Australian Open 2026 day one recap: Emma Raducanu, Carlos Alcaraz & Aryna Sabalenka among first-round winners

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Sabalenka v Rakotomanga Rajaonah

Russell Fuller

BBC tennis correspondent on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

Sabalenka will feel despite the success of last year - world number one, US Open title - that there were a few that got away from her.

She won four titles. In the Grand Slams - three finals and a semi-final at Wimbledon and just the one title so she'll feel like she under-performed where it mattered.

Norrie holds

Norrie 6-0 3-3 Bonzi*

Another love service hold sealed with a beautiful ace by Cameron Norrie.

The Brit has been working on his serve in the off-season and it is certainly coming in clutch in this first-round encounter.

There are tough conditions out there at the minute, with half of 1573 Arena flooded with sunlight and covered by a shadow, but you wouldn't realise it with the way these two players are hitting.

Who is Rakotomanga Rajaonah?

Sabalenka v Rakotomanga Rajaonah

Tiantsoa Rakotomanga Rajaonah enjoyed a whirlwind 2025.

The 20-year-old reached the quarter-finals at the Rouen Open as a qualifier and made her Grand Slam main-draw debut at Roland Garros during an impressive clay-court swing before capturing her maiden WTA title on the hard courts of Sao Paolo in September.

She began last year ranked just inside the top 400 but is on the verge of cracking the top 100, climbing to 118th in the world.

Her rapid rise earned her a wildcard for the Australian Open - her first overseas Grand Slam appearance.

Sabalenka's Australian success

Sabalenka v Rakotomanga Rajaonah

To say Aryna Sabalenka loves playing in Australia feels like an understatement.

The world number one won back-to-back Australian Open titles in 2023 and 2024, losing just one set along the way, and has only lost once in her past 21 matches in Melbourne - a surprise three-set defeat by American Madison Keys in last year's final.

In total, five of her 22 singles titles have been won in Australia, most recently tuning up for this year’s first Slam with victory at the Brisbane International.

The 27-year-old didn’t drop a set en route to the title, including beating reigning Australian Open champion Keys in the last eight.

Two-time champion takes on French wildcard

Sabalenka v Rakotomanga Rajaonah

Kick-starting the night session on Rod Laver Arena are two players at opposite ends of the experience spectrum.

World number one Aryna Sabalenka is a four-time Grand Slam singles champion and has failed to reach the semi-finals only once in her past 12 major appearances. She triumphed on Melbourne’s blue courts in 2023 and 2024 and reached a third consecutive final in 2025. Oh, and she won the women’s doubles alongside Elise Mertens in 2021.

French wildcard Tiantsoa Rakotomanga Rajaonah, ranked 118th in the world, is playing in the main draw of a Grand Slam for only the second time in her career.

A few seeds have fallen on day one but it would be a monumental upset for Rakotomanga Rajaonah, facing a top-40 player for the first time in her career, to advance to round two.

The leading women...

Top seed Aryna Sabalenka is the pre-tournament favourite. The 27-year-old is a two-time Australian Open singles champion and has reached each of the past three finals in Melbourne.

She's coming up on Rod Laver Arena - against wildcard Tiantsoa Rakotomanga Rajaonah - at 08:00 GMT.

Iga Swiatek, a six-time major champion, will complete the career Grand Slam if she wins the Australian Open. The 24-year-old second seed reached the semi-finals in 2025.

Defending champion Madison Keys is seeded ninth.

Three seeds have already fallen in the women's competition. 11th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova lost to Zeynep Sonmez in three sets, Elsa Jacquemot came from a set down to beat 20th seed Marta Kostyuk and Elena-Gabriela Ruse beat 26th seed Dayana Yastremska in straight sets.

The leading men...

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have shared the past eight men's Grand Slam singles titles between them and faced off in three of 2025's four major finals.

Sinner is on the hunt for a third consecutive title in Melbourne but six-time champion Roger Federer is backing world number one Alcaraz to complete the career Grand Slam.

Alcaraz will be in action against Australia's Adam Walton later on Sunday.

Third seed Alexander Zverev is a three-time Grand Slam finalist, most recently at the Australian Open in 2025, and came through his round one meeting with Gabriel Diallo in four sets.

Sixth seed Alex de Minaur is carrying home hopes as he attempts to become the first Australian to win the men's singles title since Mark Edmondson in 1976.

Italy's Flavio Cobolli (20) is the only men's seed to fall so far on day one after losing to Britain's Arthur Fery in three sets.

'The way I play calms my nerves down'

Fery 7-6 (7-1) 6-4 6-1 Cobolli

BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra

British qualifier Arthur Fery on beating 20th seed Flavio Cobolli: "It felt really good, really happy with my performance and the way the whole day and match went. It's obviously a big win for me, I'm really happy with what I could produce on court and felt very comfortable in a big stadium that I'm not used to playing in.

"I didn't feel too nervous and the way I'm trying to play calms my nerves down. I feel like it's very sustainable right now and I can reproduce it for two or three hours across multiple matches. I managed to get off the court after two hours and 15 minutes so it's great."

On beating the same number seed again, having also defeated the 20th seed Alexei Popyrin at Wimbledon last year: "A few friends had pointed it out and I knew, but at the same time they're both very different players. Maybe just the fact that it was a seed brings the best out of me."

On knowing Cobolli was suffering with stomach issues: "I saw the physios coming on and off at the start but it wasn't like he wasn't moving either. It's sometimes tough to play against someone who is injured or struggling but I didn't get that sense today, honestly."

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