Monday, January 19, 2026

AO26 - Step One, Day Two

One down...













=AO NOTES=
...after a Day 1 that saw no women pick up their maiden career slam MD victory, two notched such victories early on Day 2.

First, 20-year old Croatian Petra Marcinko, finally making her MD debut at a major after claiming the junior title at the 2022 AO and being a former girls' #1 (she lost in qualifying at nine of the last twelve slams before gaining automatic MD entry as #85 at this event), defeated Tatjana Maria 6-3/7-5 after having saved a SP in the 2nd.

The match completes an odd, tickling-the-edges-of-the-tour's-age-spectrum start to the 38-year old German's '26 season, as she opened the year in Brisbane by losing to an opponent 21 years her junior (17-year old Emerson Jones), then defeated 45-year old Venus Williams in Hobart last week. Here the age difference between herself and Marcinko was *only* 18 years.

All Grown Up Petra Marcinko burst on the scene as a grand slam junior champion at 16yo. Now 20yo, the Croatian has needed some time to acclimate to the pace at the next level of the game. But, in her grand slam main draw debut, she gets the win over Tatjana Maria, 6-3, 7-5.

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— Tick Tock Tennis (@ticktocktennis.bsky.social) January 18, 2026 at 9:00 PM


Soon afterward, Polish qualifier Linda Klimovicova, 21, picked up her first slam victory (in her maiden MD) when Francesca Jones retired down 6-2/3-2 due to a thigh/leg injury. This marks the third straight event over the past two seasons in which the Brit has retired in-match, and the 16th (w/ an additional two walkovers) since the start of 2023 (after having ended '22 with another mid-match retirement).



...fellow qualifier Storm Hunter continued her successful comeback, as the Aussie (who ruptured her Achilles in '24) claimed a 4 & 4 win over Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, as the Spaniard's '26 season now includes her first Top 10 win (over Coco Gauff in the UC) and a 0-3 record in all her other matches (two L's in straights, and the other via a love 3rd set).

This is Hunter's first slam singles win since she reached the AO 3rd Round (her career-best result in a major) just a few months before her injury.



Later, Aussie wild card Emerson Jones finally got the host nation's first loss on the women's side after a 3-0 start, falling to #17 Victoria Mboko 6-4/6-1. The Canadian has gone 13-2 since late last season.



Later in the day, Ajla Tomljanovic improved the Aussies' collective record to 4-1 with a comeback victory over qualifier Yuliia Starodubtseva, winning 4-6/7-6(3)/6-1.

Five more Australian women are set to play on Day 3, with one all-AUS match-up (Birrell/Inglis) and three big names -- new Aussie Dasha Kasatkina, multiple WTA title winner Maya Joint and Hobart semifinalist Taylah Preston -- still to come.

...elsewhere, Camila Osorio put up quite a fight against Ann Li, saving three MP at 6-5 in the 2nd set, then three more at 5-3 in the 3rd, only to eventually see the Bannerette break her serve in the 12th game of the decider on MP #8 to win 6-4/6-7(5)/7-5.

The result gives Osorio four straight 1st Round losses in majors, after she'd posted nine MD wins over a four-year slam stretch from the '21 RG to the '25 AO (including a 3r in London five seasons ago). It also means that, despite having multiple players in every women's slam MD starting with last year's RG, Colombia has gone a combined 0-6 at the last three events (w/ Emiliana Arango also having garnered three consecutive 1st Round exits after a 2nd Rd. result in Paris last year).

...Marie Bouzkova got the win over Renata Zarazua, but the Mexican woman's appearance in a ninth consecutive slam MD means she continues to add to the nation's longest slam appearance run in the majors in her lifetime.

Angelica Gavaldon played in thirteen straight MD in the 1990s, a run that ended at the AO in 1996, about 20 months before Zarazua was born.

...one of the WTA's pre-season stories revolved around the exodus of Hordettes from their flag-less reality on tour to new official "ports of call," as the recent new nationality changes of Dasha Kasatkina (AUS), Varvara Gracheva (FRA), Maria Timofeeva (UZB) and Elina Avanesyan (ARM) were joined by those of Anastasia Potapova (AUT), Kamilla Rakhimova and Polina Kudermetova (both migrating to UZB), with likely more to come. As a result, the Russian contingent was down to just nine at this AO.

Coming into Melbourne, at least one Hordette has reached the 3rd Round of 98 of the last 100 majors (excluding the '22 WI), and 22 straight, and the 4th Round at 88 of the last 99. As a group, the remaining Hordettes went 0-3 on Day 1, including an exit by #11 Ekaterina Alexandrova, then opened Day 2 with a fourth straight defeat as Anastasia Zakharova fell 2 & 1 to #6 Jessie Pegula (who has once again outlasted her family's Buffalo Bills franchise in January, and their head coach, as it's turned out).

The group finally got on the board when Oksana Selekhmeva notched her maiden career slam MD win (in her fifth MD) via a love 3rd set victory over Ella Seidel. Later, seeded Mirra Andreeva (#8) and Diana Shnaider (#23) added stats to the good side, though it took some effort after slow starts against tough 1st Round opponents.

Both dropped the 1st set, but Adelaide camp Andreeva rallied to win 4-6/6-3/6-0 over Donna Vekic, while Adelaide semifinalist (and Mirra's doubles partner) Shnaider got past Barbora Krejcikova, 2-6/6-3/6-3.



Liudmila Samsonova and Anna Kalinskaya are still to play on Day 3.

...overnight, Laver saw #2 Iga Swiatek extend her streak of opening wins in knock-out events to 66 (she's lost just once in the 79 such events since the start of the '21 season, falling only at Cincinnati that year to Ons Jabeur), getting the 7-6(5)/6-3 win under the lights vs. Yuan Yue. Yuan had served for the opening set.

Swiatek is 27-1 in career slam 1st Rounds, with 25 straight wins, losing only at Wimbledon in 2019.



Aside from her opponent's quick start, perhaps Swiatek's biggest issue in this one might have been a pesky, ill-fitting skirt given to her for this AO by On. Eventually, she adjusted mid-match and fixed the issue. Now, if she can do something similar in a few tight matches in Melbourne maybe that Career Slam *is* in play.



While Australia has the most players other than the U.S.'s 10 with 1st Round victories, with four, the host nation isn't alone. Poland has just as many, and has yet to lose a match, with Klimovicova, Magda Linette and Magdelana Frech joining Swiatek in the 2nd Round.

...meanwhile, Bianca Andreescu ended her weekend by winning her first singles title in almost six and a half years. Yep, that's a real thing.

Skipping AO qualifying and instead deciding to undertake a handful of challenger events in order to get her game in order, the Canadian played her way to the title in a $35K in Bradenton, Florida, defeating Vivian Wolff 6-2/7-5.

Andreescu's last singles title on any level, before a series of injuries essentially kept her off tour more than she's been on ever since, came with her career-defining run at the U.S. Open in 2019.



The win will get Andreescu back into the Top 200.






...WHEN YOUR EYES ARE BIGGER THAN YOUR STOMACH on Day 2:



Then...




On the bright side, there's a 125 in the Philippines next week, and now guess who can be there...





...DAY 1 POSTSCRIPT on Day 2:































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*MEXICAN WOMEN IN SLAM WS MD, since 2000*
2000 AO - Angelica Gavaldon (2r)
2020 RG - Renata Zarazua (2r)
2022 RG - Fernanda Contreras (2r)
2022 WI - Fernanda Contreras (1r)
2024 AO - Renata Zarazua (1r)
2024 RG - Renata Zarazua (1r)
2024 WI - Renata Zarazua (1r)
2024 US - Renata Zarazua (2r)
2025 AO - Renata Zarazua (2r)
2025 RG - Renata Zarazua (1r)
2025 WI - Renata Zarazua (2r)
2025 US - Renata Zarazua (2r)
2026 AO - Renata Zarazua (1r)
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Most recent QF: 1995 AO - Gavaldon (3r: 1995 WI/US)
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[MEXICANS WITH SLAM MD WINS; Open era; #-mult.wins]
Elena Subirats#
Angelica Gavaldon#
Renata Zarazua#
Fernanda Contreras
[MOST RECENT CON. SLAM MD]
13 - Angelica Gavaldon, 1993 AO-1996 AO
9 - RENATA ZARAZUA, 2024 AO-current
5 - Angelica Gavaldon, 1990 AO-1991 AO









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Machado presents Trump with her Nobel Peace Prize Any bets what happens next?

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— Ann Telnaes (@anntelnaes.bsky.social) January 16, 2026 at 3:56 PM


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Trump texts Norway's PM linking Nobel snub to Greenland anntelnaes.substack.com/p/trump-text...

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— Ann Telnaes (@anntelnaes.bsky.social) January 19, 2026 at 12:25 PM

Trump cheered China for Tiananmen Square (violent crackdown on pro-democracy protestors) and cheered Russia for invading Ukraine (unprovoked aggression in pursuit of conquest). Minneapolis and Greenland shouldn't be a surprise. But for whatever reason, tons of people chose not to take him seriously.

— Nicholas Grossman (@nicholasgrossman.bsky.social) January 19, 2026 at 11:50 AM


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We had endless articles and TV clips about Biden's mental capacity but silence about Trump's obvious unfitness when he says he's going to start a war with Denmark over Greenland because he didn't get the Nobel Peace Prize.

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— Max Kennerly (@maxkennerly.bsky.social) January 19, 2026 at 9:41 AM


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Just call him "The Closer"...











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: Linda Klimovicova/POL, Petra Marcinko/CRO, Oksana Selekhmeteva/RUS
PROTECTED RANKING BEST: 1st Rd. wins: xx
LUCKY LOSER BEST: 0-1 in 1r
UPSET QUEENS: x
REVELATION LADIES: x
NATION OF POOR SOULS: x
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: 1r wins: Bai/CHN, Hunter/AUS, Klimovicova/POL, Sonmez/TUR
LAST WILD CARD STANDING: 1r wins: Gibson/AUS, Hon/AUS
LAST AUSSIE STANDING: 1r wins (of 10 MD): Gibson, Hon, Hunter, 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: Nominee: Jacquemot (saved MP in 1r vs. Kostyuk in 3-TB, 3:31 match)
KIMIKO VETERAN CUP: x
LADY OF THE EVENING: x
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 @ 12:29 PM 

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