Sunday, February 01, 2026

G'Day, Melbourne

It's all over Down Under for AO26.











=AO NOTES=
...on the final day of action in Melbourne, the junior singles title winners were finally crowned, and with the girls' result the AO gets it first Pastry junior champion this century in Ksenia Efremova.



The #3-seed defeated unseeded Hordette Ekaterina Tupitsyna 6-3/7-5, becoming the first AO junior winner representing France since Virginie Razzano in 1999.

Efremova had lost in the Traralgon final (to Xinran Sun, who was upset by Tupitsyna in the AO QF) leading into play in Melbourne, but will now rise to become the new junior #1.



The Moscow-born Efremova is the daughter of former tennis players (her mother Julia ranked in the Top 300). Her family moved to Nice in 2019, and after she and her mother and brothers filed naturalization papers in 2021, Efremova officially began representing France in 2023. Her father never made the move to France, and died while in Europe in '21.



Efremova, 16, has put together quite a run of junior and pro level results since last summer. Starting with her pre-U.S. Open Repentigny J300 title run in Canada, she's gone 35-3 at that level, reaching the U.S. Open junior QF and winning the J500 Osaka event, while also claiming a pro challenger crown (the fourth of her career) and playing in AO women's qualifying (her third tour-level appearance, after going 0-2 in Miami and RG qualifying in '25).

...meanwhile, on the ITF level, 17-year old Austrian Lilli Tagger picked up her biggest career title with a 6-4/6-2 win over Harriet Dart in the $100K Fujairah (UAE) final. It's not her biggest final, though, as she reached the title match at Jiangxi late last year in her tour-level debut event.



In the second $100K challenger of the week, Elli Mandlik will face Elvina Kalieva in the final in San Diego on Sunday.

And the lower level comeback of Bianca Andreescu has continued in Vero Beach, Florida, as the Canadian reached her second final in three weeks (w/ a SF in between). With a 12-1 mark on the season, Andreescu will play You Xiaodi for the title on Sunday (it'd be her second of '26).



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1. Elena Rybakina, KAZ ...Rybakina's big 2025 4Q lives on in 2026, in the form of her second major title after rallying from 3-0 down in the 3rd vs. #1 Aryna Sabalenka in a rematch of the AO23 final that she'd lost in the deciding set. She's 20-1 since mid-October, with ten straight wins over Top 10 players (and eleven such wins since the U.S. Open). And they're not "cheap" ones -- i.e. over a Navarro, Sakkari or someone similar -- as she's 8-0 vs. Sabalenka, Swiatek, Anisimova and Pegula over the stretch. Rybakina now has nine career #1 wins, nearly putting her in the Top 5 all-time in WTA history (6th place Sabatini had 10, while 5th place Graf had 11).
2. Aryna Sabalenka, BLR ...she was perfect in '26 through 11 matches and 22 sets, defending her Brisbane title and then having a 3-0 lead (two points from 4-0) in the 3rd set vs. Elena Rybakina in what was her fourth consecutive AO final, but Sabalenka again failed to hold a late lead deep into a major. Having played in the last seven hard court slam finals, Sabalenka is (a still very good) 4-3, but has left multiple "attainable" slam titles (including a non-hard court one at RG last year) on the table over the last few seasons.
3. Elina Svitolina, UKR ...opened the season by going 10-0, winning in Auckland and then picking up two Top 10 wins (vs. Andreeva and Gauff) at the AO on her way to her fourth career slam SF (her first in Melbourne). Svitolina returns to the Top 10 this week.
4t. Li Xiaohui, CHN (WC) and Wang Ziying, CHN (WC) ...the rollers defended their AO WC doubles title (their fourth win in the last five majors), while Li claimed her first singles slam win by handing Diede de Groot another streak-ending loss. The two have won six of the ten s/d WC majors since the start of '25.
5. Mertens/Zhang, BEL/CHN ...Zhang picks up her second AO doubles crown, while Mertens gets her third and moves into the #1 ranking for the tenth time in her career (her next week in the top spot will her 40th). Zhang, apparently some sort of January good luck charm, also teamed with soon-to-be-former (for now) #1 Katerina Siniakova to win in Adelaide.
6. Mirra Andreeva, RUS ...the 18-year old is still looking for that *huge* slam run, but January saw her win the Adelaide title (def. Mboko in the final) and reach the Round of 16 in Melbourne for the third time in three tries
7. Jessie Pegula, USA ...the best Bannerette in the AO, Pegula posted a pair of Top 10 wins in Melbourne (over countrywomen, defending champ Madison Keys and Amanda Anisimova, who combined to reach three major finals in '25), and had her third straight slam QF win (after starting her career 0-6) as she played in her second straight major semifinal
8. Karolina Muchova, CZE ...healthy in January, a rare occasion, the Czech was the only player to defeat Rybakina (Brisbane QF, one of two Top 10 wins in Week 1), then went on to post her best AO result (4r) since 2021
9t. Victoria Mboko/CAN and Iva Jovic/USA ...both teenagers reached pre-AO singles finals (Mboko in Adelaide, Jovic in Hobart), then went to Melbourne and posted career-best AO results (a 4r for Mboko, and QF for Jovic). Both are now ranked in the Top 20, with Mboko nearing her Top 10 debut.
10. Olivia Gadecki, AUS ...last year, Gadecki & John Peers were the first Aussie pair to take the AO MX since 2013. This year, their successful title defense was the first at the event since 1989, and the first by an all-AUS duo since 1964 (granted, the AO didn't have a MX event from 1970-86)
11. Belinda Bencic, SUI ...got off to a great start in United Cup play, getting Top 10 wins over Jasmine Paolini and Iga Swiatek while leading Switzerland to the final and returning to the Top 10 on her own accord (though she falls out after the AO). She couldn't carry her momentum to the AO, as she was then upset in the 2nd Round in Melbourne by Czech Nikola Bartunkova.
12. Maddison Inglis, AUS ...three years after her lone career slam run (AO 3r), Inglis was back after making her way through qualifying (after saving a MP in the Q1 round). She played all the way into the Round of 16, the best result by any AUS woman this year, putting up back-to-back three-hour wins in the 1r/2r.









...RED IS ALMOST ALWAYS A GOOD CHOICE on Day 15:




...RELATABLE ELENA (with "My name is Anna" vibes)... on Day 15:




...NOT A SERENA-RELATED STAT, BUT... on Day 15:

In case one was wondering, Williams was 21.





...LOOK OUT, HERE SHE COMES on Day 15:






...(Shakes head) HOPELESS on Day 15:

During the Djokovic/Alcaraz men's final on ESPN, new studio host Malika Andrews made a reference to that grass court tournament in England. You know, "Wimbleton."

But I thought we were told when she showed up mid-week after years of NBA duty that she was "showing her range" and was such a *big* tennis fan. Yeah, okay.


...SENSIBLE ELENA on Day 15:




...PROP PICKS UPDATE on Day 15:

Well, things didn't go all that well with this AO's pre-tournament "Prop Picks," as they sort of "pulled an Iga Swiatek" in Melbourne, i.e. they stuck around for a while but didn't really accomplish much.

1. The AO26 champion will come from the list of players who reached the final of one of the North American hard court 1000+ events last summer
...NO. I'd *tried* to find an interesting "grouping" that would include Rybakina as a possible champion, but couldn't find one and rolled the dice on the potential of someone from the eligible group of '25 finalists -- Sabalenka/Anisimova, Mboko/Osaka and, to a lesser degree, Swiatek/Paolini -- would get the win. And at 3-0 in the 3rd things still looked pretty good.

2. The AO26 runner-up will be a first-time Australian Open finalist
...NO. Both Sabalenka and Rybakina had reached an AO final before, so this one ended after the SF. If Pegula had completed that comeback, though...

3. After four Top 8 seeds reached the AO QF in '25, just two will do so this year (as was the case in both 2023 and '24)
...NO, and a big miss on this one. SIX Top 8 seeds reached the QF.

4. Multiple teenagers will reach the singles 4th Round, with at least one making the QF
...YES/YES. Three teens (Andreeva, Mboko and Jovic) reached the Round of 16, with Jovic making the QF.

5. Dasha Kasatkina will be Last Aussie Standing in her first AO as an Australian
...NO. She was upset in the 1st Round. I would *never* have guessed Maddison Inglis would be the lone second week survivor.

HM- Dark Horses (4r/QF): Tereza Valentova or Linda Noskova
...NO/NO. Valentova was a big ask, as she had Rybakina in her path in the 3rd Round (still a good result), but #13-seed Noskova seemed on her way to at least the 4th Round before being upended by Wang Xinyu in the 3rd Round.

OVERALL: 2/8... after finding a way to "correctly predict" the winner at four of the previous six majors, it looked like Sabalenka would salvage the AO picks by at least checking off the champion's box, but nope. Onto Roland Garros, and let's win there.


...DIANE'S TOP 10 IS HERE! on Day 15:







...with the new rankings coming out on Monday, a quick update on the new state of things...

* - The Top 10 will include nine of the same ten women, with some additional shuffling. AO semifinalist Elina Svitolina returns for the first time since 2021, while '25 champ Madison Keys falls out (to #15). 2026 AO winner Elena Rybakina moves up from #5 to match her previous career-best #3 standing, 368 points behind #2 Iga Swiatek (but still 3380 behind #1 Aryna Sabalenka). Meanwhile, Coco Gauff slips two slots to #5, leaving #4 Amanda Anisimova as the US #1 (as she was for one week in early January).

* - There will be three teenagers in the Top 20, with #7 Mirra Andreeva joined by Victoria Mboko (up three to a CH #13) and Iva Jovic (new at #20, the sixth U.S. woman in the Top 20).

* - TOP 50 UPS & DOWNS: Aussie Maya Joint rises three more to another new CH of #28, one spot ahead of Emma Raducanu. Joint won a pair of small tour titles in '25, while Raducanu hasn't played in a final in four and a half years. AO Round of 16er Wang Xinyu jumps 13 spots to #33, just one off her career high, while Tereza Valentova (#44) and Janice Tjen (#47) make their Top 50 debuts. Alex Eala reaches a new CH of #45, while Peyton Stearns, with the news that her coach (Rafael Font de Mora) is being investigated for alleged misconduct and inappropriate relationships with players during his previous coaching stints, climbs 18 spots to return to the Top 50.

Paula Badosa, who followed up her '25 AO semi with a 2nd Round exit, falls 39 to #65.

* - RISERS: After her Round of 16 run in Melbourne, Maddison Inglis climbs 55 to #113 (CH #112), while 3rd Rounder Nikola Bartunkova lands at a CH #108 (up 18). Lilli Tagger, a $100K title winner this weekend, jumps 27 to a CH #128 and is the youngest player in the Top 150 (though slightly younger Emerson Jones lurks at #161).

There are five teens in the Top 100 (Sara Bejlek, who turned 20 this weekend, is #101) and eight in the Top 150, with six of the seven top-ranked teenagers -- Mboko, Jovic, Joint, Valentova, Bartunkova and Tagger -- all sporting new career highs on Monday.

Off her 3rd Round result at the AO, Oksana Selekhmeteva climbs 25 to a new career high of #76 (her previous CH was #96), while the Pride of Turkey, Zeynep Sonmez, sees her 3r run in Melbourne translate into a 33-spot bump back into the Top 80 (#79). Her career high is #69.

* - FALLS: Eva Lys, a 4th Rounder as an AO lucky loser a year ago (1r exit in '26), falls 20 spots to #59, while Dasha Kasatkina (4r to 1r) slips 19 all the way down to #62, her low standing since early 2021. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (QF to 1r) plummets 53 to #100, while Donna Vekic holds onto her Top 100 ranking (#95, dropping 23 after losing her AO '25 4r points) with her Manila 125 final run.

Bianca Andreescu's three-week run in the challengers has her at #170 (she was #228 the week of January 19), with the chance to rise a bit more to #161 with a second '26 title with a win on Sunday.

* - JUNIORS: Brit Hannah Klugman rose to the #1 ranking in the mid-AO girls' rankings, but will quickly be replaced by new AO junior champ Ksenia Efremova on Monday.

* - RACE UPDATE: Naturally, Elena Rybakina assumes the early lead in the WTA Race, which currently features three teenagers -- #5 Andreeva, #6 Mboko, #7 Jovic -- in the Top 8. Outside the WTAF "bubble" after one month are Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff (tied for #9), and Amanda Anisimova (#11). Karolina Muchova, who has never made the WTAF field, is at #13. The highest-standing Bannerette? #4 Jessie Pegula.

* - DOUBLES: AO champ Elise Mertens returns to WD #1, replacing '25 AO winner Katerina Siniakova, for the first time since 2024 (and the tenth time in her career). The slip freezes the Czech's career weeks at #1 (for now) at 180, third all-time behind Martina Navratilova (237) and Liezel Huber (199).

The other '25 AO doubles champ, Taylor Townsend, dips from #3 to #5, while new champ Zhang Shuai returns to the Top 10 (#7). 2026 AO finalists Aleksandra Krunic doesn't crack the Top 10 (she would have w/ the title) but rises to a career-best #13.

Mirra Andreeva drop four spots, but stays in the Top 20 (#20), keeping pace with Jasmine Paolini (#8, #3) as the only women in the Top 20 in both disciplines. Three others are close: Mertens (#22 WS, #1 WD), Diana Shnaider (#21 WS, #16 WD) and Alona Ostapenko (#24 WS, #8 WD).










=WOMEN'S SINGLES FINAL=
#5 Elena Rybakina/KAZ def. #1 Aryna Sabalenka/BLR 6-4/4-6/6-4

=WOMEN'S DOUBLES FINAL=
#4 Mertens/Zhang (BEL/CHN) def. #7 Danilinia/Krunic (KAZ/SRB) 7-6(4)/6-4

=MIXED DOUBLES FINAL=
(WC) Gadecki/Peers (AUS/AUS) def. (PR) Mladenovic/Guinard (FRA/FRA) 4-6/6-3 [10-8]

=WHEELCHAIR SINGLES FINAL=
#3 Li Xiaohui/CHN def. Diede de Groot/NED 6-1/6-2

=WHEELCHAIR DOUBLES FINAL=
#1 Li/Wang (CHN/CHN) def. #2 Kamiji/Zhu (JPN/CHN) 6-4/6-3

=GIRLS' SINGLES FINAL=
#3 Ksenia Efremova/FRA def. Ekaterina Tupitsyna/RUS 6-3/7-5

=GIRLS' DOUBLES FINAL=
#1 A.Kovackova/J.Kovackova (CZE/CZE) def. Hermanova/Zoldakova (CZE/CZE) 6-1/6-3

=GIRLS' WHEELCHAIR SINGLES FINAL=
#1 Luna Gryp/BEL def. #2 Seira Matsuoka/JPN 6-4/6-4

=GIRLS' WHEELCHAIR DOUBLES FINAL=
#2 Foyster/Matsuoka (GBR/JPN) def. #1 Gryp/Heald (BEL/USA) 6-3/7-5










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*AUSTRALIAN OPEN GIRLS FINALS - since 2017*
2017 Marta Kostyuk/UKR d. Rebeka Masarova/SUI
2018 Liang En-shou/TPE d. Clara Burel/FRA
2019 Clara Tauson/DEN d. Leylah Fernandez/CAN
2020 Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva/AND d. Weronika Baszak/POL
2021 DNP
2022 Petra Marcinko/CRO d. Sofia Costoulas/BEL
2023 Alina Korneeva/RUS d. Mirra Andreeva/RUS
2024 Renata Jamrichova/SVK d. Emerson Jones/AUS
2025 Wakana Sonobe/JPN d. Kristina Penickova/USA
2026 Ksenia Efremova/FRA d. Ekaterina Tupitsyna/RUS

*RECENT GIRLS SLAM CHAMPIONS*
2020 AO: Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva, AND
2020 RG: Elsa Jacquemot, FRA
2021 RG: Linda Noskova, CZE
2021 WI: Ane Mintegi del Olmo, ESP
2021 US: Robin Montgomery, USA
2022 AO: Petra Marcinko, CRO
2022 RG: Lucie Havlickova, CZE
2022 WI: Liv Hovde, USA
2022 US: Alex Eala, PHI
2023 AO: Alina Korneeva, RUS
2023 RG: Alina Korneeva, RUS
2023 WI: Clervie Ngounoue, USA
2023 US: Katherine Hui, USA
2024 AO: Renata Jamrichova, SVK
2024 RG: Tereza Valentova, CZE
2024 WI: Renata Jamrichova, SVK
2024 US: Mika Stojsavljevic, GBR
2025 AO: Wakana Sonobe, JPN
2025 RG: Lilli Tagger, AUT
2025 WI: Mia Pohankova, SVK
2025 US: Jeline Vandromme, BEL
2026 AO: Ksenia Efremova, FRA

*AO GIRLS SINGLES FINALS - FRA*
1981 Corinne Vanier
1982 Pascale Paradis
1988 Emmanuelle Derly
1996 Nathalie Dechy
1999 Virginie Razzano (W)
2018 Clara Burel
2026 Ksenia Efremova (W)

*RECENT AO "JUNIOR BREAKOUT" WINNERS*
2017 Marta Kostyuk, UKR
2018 Liang En-shuo, TPE
2019 Clara Tauson/DEN and Anastasia Tikhonova/RUS
2020 Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva, AND
2022 Angella Okutoyi/KEN and Meshkatolzahra Safi/IRA
2023 Mirra Andreeva/RUS and Alina Korneeva/RUS
2024 Renata Jamrichova, SVK
2025 Annika & Kristina Penickova, USA/USA
2026 Ksenia Efremova, FRA






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TOP QUALIFIER: Guiomar Maristany/ESP
TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r): #6 Jessie Pegula/USA (lost 5 games in 1r/2r)
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): #6 Jessie Pegula/USA (def. DC Keys and #4 Anisimova to reach first AO semi)
TOP LATE ROUND (SF-F): #5 Elena Rybakina/KAZ
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): 1st Rd. - Elsa Jacquemot/FRA def. #20 Marta Kostyuk/UKR 6-7(4)/7-6(4)/7-6(10-7) - 3:31; first three-TB women's match at AO; Jacquemot saves MP in 2nd set, wins 10-7 MTB in 3rd for first Top 20 win
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): 3rd Rd. - #1 Aryna Sabalenka/BLR def. Anastasia Potapova/AUT 7-6(4)/7-6(7) - Sabalenka sweeps TB, wins in two after led 2nd 4-0 and failed to serve out match at 5-4, then fell behind 6-3 in TB and saved 4 SP
TOP LATE RD. MATCH (SF-F/WC/Doub.): Final - #5 Elena Rybakina/KAZ def. #1 Aryna Sabalenka/BLR 6-4/4-6/6-4 - rallies from 3-0 down (30/30 in game 4) in 3rd to win first AO title
=============================
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: Karolina Pliskova/CZE (3rd Rd.)
LUCKY LOSER BEST: 0-1 in 1r
UPSET QUEENS: The Crush of Czechs
REVELATION LADIES: Australia (6 in 2r most since 1992)
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: Maddison Inglis/AUS (4r)
LAST WILD CARD STANDING: Talia Gibson/AUS, Priscilla Hon/AUS and Taylah Preston/AUS (all 2nd Rd.)
LAST AUSSIE STANDING: Maddison Inglis (4th Rd.)
Ms. OPPORTUNITY: Elena Rybakina/KAZ
IT (Beloved Turk): Zeynep Sonmez/TUR
COMEBACK PLAYER: Diede de Groot/NED (WC)
CRASH & BURN: #26 Dayana Yastremska/UKR and #20 Marta Kostyuk/UKR (first two seeds out lose in back-to-back ANZ Arena matches on Day 1
ZOMBIE QUEEN OF MELBOURNE: Maddison Inglis/AUS (saved 2 MP vs. Leyre Gormaz Romero in 3-hr. Q1 match, then won back-to-back 3-hr. matches in 1r/2r en route to maiden slam Round of 16)
KIMIKO VETERAN CUP: Venus Williams/USA (at 45 years and 7 months, breaks 2015 record of Kimiko Date as the oldest woman in an AO singles MD match)
LADY OF THE EVENING: Elina Svitolina/UKR
AUSTRALIAN LANGUAGE ARTS AWARD: ["Show Pony Fashion Sense"] Naomi Osaka's jellyfish-inspired, "My Fair Lady" nighttime intro outfit
DOUBLES STAR: Olivia Gadecki, AUS (con. AO MX titles)
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: Ksenia Efremova/FRA






All for now.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 8:47 AM 

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