Tuesday, January 20, 2026

AO26 - Can Everything New Be New Again?


Three days into AO26, we finally got a belated peep at the AO25 champion in her return to the court where her career dreams came true a year ago.



Through the opening weeks of the new season, there was conflicting information regarding whether or not the new year was going to give us a sequel to the smash hit "New Madi" that ran through the opening months of '25. Last year Down Under, Madison Keys went 14-1 in Australia, winning titles in Adelaide and Melbourne as part of a dominant 18-1 beginning to her season, which included her saving a MP in the AO semis vs. #2 Iga Swiatek, then winning in three in the final vs. #1 Aryna Sabalenka.

Keys was a far more down to earth 19-15 after her early hot streak, including a season-ending four-match losing streak (0-2 at the WTAF before pulling up stakes with a RR match to play).

Before today, 2026 had already seen Keys show *some* of the old "New Madi" mettle she'd displayed en route to her maiden slam crown. She won a tight contest vs. Diana Shnaider in Brisbane, but saw Sabalenka make quick work of her in a pseudo-rematch on Aussie soil. In her return to Adelaide as the defending champ, she handled Czech teen Tereza Valentova, only to fall in three sets to Canadian teen Victoria Mboko.

Whether the #9 seeded Keys was ready for a legitimate defense in Melbourne was an open question, and when she quickly fell behind 4-0 to Oleksandra Oliynykova in the Ukrainian's slam MD debut things didn't look particularly encouraging. But then New Madi popped up again, showing Keys' far greater experience on the big stage. She ran off five games to lead 5-4, but still saw Oliynykova serve for the set at 6-5. Keys got the break to force a tie-break, then fell behind 4-0, facing down a pair of SP at 6-4.

Then...



Having kicked things into gear, Keys followed up her four straight points to take the 1st set with a 4-0 carry-over lead into the 2nd. She'd allow just one game in the stanza, winning 7-6(6)/6-1 to win for the 35th time in 45 career AO singles matches, including the last eight in a row.



A single win doesn't mean that Keys has suddenly recaptured the magic of her '25 run, but she'll be around in the 2nd Round to try to build one more result atop this one. Countrywoman Ashlyn Krueger will be up next, with the likes of another U.S. woman, #6 Jessie Pegula, possibly around the corner.

But Keys' fortunes have generally revolved around Keys, not her opponents. When she can play, consistently, at her best, very good things can happen. At the very least, with this one win she's reversed her downward trending slam result string (QF-3r-1r) since her AO title run last year.

And maybe that'll be enough to light her fire all over again.










=AO NOTES=
...no, it wasn't suddenly 2015 again in Melbourne today (oh, my... how much of a culture shock -- and a good one, too -- that would be, eh?), but you wouldn't have known that from the sight at Kia Arena.

There we saw Karolina Pliskova (currently the world #1057 after missing so much time with an ankle injury that required two surgeries) faced off against Sloane Stephens (thirteen years past her memorable AO SF in 2013, and ranked #1102 after seeing her successful qualifying run last week end what had been a 13-match losing streak that stretched back to the '24 Wimbledon). It was their first meeting on outdoor hard court since 2015 in Beijing.

Though Stephens came in with the sudden winning streak, it was Pliskova who posted the 7-6(7)/6-2 win, turning around had been a 1-6 mark in the head-to-head series with her first win over Stephens since 2018.



...meanwhile, the sound of the rise of Pliskova's young Czech countrywomen has been clear on many levels of tennis over the past few years, but save for junior success (three RG girls' champs since 2021) and a few individual women's singles runs -- Linda Noskova's AO24 QF, Linda Fruhvirtova's 4th Rd. at AO23 -- there hasn't really been a full-fledged Crush of Czechs sighting in a major, with the new generation operating as a collective force of achievement (ala the Original Hordettes two decades ago).

But at a slam -- this one -- in which the veteran Czechs are putting up a good showing, with the likes of Pliskova, Karolina Muchova, Marie Bouzkova and Katerina Siniakova all advancing into the 2nd Round in Melbourne, the reason the Czech Republic will have more women (w/ 8) in the Round of 64 than any nation other than the U.S. is because of the success of the younger set.

On Day 3, the player who was the *first* of the junior group to claim a tour-level singles title, along with maybe the "Crusher Most Likely...," both punched their ticket to the next round.

Back in 2022, Linda Fruhvirtova was the first of the Crusher generation to win a tour title, in Chennai. Soon after she reached the second week in Melbourne, and cracked the Top 50 in the summer of '23. But she couldn't keep her rise going, and a year later finished the '24 season at #201. She had a pair of matching nine-match losing streaks in both 2023 and '24, before finally beginning to find her footing again last year. In 2025, she reached her biggest finals in three years -- at a pair of 125 events -- and posted her best 1000+ result (Miami 3r) since her AO 4th Round run in her Down Under debut. She climbed back into the Top 135.

Fruhvirtova, 20, made her way through AO qualifying last week, and on Tuesday in Melbourne she notched her first MD win in a major in three years, defeating Lulu Sun 6-3/7-5.



Fruhvirtova's 2nd Round opponent will be none other than fellow Crusher Tereza Valentova, an 18-year old hitter who bares a striking resemblance to a player who could do some very big things not far off down the road. A junior slam finalist at the U.S. Open in '23, she won the girls' Roland Garros crown in '24. Last season, she posted women's MD wins in her two major MD debuts (RG/US, and in the latter put up a good fight vs. Elena Rybakina in a 6-3/7-6 2r loss), won a pair of 125 crowns, cracked the Top 100 (w/ a combined pro mark of 87-17 in 2024-25), and reached her first tour-level SF in Prague before playing in her maiden WTA final in Osaka late in the season.

Today Valentova recorded her first win in a major over a seed, "upsetting" (but maybe not *really*) #30-seeded Aussie Maya Joint, 6-4/6-4, in the Czech's AO women's singles MD debut.



The all-Crusher match-up in the next round will push one into what will be the biggest match of her career. The possible 3rd Round opponent for the winner might be an interesting one, especially for Valentova, as she could get another shot in a major at the #5-seeded Rybakina, who got a 6-4/6-3 win today over Kaja Juvan (making the Kazakh 14-1 since mid-October).

Adding herself to the pile of Crushers late in the day was slam MD-debuting 19-year old qualifier Nikola Bartunkova, who joined Valentova in spoiling the home crowd's hopes with a 7-6(7)/0-6/6-3 win over Dasha Kasatkina in the former Hordette's debut AO match as a newly-minted Australian. Of note, the majors had been Kasatkina's saving grace in what was an otherwise poor '25 campaign, as she posted two second week runs (AO/RG) and was a combined 10-4. She was 9-18 in her other matches.



In addition to today's winners, on Day 2 the group saw the highest ranked of the Crushers, #13-seeded Linda Noskova, 21, allow just three games to Darja Semenistaja.

...meanwhile, Eva Lys dropped her third AO match in two years on Day 3. Last year, she reached the Round of 16 as a lucky loser, but in her return she fell to Sorana Cirstea, 3-6/6-4/6-3, in the opening major of what the Romanian vet says will be her final year on tour.

Later, with Germany looking square in the face of an opening round 0-4 mark, Laura Siegemund swooped in to save the day, and her match against #18 Liudmila Samsonova.

Throwing her hat into the middle of the "Zombie Queen of Melbourne" nomination ring, the 37-year old rallied from a massive 6-0/5-2 hole in a match in which Samsonova served for the win at 5-3 and held a pair of MP. After the German forced a 3rd set, she fell behind again at 3-1 only to fight her way across the finish with a 0-6/7-5/6-4 victory.



...at this time a year ago, Janice Tjen was in the process of extending her barnstorming run across the tennis landscape, adding to her number of 2024-25 ITF challenger crowns (she eventually claimed 13 across the two seasons). After putting together 20 and 15-match winning streaks in '24, she strung together 27 wins in a row last year.

Tjen finally made her tour-level MD debut as a qualifier at the U.S. Open, upsetting Veronika Kudermetova in the 1st Round (the first win by an Indonesian woman in a major in more than two decades).

By the end of 2025, the former NCAA player (Oregon/Pepperdine) added an additional 125 title, two at tour level in doubles and reached a pair of WTA singles finals, sweeping the s/d trophies in Chennai (becoming the first INA WTA singles champ in 23 years) and nearly cracking the Top 50 (getting as high as #53). Over the 2024-25 seasons, Tjen went a combined 118-18 in singles on all pro levels.

Tjen, who has already added another WTA WD title (Hobart) in '26, experienced her AO MD debut today, and immediately made her presence known again, upsetting #22 Leylah Fernandez by a 6-2/7-6(1) score, overcoming her inability to serve out the match at 5-4 by seizing control of the tie-break and ushering out the former slam finalist Canadian at 7-1.



...say what one will about some of the wild cards handed out by Tennis Australia for the women's MD, the group has seen their Aussie selections back up TA's faith in them. Today, Taylah Preston, fresh off her maiden WTA semifinal in Hobart, collected her first career MD win in a major. She's the third of the four Australians given women's singles wild cards to advance to the 2nd Round (w/ Talia Gibson and Priscilla Hon).

Two weeks ago, the 20-year old Preston lost in the final round of Brisbane qualifying to Zhang Shuai, falling in three sets. Today the Aussie got some measure of revenge against the Chinese veteran, defeating Zhang 6-3/2-6/6-3.



...late in the evening, in a JCA affair that lasted until arond 12:30 a.m. in Melbourne, qualifier Maddison Inglis won an all-Aussie battle with Kimberly Birrell to record her first MD win in a major since her 3rd Round AO run back in 2022.

Inglis nearly let it all slip away, losing a 7-6/5-2 lead and being unable to serve out the win at 5-3. In the 2nd set TB, she fell behind 5-2 and saved a pair of SP before holding two MP. Birrell surged back to win 11-9.

But, in the 3rd, Birrell couldn't complete her comeback. The two combined to carve out just one BP chance (for Birrell in game 4) in the first eight games before Inglis finally gained an edge with a break to lead 5-4. She then served out the victory at love.



...with the 1st Round over, some notes and honors...

UPSET QUEENS/REVELATION LADIES: these two came down to a Group of Four achieving nations in the opening round.

The U.S. get a nomination (but first exit) simply due to putting the most players (12) into the 2nd Round, including a group of younger women that includes the likes of Iva Jovic, Caty McNally, Hailey Baptiste, McCartney Kessler, Peyton Stearns, Ann Li, Alycia Parks and Ashlyn Krueger in addition to the "usuals" (aka one-namers Coco, Amanda, Jess and Madi). But with 19 players in the MD to start with, some big upsets and *stunning/unexpected* names (of which none of those dozen are) would be necessary. So, no.

Next up, the 4-0 Poles -- with Iga Swiatek, Magda Linette, Magdalena Frech and newcomer Linda Klimovicova -- submit there name, but there's no "eyebrow raising" feel there other than the teenager... but stay tuned, because she's still (sorta) in the mix.

The Aussies have been impressive, especially when you consider that the nation's Top 3 players -- #31 Joint, #43 Kasatkina and #76 Birrell -- went a combined 0-3. The group *still* pushed six players (of 10 in the MD) through to the 2nd Round, with three of Tennis Australia's four in-house wild cards (Talia Gibson, Taylah Preston and Priscilla Hon) advancing, as well as a pair of qualfiers (Storm Hunter and Maddison Inglis, w/ the former being a Q-round WC). Preston notched her first slam MD win after reaching her maiden tour SF in Hobart, upsetting (?) Zhang Shuai, while Inglis knocked off higher-ranked countrywoman Kimberly Birrell and Gibson took down recent AO star Anna Blinkova. Sounds like a group of "Upset Queens."

As for the "Revelation Ladies," an opportunity to highlight the "Crush of Czechs" who have been collectively rising up the junior ranks and debuting on bigger and bigger stages the last few years will not be passed by, so the honors go there.

As a group, *all* the Czechs went 8-2 in the post-Petra era, even with Marketa Vondrousova withdrawing (again) before her opening match and Barbora Krejcikova (again) dealing with an injury in a loss. Not too shabby. The winners included "blast from the past" Karolina Pliskova, "familiars" like Karolina Muchova, Marie Bouzkova, Katerina Siniakova and the officially the highest-ranked member of the Crusher generation, #13 Linda Noskova. The attention-getting wins came from the youngsters, though, as Tereza Valentova (18) won for the third time in her debut at a major (def. #30 Maya Joint), qualifier Linda Fruhvirtova (20) got her first slam MD since in three years (def. Lulu Sun), and fellow qualifier Nikola Bartunkova (19) won in her maiden MD match in a major (def. Dasha Kasatkina).

So the "RL" goes to, hmmm, on second thought (after looking at those wins), the Czechs get the "Upset Queens" trophy while the Aussies get "Revelation Ladies."

Oh, and about Klimovicova, since she's a *former* Crusher, the 21-year old Pole (since '24) sort gets a half-credit here, too.

NATION OF POOR SOULS: there were a few to choose from here.

As a whole, the *continent* of South America went winless in Melboune, combining to go 0-4 (COL 0-2, ARG 0-1, BRA 0-1), but this isn't the time or place.

Germany very nearly stole the (dis)honors with its own 0-4 mark, but Laura Siegemund's 2 MP-saving rally from 6-0/5-2 down vs. Liudmila Samsonova threw the group a lifevest.

In an odd turn, the other two nominees were Ukraine and Russia.

Ukraine went 1-5 in the 1st Round, with the first two seeds to lose being #26 Dayana Yastremska and #20 Marta Kostyuk (who was also injured), falling in back-to-back matches on the same court on Day 1 (*that'll" keep them alive for the "Crash & Burn" pick if no top seed gets sent packing in the 2nd Round). Anhelina Kalinina, Yuliia Starodubtseva and Oleksandra Oliynykova also didn't get out of the 1st Round, something only #12 Elina Svitolina was able to do.

I think the plight of the (remaining) Hordettes was more noteworthy, though. "Poor Souls"-like, in fact.

They came into Melbourne with an already reduced contingent of just nine women, after having led the AO a year ago with nine players advancing to the 2nd Round, due in large part to the fact that seven notable former Hordettes have started to represent other nations since the start of 2023, including three -- Rakhimova/UZB, Potapova/AUT and P.Kudermetova/UZB -- in the latter stages of the '25 season or just before '26. Additionally, *Veronika* Kudermetova pulled of the AO for what were called "personal reasons" (after she'd already had an opening week that included some embarrassment due to comments on Elena Vesnina's podcast), which turned out to be an indisclosed surgery that will keep her out for several months.

The group opened 0-3 on Day 1, with #11 Ekaterina Alexandrova exiting, started 0-4, and then #18 Samsonova's blown Day 3 match provided a second Top 20 seed out the door. They managed to rebound to go 4-5, with Mirra Andreeva clearly having the best chance for a deep run, but the downward turn feels like a trend that will likely pick up a bit of speed as the slam season goes forward, especially if more decide to no longer be "flagless" on the major stages of the sport.







...ONE WAS TEMPTED TO SAY CERTAIN THIS WAS MORE THAN A BIT *MUCH*, but Osaka saved it with a touch of inadvertent truth in the end on Day 3:




...BRINGING SOMEWHAT MUCHOVA VIBES WITH THE CASUALNESS (but countrywoman Karolina would have probably won the point) on Day 3:




...THIS IS JUST CRAZY on Day 3:




...YOU EVER GET THE FEELING THAT, NO MATTER HOW HARD YOU'RE TRYING, YOU'RE JUST IN THE WAY? (from Day 2):

























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**AO 1st ROUND BY NATION - alphabetical**
0-1 - ARG
6-4 - AUS
2-0 - AUT
1-0 - BEL
1-1 - BLR
0-1 - BRA
1-2 - CAN
2-2 - CHN
0-2 - COL
1-2 - CRO
8-2 - CZE
1-0 - DEN
1-3 - ESP
2-2 - FRA
1-3 - GBR
1-3 - GER
1-0 - GRE
1-2 - HUN
1-0 - INA
1-1 - ITA
2-1 - JPN
2-1 - KAZ
1-1 - LAT
0-1 - MEX
0-1 - NED
0-1 - NZL
0-1 - PHI
4-0 - POL
2-1 - ROU
4-5 - RUS
0-2 - SLO
1-0 - SRB
1-2 - SUI
0-1 - SVK
0-2 - THA
1-0 - TUR
1-5 - UKR
12-7- USA
1-1 - UZB
===
TOTAL MD NATIONS: 40
MOST IN 2nd RD. (29 nations): 12-USA, 8-CZE, 6-AUS, 4-POL, 4-RUS
UNDEFEATED 1st RD.: 4-0 (POL); 2-0 (AUT); 1-0 (BEL,DEN,GER,INA,SRB,TUR)
BEST NON-UNDEFEATED 1st RD.: 8-2 (CZE); 6-4 (AUS); 2-1 (JPN,KAZ,ROU)
WORST 1st RD.: 0-2 (COL,SLO,THA); 1-5 (UKR); 1-3 (ESP,GBR,GER)
SEEDS OUT: 9 (2-RUS, 2-UKR, 2-USA, 1-AUS, 1-CAN + 1-CZE w/d)
DEF.SEEDS: (1 each) CZE,FRA,GER,INA,POL,ROU,TUR,USA

*RECENT AO "NATIONS OF POOR SOULS"*
=2020=
BLR (0-2 1st Rd., #11 Sabalenka high seed; Azarenka DNP)
=2021=
CHN (1-5 1st Rd., two seeds and 3 Top 50 players ousted)
=2022=
CAN (0-2 1r, #23 Fernandez out; Andreescu/Bouchard DNP)
=2023=
GER (1-4 1st Rd.; Petkovic ret., Kerber DNP/pregnant; NextGen 0-2)
=2024=
RUS seeds (1-4 1st Rd.)
=2025=
CZE (1-4 1st Rd.; no Kvitova/Pliskokva; Krejcikova/Vondrousova w/d; Bouzkova First Loss; Noskova First Seed Out; Bejlek 0-5 slam MD)
=2026=
RUS (4-5 1st Rd.; only 9 in MD after AO-best 9 to 2r in '25; has lost 7 notable players to other nations since '23; lost 2 Top 20 seeds)

*RECENT AO "UPSET QUEENS" WINNERS*
2016 Russia
2017 United States
2018 Ukraine
2019 United States
2020 Spain
2021 United States
2022 Romania
2023 Ukraine
2024 France
2025 Great Britain
2026 The Crush of Czechs

*RECENT AO "REVELATION LADIES" WINNERS*
2016 China
2017 Australia
2018 Estonia
2019 Teens (6 in 2nd Rd.)
2020 Kazakhstan
2021 Estonia
2022 China
2023 Czech Republic
2024 Unseeded Russians
2025 Germany
2026 Australia

*MAIDEN CAREER SLAM MD WINS AT AO-RG-WI-US - 2020-26*
-AUSTRALIAN OPEN (36)-
2020 Paula Badosa, ESP
2020 Barbora Krejickova, CZE
2020 Ann Li, USA
2020 Greet Minnen, BEL
2020 Elena Rybakina, KAZ
2021 Olga Danilovic, SRB
2021 Liudmila Samsonova, RUS
2021 Mayar Sherif, EGY
2021 Nina Stojanovic, SRB
2022 Lucia Bronzetti, ITA
2022 Jaqueline Cristian, ROU
2022 Maddison Inglis, AUS
2022 Nuria Parrizas Diaz, ESP
2022 Gabriela Ruse, ROU
2022 Wang Xinyu, CHN
2022 Wang Xiyu, CHN
2022 Maryna Zanevska, BEL
2022 Zheng Qinwen, CHN
2023 Anna Bondar, HUN
2023 Olivia Gadecki, AUS
2023 Diana Shnaider, RUS
2023 Lucrezia Stefanini, ITA
2024 Brenda Fruhvirtova, CZE
2024 McCartney Kessler, USA
2024 Alina Korneeva, RUS
2024 Maria Timofeeva, RUS
2024 Anastasia Zakharova, RUS
2025 Destanee Aiava, AUS
2025 Talia Gibson, AUS
2025 Suzan Lamens, NED
2025 Rebecca Sramkova, SVK
2026 Nikola Bartunkova, CZE
2026 Linda Klimovicova, POL
2026 Petra Marcinko, CRO
2026 Taylah Preston, AUS
2026 Oksana Selekhmeteva, RUS





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I think people should have assumed this months ago...


Called it "CNN has just confirmed that the classified East Wing bunker - where Trump intends to permanently reside - will have a fully rebuilt command center and entire living quarters. He's building Bunker-a-Lago at taxpayer expense.: OP: www.threads.com/@brittainfor...

[image or embed]

— Jenn🦋Anne💙Miller😷 (@jennannemiller.bsky.social) January 19, 2026 at 4:36 PM

A dictator in a bunker… how very April 1945…

— Catherine Ball (@catcopywriting.bsky.social) January 19, 2026 at 5:50 PM


It'd come in handy when trying to subvert a peaceful exchange of power in a few years (again). Wouldn't even have to leave to throw a party.



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What took them so long to bring this guy back? Ten years??? They should never have stopped that ad campaign in the first place.




That Dos Equis didn't realize a decade ago that the best thing that ever happened to the company was that ad campaign is, really, WTA-level marketing stupidity.


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TOP QUALIFIER: Guiomar Maristany/ESP
TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r): x
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): x
TOP LATE ROUND (SF-F): x
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q2 - Guiomar Maristany/ESP def. Tatiana Prozorova/RUS 6-2/2-6/7-6(10-7) - saved four MP (at 6-5 in the 3rd), reached maiden slam MD
TOP EARLY-RD. MATCH (1r-2r): x
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): x
TOP LATE RD. MATCH (SF-F/WC/Doub.): x
=============================
FIRST VICTORY: (WC) Talia Gibson/AUS (def. Anna Blinkova/RUS)
FIRST SEED OUT: #26 Dayana Yastremska, UKR (1r- lost to Gabriela Ruse/ROU)
FIRST SLAM MD WINS: Nikola Bartunkova/CZE (1st slam MD), Linda Klimovicova/POL (1st), Petra Marcinko/CRO (1st), Taylah Preston/AUS (3rd), Oksana Selekhmeteva/RUS (5th)
PROTECTED RANKING BEST: in 2r: Pliskova/CZE
LUCKY LOSER BEST: 0-1 in 1r
UPSET QUEENS: The Crush of Czechs
REVELATION LADIES: Australia
NATION OF POOR SOULS: Russia (4-5 1st Rd.; only 9 in MD after AO-best 9 to 2r in '25; has lost 7 notable players to other nations since '23; lost 2 Top 20 seeds)
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: in 2r: Bai/CHN, Bartunkova/CZE, L.Fruhvirtova/CZE, Hunter/AUS, Inglis/AUS, Klimovicova/POL, Sonmez/TUR
LAST WILD CARD STANDING: in 2r: Gibson/AUS, Hon/AUS, Preston/AUS
LAST AUSSIE STANDING: in 2r: Gibson, Hon, Hunter, Inglis, Preston, Tomljanovic
Ms. OPPORTUNITY: x
IT (?): x
COMEBACK PLAYER: x
CRASH & BURN: Nominees: first two seeds out are UKR (Yastremska/Kostyuk) in back-to-back ANZ Arena matches on Day 1
ZOMBIE QUEEN OF MELBOURNE: Nominees: Jacquemot (saved MP in 1r vs. Kostyuk in first AO Open Era 3-TB women's match; 3:31); Siegemund (down 6-0/5-2 vs. Samsonova in 1r; saved 2 MP 5-3, then down 3-1 in 3rd)
KIMIKO VETERAN CUP: x
LADY OF THE EVENING: Nominees: Sabalenka, Osaka
AUSTRALIAN LANGUAGE ARTS AWARD: Nominee: Ash Barty's "Don't Call it a Comeback" return in AO opening ceremonies
DOUBLES STAR: x
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: x





All for now. More soon.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 12:20 PM 

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