{"id":418877,"date":"2026-01-20T14:43:19","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T14:43:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/418877\/"},"modified":"2026-01-20T14:43:19","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T14:43:19","slug":"australian-open-recap-as-first-round-ends-record-crowds-ask-questions-of-fan-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/418877\/","title":{"rendered":"Australian Open recap: As first round ends, record crowds ask questions of fan experience"},"content":{"rendered":"

Follow The Athletic\u2019s Australian Open coverage<\/a><\/p>\n

Welcome to the Australian Open<\/a> briefing, where The Athletic\u00a0will explain the stories behind the stories on each day of the tournament.<\/p>\n

On Day 3, the first round came to an end. Here\u2019s what\u2019s been happening Tuesday \u2014 and the previous two.<\/p>\n

A double-edged sword for a Grand Slam that wants to grow?<\/p>\n

As the first round winds up, there\u2019s some good news for the Australian Open: It has pulled in record crowds at nearly every session so far.<\/p>\n

The first day was the biggest day in tournament history. That record lasted 24 hours, with more than 200,000 people coming to Melbourne Park in the first two days. Fans thronged the grounds and filled the courts, packing out even the smallest stadia for rising players and tour players of all levels. The atmosphere was lively and hectic.<\/p>\n

There was also some bad news for the Australian Open, especially with two of the biggest days still to come on the middle weekend. It\u2019s not clear that Melbourne Park can handle all the ticket-buyers.<\/p>\n

Getting in through the main entrance, near the Melbourne Park tram stop has been a mess each morning, with lines snaking for 100 meters or more in the hot sun as fans wait to get bags checked. Once they get in, it can be a challenge to find a place to see some balls being hit on a court. There are far more people than there are general admission seats at desirable matches, and the complex\u2019s lack of vantage points means that hopeful attendees have waited hours on line to see not much in the way of action.<\/p>\n

As yet, organizers said, there is no limit on the number of grounds passes, which cost $59 AUD ($40 USD) this first week. The tournament paused sales briefly on Sunday, but then decided to let sales resume and the lines build.<\/p>\n

The crowds thinned by a modest 7,000 on the third day, but Melbourne Park was still thrumming.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Matt Futterman<\/p>\n

How did two rising WTA stars build on 2025?<\/p>\n

Another big event, another example of the benefits of putting in the hard yards in tennis\u2019 equivalent of the minor leagues.<\/p>\n

Last year it was Victoria Mboko<\/a> and Lo\u00efs Boisson<\/a> who made their mark on the sport\u2019s most prestigious stages after cutting a swathe through the ITF\u2019s third-tier World Tennis Tour, and now Czechia\u2019s Tereza Valentov\u00e1 and Janice Tjen<\/a> of Indonesia look set to continue the trend.<\/p>\n

Both players had success on the WTA Tour last year, as Valentov\u00e1 reached the Japan Open final and Tjen won the Chennai Open. They both picked up some wins at Grand Slams. But they are now building on their winning habits even more.<\/p>\n

Valentov\u00e1, an 18-year-old who looks set to be the latest Czech success story on the WTA Tour, beat the No. 30 seed and home favorite Maya Joint 6-4, 6-4, while Tjen, a 23-year-old Pepperdine University graduate with a richly varied game, took out the No. 22 seed Leylah Fernandez 6-2, 7-6(1).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Tereza Valentov\u00e1 is among a group of ascendant players on the WTA Tour who are backing up incredible win-rates in the minor leagues. (David Gray \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Tjen\u2019s victory was particularly impressive, as she recovered from being broken when serving for the match to play a near-flawless tiebreak.<\/p>\n

Tjen has a big chance to go one better than she did at the U.S. Open, with a winnable second-round match against Karol\u00edna Pl\u00ed\u0161kov\u00e1, the Czech veteran who is only just back after multiple ankle surgeries. Valentov\u00e1 will be up against another Czech, the 20-year-old Linda Fruhvirtov\u00e1, who is looking for her first third-round appearance at a Slam.<\/p>\n

Valentov\u00e1 and Tjen are ranked No. 47 and No. 46 in the live rankings; this time a year ago they were playing in lowly events in Portugal and India respectively. There are no guarantees in tennis, but, like Mboko and Bo\u00efsson, finding their feet at ITF level and doing a whole lot of winning there seems to have set Valentov\u00e1 and Tjen up for a significant push up the tennis ladder.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Charlie Eccleshare<\/p>\n

How did a superstar make an entrance?<\/p>\n

Naomi Osaka<\/a> knows how to make an entrance. The two-time Australian Open champion is a master of tennis fashion<\/a>, and Tuesday night in Melbourne, she delivered one of her most head-turning on-court looks yet.<\/p>\n

She entered the court to face Antonia Ru\u017ei\u0107 of Croatia wearing a white hat with an umbrella and ethereal veil designed by couturier Robert Wun, who has previously worked with pop stars including Beyonce.<\/p>\n

The hat was even adorned with a butterfly, in reference to the 2021 tournament when a butterfly landed on Osaka\u2019s face.<\/p>\n

But, she told Vogue<\/a>, it was her daughter Shai\u2019s love of jellyfish that was the root of the look.<\/p>\n

\"Naomi<\/p>\n

\n Naomi Osaka\u2019s latest in a long run of stunning walk-on outfits. (Robert Prange \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Once on court, she revealed an aquamarine-inspired dress, with floaty tendrils referencing the creatures.<\/p>\n

But Osaka could have used some additional tentacles to live with Ru\u017ei\u0107, who came back from losing the first set to drag Osaka all over the court and take the second, before putting her on the brink by going up 4-3 in the third set.<\/p>\n

But Osaka has good memories of Melbourne from when she was dominating the sport at the turn of the decade, and she is determined to make some more \u2014 and get the opportunity for more walk-ons. She stormed back to win 6-3, 3-6, 6-4.<\/p>\n

\u2014 James Hansen<\/p>\n

How did the surprise package of the season so far keep rolling?<\/p>\n

How many people had Seb\u00e1stian B\u00e1ez down as one of the main tennis characters of the first few weeks of the season?<\/p>\n

The understated Argentine, a clay-court specialist who stands at 5-foot-7, has appeared allergic to hard courts for most of his career. But he has already won eight matches on the surface this year, after winning just three in 2025 against 12 losses.<\/p>\n

The eighth of those victories came Tuesday in Melbourne in dramatic circumstances, as B\u00e1ez took out Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, more than a foot taller and one of the biggest servers in the game, in five sets.<\/p>\n

B\u00e1ez, who was two sets up, then served for the match in the fourth but ultimately had to go the distance. He showed impressive resilience to win out 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 5-7, 6-3, having come to Melbourne straight from reaching the Auckland Open final last week.<\/p>\n

That Auckland run, where he was beaten in the final by Jakub Men\u0161\u00edk, followed heroics at the United Cup. B\u00e1ez went three for three, beating Jaume Munar, Taylor Fritz and Stan Wawrinka as Argentina reached the quarterfinals.<\/p>\n

The win over Fritz, a former U.S. Open finalist, came after the American had appeared to mock his height following a lob. B\u00e1ez, encouraged by the Argentinian captain Sebastian Gutierrez, seemed to use the incident as fuel.<\/p>\n

\"Taylor<\/p>\n

It thrust B\u00e1ez, once ranked No. 18 and currently at No. 36, into an unusual position in the tennis spotlight. He has reveled in it ever since.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Charlie Eccleshare<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Other notable results on Day 3 \ud83d\udcc8\ud83d\udcc9:
\nDefending champion\u00a0Madison Keys (9)\u00a0emerged from a challenging first set<\/a> to beat\u00a0Oleksandra Oliynykova\u00a07-6(6), 6-1 in her opening match. Oliynykova\u2019s performance \u2014 and her news conference discussing Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine<\/a> \u2014 was one of the stories of the day.
\nJannik Sinner (1) opened his title defense with a curtailed 6-2, 6-1 win over Hugo Gaston after the Frenchman retired due to injury.
\nTaylor Fritz (9) raced away with his match against\u00a0Valentin Royer after the Frenchman could not keep up physically in the back half of the match. Fritz triumphed 7-6(5), 5-7, 6-1, 6-3.
\nNikola Bart\u016f\u0148kov\u00e1 spoiled Daria Kasatkina\u2018s party at her first Grand Slam as an Australian citizen. The hugely talented Czech teenager came back from a bagel in the second set to triumph 7-6(7), 0-6, 6-3.
\nShot\u00a0of the day<\/p>\n

Oliynykova had Keys on the ropes in the opening set, especially with impossibly deft lobs like this one:<\/p>\n

\"\"Drop Shots<\/p>\n

\ud83c\uddf5\ud83c\udded Alex Eala may have left the Australian Open<\/a>, but she has been making tennis history for the Philippines<\/a> for some time.
\ud83c\udfc3\u200d\u2642\ufe0f Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are running away with the men\u2019s tour. This is how the chasing pack keeps up<\/a> \u2014 mentally.
\ud83e\udd16 The Australian Open\u2019s glitching cartoon tennis stars<\/a> are back for another year, in an ingenious showcase of how to show more tennis to more people.<\/p>\n

Up next: Second round begins<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfbe Women\u2019s singles: Coco Gauff (3) vs. Olga Danilovi\u0107<\/p>\n

Not before 9 p.m. ET on ESPN Unlimited, ESPN+, ESPN2<\/p>\n

Gauff\u2019s campaign continues against the powerful left-hander who got past Venus Williams from 0-4 down in the opening round. Gauff, who was keeping her serve speed low in her first-round match<\/a> for safety, will have to increase the pace \u2014 and risk \u2014 against Danilovi\u0107, but also has the athleticism and shot tolerance to invite her into mistakes.<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfbe Men\u2019s singles: Carlos Alcaraz (1) vs. Yannick Hanfmann<\/p>\n

Not before 10 p.m. ET on ESPN Unlimited, ESPN+, ESPN2<\/p>\n

Anything other than a one-sided win for Alcaraz would be a surprise, but the juice in this matchup is the potential for absolutely electric ball-striking. Hanfmann has a lightning-bolt serve and can lace winners from just about anywhere shortly behind the baseline. Alcaraz\u2019s variety and ability to absorb should be far too much, but expect some \u201canything you can do, I can do better\u201d painting of the lines.<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfbe Women\u2019s singles: Maria Sakkari vs. Mirra Andreeva (8)<\/p>\n

3 a.m. ET on ESPN Unlimited, ESPN+, ESPN2<\/p>\n

A test of Sakkari\u2019s resurgence after an indifferent 2025 season, and of Andreeva\u2019s improving emotional management on big stages. The Russian, who can control the rhythm of a point like few others, should start as favorite, but Sakkari has the weapons and court craft of her own to cause an upset.<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfbe Women\u2019s singles: Karolina Muchov\u00e1 (19) vs. Alycia Parks<\/p>\n

3 a.m. ET (estimated) on ESPN Unlimited, ESPN+<\/p>\n

The way Parks withstood the buoyant Filipino crowd \u2014 and a first-set bagel \u2014 to get past Alex Eala in the first round was remarkable. The American\u2019s reward is another matchup with Karol\u00edna Muchov\u00e1, the Czech with all the talent in the world who is capable of a deep major run at any given time. Parks triumphed when they last met at a Grand Slam, winning in three sets at last year\u2019s French Open.<\/p>\n

Australian Open men\u2019s draw 2026Australian Open women\u2019s draw 2026<\/p>\n

Tell us what you noticed on the third day\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Follow The Athletic\u2019s Australian Open coverage Welcome to the Australian Open briefing, where The Athletic\u00a0will explain the stories…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":418878,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[72],"tags":[99,1794,428],"class_list":["post-418877","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tennis","tag-sports","tag-sports-business","tag-tennis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/418877","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=418877"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/418877\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/418878"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=418877"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=418877"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=418877"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}