to a 33-5 advantage in winners, but she’s just been broken for the first time and the unforced errors are mounting now too (20-12).
Gibson missed a chance to go up 5-1 on Blinkova’s serve and has started missing a few more serves and she’s getting a little rushed as Blinkova finds her rhythm.
36m agoSun 18 Jan 2026 at 1:08am
Huge lines at Melbourne Park
It would be great if we could actually watch the games, we’ve been stood in line in the burning sun for 40 minutes now 😔
– Claire Shepley
Oh Claire, I hope you’ve got your sunscreen on.
(ABC Sport: Anthony Furci)
The lines are massive outside the precinct with ground passes sold out for day one.
Hopefully you can get in soon and enjoy the tennis.
1h agoSun 18 Jan 2026 at 12:44am
Live: Talia Gibson takes the opening set
It’s taken just 31 minutes for West Australian wildcard Talia Gibson to become the first player to win a set in the main draw at the Australian Open.
She’s just demolished world number 62 Anna Blinkova with gutsy groundstrokes and nerveless play, ripping 13 winners to 2 and winning 88 per cent of her first-serve points (albeit only landing it 40 per cent of the time).
1h agoSun 18 Jan 2026 at 12:36am
When is Alex Eala playing?
You able to also report on Alex Eala?
– Rey
Hi Rey,
We will report on Alex Eala, but the 20-year-old from the Philippines isn’t playing until Monday.
She starts her campaign against American Alycia Parks in the second match on court six tomorrow.
1h agoSun 18 Jan 2026 at 12:32am
Live: Clutch from Talia Gibson
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If Talia Gibson is nervous about playing at her home grand slam for just the third time, she isn’t showing it.
The 21-year-old is crushing her groundstrokes and nailing serves on big points, saving two break points in her second service game, then breaking again to extend her first-set lead over Anna Blinkova to 4-1.
The 27-year-old Russian is not only ranked 62nd as opposed to Gibson’s 119, she has also played almost twice as many singles matches on tour.
1h agoSun 18 Jan 2026 at 12:25am
Action about to kick off on the main courts
The first players of the main draw are set to start on the big arenas in just a minute.
First up on Rod Laver Arena we have seventh seed Jasmine Paolini and Belarusian qualifier Aliaksandra Sasnovich:
While on Margaret Court Arena it’s Greek former world number three Maria Sakkari against Leolia Jeanjean, the 101st-ranked Frenchwoman who is coming off successive losses against Belinda Bencic and Paolini at the United Cup:
1h agoSun 18 Jan 2026 at 12:22am
Live: Talia Gibson opens her Open with a break
Australian wildcard Talia Gibson has broken in the first game of the tournament, punishing some poor serving from Anna Blinkova.
Gibson is ranked 119th in the world, 57 spots lower than Blinkova, but is making the early running on Kia Arena
1h agoSun 18 Jan 2026 at 12:20amDay groundpasses already sold out for day one
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Talk about anticipation for this Australian Open being at fever pitch already!
Play has barely begun at Melbourne Park and groundpasses for the day session have already been exhausted.
1h agoSun 18 Jan 2026 at 12:19amHuge rankings leap for Aussie women
Kim Birrell (left) and Taylah Preston (right). (Getty/AP)
On the eve of the Australian Open, two Australian women have had enormous rankings boosts thanks to their semifinal runs.
Kim Birrell has leapt 31 places to 76th in the world rankings after her run in Adelaide, while Taylah Preston jumped 43 places to 161 thanks to her Hobart tournament that ended at the second least hurdle.
Those are the biggest jumps by any players in the top 289 on the WTA rankings.
1h agoSun 18 Jan 2026 at 12:03am
Tennis Australia boss all smiles
TA chief executive Craig Tiley is loving life after a huge “Opening Week” at Melbourne Park drew in record crowds.
Not all the fans were thrilled when they arrived though.
1h agoSat 17 Jan 2026 at 11:52pm
Venus Williams is in the building
The 45-year-old American legend is at Melbourne Park on day one.
Williams faces Serbian world number 68 Olga Danilović in their first-round match tonight on John Cain Arena.
If Williams can pull off an upset and reach the second round, the oldest woman to ever play the Australian Open singles draw would come up against Coco Gauff, the third seed who is less than half her age and has spoken in the past about how the Williams sisters inspired her to pick up a racquet.
We’re not sure of the exact start time for Williams and Danilović, but it will be after Australian qualifier Jason Kubler meets American 29th seed Frances Tiafoe from around 5pm AEDT.
1h agoSat 17 Jan 2026 at 11:45pmAussie wildcard among first Australian Open matches
Australian 21-year-old wildcard Talia Gibson is first up on Kia Arena from 11am AEDT, taking on Russian world number 62 Anna Blinkova.
Gibson, ranked 119th in the world, will be hoping to crack the top 100 for the first time if she can better her career-best Australian Open performance of a second-round exit.
Hers is one of five matches starting at 11am.
John Cain Arena:
1573 Arena:
ANZ Arena:
Court Six:
2h agoSat 17 Jan 2026 at 11:24pmAlex de Minaur’s first round gets easier with massive withdrawal
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In tennis, one player’s misfortune can make life infinitely easier for another and that’s certainly the case for Australian number one Alex de Minaur.
Luckless Italian Matteo Berretini has been forced to withdraw from the Australian Open on the eve of the tournament.
The former Wimbledon finalist and current world number 56 had withdrawn from exhibition matches in Melbourne with what reported to be a mystery illness but it appears it’s another injury.
“It’s never easy to take this kind of decisions (sic) but unfortunately I’ve felt a discomfort in my obliques once again and I won’t be ready to perform at my best level for 5 sets,” Berrettini wrote on Instagram.
“It hurts because playing in Australia has always been special and after 4 weeks of intense training I was excited and ready to get going. I’m hoping and feeling that I won’t be out from the tennis courts for a long time.”
De Minaur will now play American lucky loser and world number 113 Mackenzie McDonald in the first round on centre court on Monday afternoon.
2h agoSat 17 Jan 2026 at 11:18pm
Hello and welcome to day one of the Australian Open!
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Tennis season is truly underway now as the Australian Open kicks off on Sunday for another year.
We’ve got a bunch of on-court action to get into so we won’t mess around except to say welcome to the first of 15 ABC Sport live blogs over the next two weeks of the first tennis grand slam of the year.
I’m Jon Healy and I’m just one of a whole mess of people who’ll be taking you through the action from Melbourne Park, so let’s get straight into it.