AUSTRALIAN OPEN NEWS & NOTES
*Siniakova-Townsend are back to defend their 2025 Australian Open doubles titles in Melbourne. The pair were a scintillating 30-6 last year, but could not add to their Grand Slam trophy case at the French or U.S. Open and Wimbledon. Siniakova was part of the last repeat champs here when she won in 2022 and 2023 with Barbora Krejcikova.
*Siniakova-Townsend were firm 1.55 (-181) favorites when they took out Hsieh-Ostapenko 6-2, 6-7(4), 6-3 in last year’s final. The three set result marked the first in the Championship match since 2022. The last time an underdog won the title match was 2019 when Stosur-Zhang came in as 2.61 (+161) dogs against (2)Babos-Mladenovic.
*As for three set finishes throughout the 2025 women’s draw, there were 22 matches that went the distance out of the 63 played. Nine came in round one, which is expected due to 32 matches in that round. There were five more in round two, four in round three and then just one in the quarters before both semis and the final required a third set to settle. The overall number was right in line with 2024 where there were 23 three set matches, while 2023 had just 20. There isn’t a definitive pattern to hunt these out, but do keep in mind that four of the last five years have featured at least one three set finish in the semifinals.
*Switching to underdogs, there were just eleven that won matches in Melbourne last year. Ten of those came in rounds one and two with the largest hit being at 4.31 (+331) in round one. The biggest constant surrounding the dog scores in 2025? Seven of the eleven hits involved a seed losing. 2025 doesn’t appear to be that big of an “off” year for underdogs either with only ten dogs barking at the 2024 Australian Open and 14 in 2023. The constant again is seeds losing when underdogs win with 21 of the last 35 underdog wins coming against a seeded opponent.
*Seeds have won six straight titles here in Melbourne and it’s been more elite than just that mention. The first or second seed has won every year in that span. That is amazing consistentecy from the best of the best. 2022 was the last time an unseeded pair got to the final and as mentioned previously, 2019 was the last time an unseeded duo won the titles. It’s not as if the unseeded field doesn’t stand a chance however. Four of the last five runs in Melbourne have seen an unseeded semifinalist. I will touch more on the pairs that look like threats to join that club down below.
*The lead story should continue to be all about Katerina Siniakova. She’s won three of the last four women’s doubles titles in Melbourne. She’s also won at least one Grand Slam doubles title each season since 2021 and now has eleven (one mixed) for her career. Rounding out the top four seeds behind Siniakova-Townsend are Errani-Paolini, last year’s runners-up Hsieh-Ostapenko and Mertens-Zhang.
*The other thing to watch is some of the new pairs for 2026. Is this a time for one of them to signal their arrival? Last year’s U.S. Open champs Dabrowski-Routliffe split at the end of 2025 and both arrive with their new partners. Dabrowski pairs with Stefani while Routliffe is teaming with Muhammad. There’s also no longer a steady partnership between last year’s unseeded semifinalists’ Andreeva-Shnaider. With Andreeva now focusing on singles, Shnaider is back this time around with Samsonova. Also keep an eye on the Perez-Schuurs as one I am actively promoting early in the year. They fell just shy of making the final in Adelaide last week after Perez made the Brisbane final to start the year off with Bucsa as her partner.
I laid it out earlier: unseeded teams find their way to the semifinals in Melbourne. They may not finish out their shock runs with titles, but there is likely going to be another surprise when we get around to the final four in Melbourne. Here is a look at the likeliest candidates for the 2026 Australian Open.
Kostyuk-Ruse
If you’ve followed me for any length of time covering a Grand Slam, you know that I put this duo on my list of unseeded pairs to watch any time they enter a tournament. They showed their dangerous intentions again last year at Slams with the Aussie Open providing their best moment with a quarterfinal finish. They’ve played Grand Slams since 2022 and have made at least one quarterfinal each of those seasons, so keep an eye on these two. They may have to get past Siniakova-Townsend to do any big damage, but I wouldn’t sleep on them.
Gadecki-Krawczyk
Listen, it’s not a big sell on this pair. They are very BOOM or very BUST having to play the 2025 runners-up in round one. Still, they showed last year that they can be tough on their best day. They may exit in round one, but if they pull off the upset, they’re automatically a team with championship capabilities.
Babos-Fernandez
They’re short on experience, but they’re not short on confidence after their narrow loss to Siniakova-Zhang in Adelaide last week. They are in a draw where Dabrowski-Stefani are the highest seeds in their way to a possible quarterfinal. That’s a pair just getting reacquainted this season, so if Babos-Fernandez can escape round one with the seeded upset, the sky may be the limit.
Cirstea-Kalinskaya
I love the section of the draw these two are in. If they’re engaged and back to the form that made them so dangerous when they started out in 2025, you better watch out with this draw.
ONE AND DONE WATCH
Seeds were fairly solid at avoiding trouble in round one a year ago with only three seeds losing their openers. That is about average for most recent years in Melbourne as you can see the seed chart below that shows the seeded results since 2020
That does of course mean that we should expect a few seeds to join those numbers with an early loss in 2026. Here are the ones I believe have some of the toughest opening matches to deal with this time around.
(3)Hsieh-Ostapenko
It’s an awkward draw for last year’s runners-up who have to face a pair with Grand Slam success in Gadecki-Krawczyk. That pair has teamed up once and made it count when they advanced to the Wimbledon semifinals back in 2025. Hsieh-Ostapenko looked solid in Brisbane in winning the titles, but Ostapenko’s physical condition crashed in Adelaide leading to their withdrawal. That does leave some questions out there for the three seeds despite a hot start to 2026.
(4)Mertens-Zhang
It’s been a minute since Mertens-Zhang have showed their best stuff which came in 2022 during a run to the Wimbledon final. They’ve played just six matches together since that run with a 3-3 record. They draw Cirstea-Kalinskaya who broke out in a big way when they first teamed up last year with a run to the Madrid titles in their maiden tournament and followed up with a quarterfinal run at Wimbledon. They did drop all three matches on hard courts late in the year in 2025, so there are still some questions. This still looks dangerous for the seeds.
(9)Bucsa/Melichar-Martinez
This is all match-up based as I do think this is a team capable of getting on a run. The nine seeds will battle Babos-Fernandez to start. That pair got some match play in Adelaide with a win over Kenin-Siegemund and a super tie break loss to eventual champs, Siniakova-Zhang. I am expecting a real fight in this one and would probably be most surprised if it didn’t go three sets.
(10)Samsonova-Shnaider
Both the seeds and their first round challengers Shibahara-Zvonareva have but a handful of matches with their current partner. The challengers are intriguing here with Shibahara-Zvonareva having made the Canberra final earlier this year in their debut. Samsonova-Shnaider haven’t paired since 2024 when they went 3-2 in limited action. This looks a pretty big toss-up where the unseeded pair might actual be favored.
(12)Mihalkova-Nicholls
The seeds looked pretty poor in their 2026 opener in Hobart where they suffered a 6-0, 6-2 defeat. They also lost their opener at Grand Slams three out of four in 2025. For me, that’s a bit of a red flag, so let’s see if Bondar-Cristian can spring a modest surprise. They do have some experience together, though neither is a consistent force in doubles at this level. I still think this might be tricky for the seeds.
(13)Kenin-Siegemund
There’s only two matches to show so far for this pair with both ending in losses this season. McNally-Osario are the opposition and while they may seem like a good match-up, McNally usually plays well when she chooses her spots in doubles. Osario has also gotten more reps in big spots like this in the last season or so, so I would not be shocked if this one flashed some upset potential at some point during the match.
DRAW PREVIEW
Click HERE for the women’s doubles draw
QUARTER ONE
The defending champs, Siniakova-Townsend, highlight this quarter as the lead seeds. The top seeded pair starts out with a date against Kempen-Siskova. That’s a team coming in off a trip to the Hobart final, but this is obviously a huge step up in class over what they faced in that tournament. Siniakova-Townsend don’t have much of a reputation of struggling early against pairs they should beat, so I would expect they will settle in and advance, but the first set could be interesting. The other seeded pair in the top half of this quarter is (15)Kato-Stollar. They have yet to find the win column in 2026 with an 0-2 record.
Still, this team can be menacing as witnessed with their run to the Beijing final last Fall in their first tournament together. That included wins over Kudermetova-Mertens and Babos-Stefani, a pair of WTA Finals’ participants. I think the big trouble spot for them could be round two if Kostyuk-Ruse advance. I already touched on them a bit in the Unseeded Menaces section. They’re experienced at Slams and experienced at making deep runs. Maleckova-Skoch, their first round foes, shouldn’t be slept on though. They were a steady pair in 2025 with a 49-16 record albeit a lot of that was at the ITF level and in fields that are nothing like this one in Melbourne. Still, any flatness from Kostyuk-Ruse could be punished.
To the bottom half of the quarter where (7)Danilina-Krunic lead the charge. This was a surprise “break out” team in 2025 with a 22-8 mark that included four finals, including their biggest surprise by making the French Open final. They’ve backed that up with back-to-back semifinals in Brisbane and Adelaide to start 2026. Both their losses this year have come in super tie breaks. Their path looks conducive to at least getting through to round three. A surprise duo in this section could be Piter-Tjen. They’re 8-0 in two tournaments together with both ending in titles. One came in Ghangzhou last Fall and the other in Hobart last week. The caveat here again is that this field will pit them against stiffer competition, but perhaps they can give Danilina-Krunic a tough time in round two. In the other part of this bottom half, you have (12)Mihalikova-Nicholls who looked sluggish in Hobart to start the year with a lopsided loss. Maybe Bondar-Cristian don’t take them out in round one, but keep an eye on round two where you might see an all-Aussie combo in Hunter-Joint. They’re an unknown factor since they haven’t paired, but in front of a home crowd, they could wind up being a real pesky sort of pair in this section.
Is there a team here that can keep Siniakova-Townsend from getting to the semifinals? Danilina-Krunic did just that at the French Open last year in the quarterfinals, so they obviously stick out as ones to watch. I won’t say it’s a lock that we see that match-up in the quarterfinals, but there is certainly a solid pathway to seeing what would be a potential BANGER ALERT. I don’t know that I trust anyone to take out the top seeds prior to the quarters, even with Kostyuk-Ruse and Kato-Stollar as capable types. If there’s an unseeded runner to watch out for it might be in the Danilina-Krunic half where both Hunter-Joint and Piter-Tjen provide some intrigue.
QUARTER TWO
Hsieh-Ostapenko are the three seeds in the top half of this quarter. It’s tough to start with Gadecki-Krawczyk as their openers. As long as Ostapenko doesn’t carry lingering health concerns from her retirement last week in Adelaide, the 2025 runners-up have to be the favorites. Still, Gadecki-Krawczyk have shown they are a team to be reckoned with in the past, but this is a rough way to play their first match together in six months. This still stands out as perhaps the most interesting match in round one for me. With (13)Kenin-Siegemund as the other seed in this half, the survivor of this opener will most definitely be the favorites for a quarterfinal berth. Kenin-Siegemund could take advantage of a lot of new pairings in their section, if they can escape round one against McNally-Osario. That may be the toughest match they face before round three. Both Bouzkova-Klepac and Lamens-Lys in the match opposite of that one in round one are pairing for the first time.
To the bottom half where (6)Dabrowski-Stefani are the highest seeds along with (9)Bucsa/Melichar-Martinez. I do like this Dabrowski-Stefani combination as they embark on a new partnership for 2026. They have plenty of experience to fall back on with a career record of 29-10 together. This will be their first tournament together however since 2023. Kessler-Pegula are the opposition in round one. The Americans are another unknown since they have yet to pair together. Both certainly have plenty of talent to add to the doubles court, but will the chemistry be there? Most eyes in this half will likely wind up focusing on Venus Williams. She’s back to play doubles again on the Grand Slam stage after her surprise U.S. Open quarterfinal last year with Leylah Fernandez. It’s a first time team-up with Alexandrova for the American as they battle Arango-Jacquemot in round one. They’re favored and will be expected to tussle with either Dabrowski-Stefani or Kessler-Pegula in round two. I don’t think there is a clear choice here without seeing how Dabrowski-Stefani look on court in their 2026 debut.
As for the other section in this bottom half, Bucsa/Melichar-Martinez will be tested right out of the gate with Babos-Fernandez waiting in round one. Bucsa-MM showed well enough even in a loss to Muhammad-Routliffe in Adelaide, dropping that one 6-4, 3-6, 10-6. Babos-Fernandez may emerge as a real threat out of this section. They looked good in Adelaide in splitting two matches, including the super tie break loss to Siniakova-Zhang. A pair to watch opposite of this match are Aussie wildcards Alava-Inglis. This will be their third go-round in Melbourne and they’ve proven a tough out each year. Last year they lost a tight opener 6-4, 7-6 to Kostyuk-Ruse and they took a set off Hunter-Siniakova in 2024 before losing in round two. Olmos-Sutjiadi are solid veterans, but a little Aussie magic may weave an upset here. The Aussies could provide a stern test for whomever survives into round two between Bucsa-MM and Babos-Fernandez as well.
There is enough unseeded power in this bottom half that I expect some turmoil in this section. I do think Dabrowski-Stefani will be a formidable team in 2026, but it is possible they may need more time to warm up and find their best together. They’re still my pick if a seed makes it out of this half, but I’m looking at Babos-Fernandez as a spoiler and certainly you never know what Venus Williams could cook up if she meshes well with Alexandrova. I think the top half is all about Hsieh-Ostapenko. If there are no lingering effects for Ostapenko from last week’s physical issues, it’s hard to pick against them being in the quarterfinals in what looks like a pretty workable draw after round one. Gadecki-Krawczyk definitely lurk as the supreme spoilers in that half with that round one clash perhaps being a massive deciding factor for who comes out of this quarter.
TOP HALF FORECAST
There is plenty to digest and watch in this half. The repeat attempt for Siniakova-Townsend. Venus Williams back on the doubles court at a Grand Slam. Aussies like Gadecki pairing with a solid veteran in Krawczyk and the all-Aussie pairs in Hunter-Joint and Alava-Inglis who will certainly have the support of the crowd. And there’s also always the possibility of another Kostyuk-Ruse run at a Slam. For me, if an unseeded pair gets through to a semifinal, I think it comes from the second quarter. Babos-Fernandez or Gadecki-Krawczyk would be my choice as the biggest sleeper. I have a real hard time looking past Siniakova-Townsend or Danilina-Krunic coming out of the first quarter.
SEMIFINAL PIX: (1)Siniakova-Townsend vs Babos-Fernandez
QUARTER THREE
The highest seed in this quarter is (4)Mertens-Zhang. They’ve played a handful of matches together the last few years to bring their career record to 12-5 as a tandem. Their last tournament together was Miami last year, where they made the third round. Their best run was of course making the 2022 Wimbledon final, but that is quite a long time ago. This is part of the reason why I think their opener against Cirstea-Kalinskaya is treacherous. Cirstea-Kalinskaya do have questions of their own after they looked a bit lost late last year on hard courts with an 0-3 record. Still, they did enough over their first two tournaments in Madrid and Wimbledon to sound the alarm to all who encounter them in the draw. The survivor of this match will have high expectations with the rest of the draw looking nicely set for a deep run. It’s Eikeri-Neel or Jovic-Mboko in round two. Both have some doubles experience, but this will be a big spot for them. It’s difficult for me to pick against Mertens-Zhang or Cirstea-Kalinskaya to be in the third round.
The other section in this bottom half of the quarter has Chan-Jiang as the #14 seeds. They have experience on their side with 20 matches together over the last season or so. A 9-11 record indicates that they likely will struggle to beat the better teams if they progress. Still, with this set up, there is a chance they could win a few. Blinkova-Rakhimova are first up. Both play enough doubles that they shouldn’t be overlooked, but there is no telling if they’ll have any chemistry. The other match in this quadrant features Americans Baptiste-Stearns going against Bouzas-Cocciaretto. Both pairs have limited time together, so it’s an absolute guess as to which one will escape with the win. I think I like the Americans in that spot with Stearns as the more reliable player amongst the four in doubles for me. It’s certainly possible that someone could be in round three that isn’t the seeds.
To the top half where (8)Perez-Schuurs are the lead seeds with (11)Khromacheva-Panova as the other seeded pair. I think Perez-Schuurs will be pleased with how this part of the draw is laid out. They get Haverlag-Kartal first, a pair that has not played together prior to the Australian Open. Given that Perez-Schuurs showed pretty solid chemistry in their Adelaide debut, I believe they get through to round two with minimal fuss. It seems likely they’ll square off with Kichenok-Ninomiya there with the two veterans going against an inexperienced Aussie pair in Jones-Sharma in round one. Kichenok-Ninomiya are no pushovers. They grabbed a pair of titles last year in limited play and do have some reps together in 2026 from Hobart. If a surprise is sprung in this section, expect them to play a role.
The other section of this half pits (11)Khromacheva-Panova against Hozumi-Wu in round one. That could be dangerous, but I think the seeds prevail. In round two, it’s one of two first-time pairs that will be waiting. For me, Kozyreva-Santamaria could be the ones they see and might be the ones who have the better shot to pull off an upset. It’s still a fairly sweet spot for the #11 seeds who will be expecting to make at least round three. That could let us see a real banger with Perez-Schuurs or perhaps a surprise pair like Kichenok-Ninomiya. I’m still pro Perez-Schuurs, so they’re going to get my vote in that spot. If they fall short, I think it might come sooner against Kichenok-Ninomiya who then may wind up squeaking into a quarterfinal. This quarter overall would seem made for the higher seeds to work through, but I need to see Mertens-Zhang grab a win before I feel confident in their chances of a run. Perez-Schuurs are the ones to watch for the seeds. Cirstea-Kalinskaya and Kichenok-Ninomiya loom as the unseeded menaces to monitor.
QUARTER FOUR
The last quarter of the draw houses the Italians (2)Errani-Paolini. They have not made it past round three in their previous two trips to Melbourne. It seems iffy that we will be able to say that they did in 2026, mostly due to the presence of (16)Guo-Mladenovic in the bottom half with the Italians. Those two broke out with a title run in Auckland this year in their first tournament together. Both have plenty of experience and now with chemistry shown, they’re a danger duo. I have a hard time finding an unseeded pair here that will keep it from being a seeded showdown in the third round.
Kichenok-Volynets might be an interesting one to see. The question is going to be if Lyudmyla Kichenok can do the heavy lifting to carry that team? One other pair to note are the 2025 ITF queens in Japanese pair Kobori-Shimizu. All they did in 2025 was win with a 38-9 record and seven ITF titles. I’m not sure they’ll be much of a factor in this quarter if they have to play a team like Errani-Paolini in round two, but they certainly do have the reps and chemistry you’d like to see in a surprise pair. Put me down for the seeded showndown though with Errani-Paolini and Guo-Mladenovia squaring off for a quarterfinal berth.
To the top half of the quarter with (6)Muhammad-Routliffe and (10)Samsonova-Shnaider as the seeded pairs. Muhammad-Routliffe have been made to battle every match of their young partnership, going 1-2 so far this year with all three going to super tie breaks. Noskova-Sramkova are no slouches in round one, so maybe don’t be surprised if it takes three sets for the seeds to survive. It’s a coin flip who they will face with Eala-Gamarra Martins pairing for the first time, while Aoyma-Linette have just a couple of matches to their credit. I still don’t expect that Muhammad-Routliffe to have an easy time, but they should really be unsatisfied with anything short of a third round berth with this path.
The other section of this half kicks off with a banger between (10)Samsonova-Shnaider and Canberra finalists Shibahara-Zvonareva. Shibahara-Zvonareva played three super tie breaks among their four matches in that tournament, so I think you can expect a roller coaster ride in round one. Samsonova-Shnaider will be trying to recapture the chemistry they had in 2024 when they paired up to win three of five matches. There is definite upset potential in this one. The match to determine their 2nd round opponent might be a low key banger with Aussie wildcards Cabrera-Preston as ones to watch against vets Wang-Zheng. The Aussies made their Australian Open debut in 2025, losing a tight one to a good team in Guo-Panova 6-4, 7-6. They have mainly played Aussie-based ITF events the last couple years, but with good results. Home cooking could help them make this one competitive and Wang-Zheng do have a habit of keeping things interesting with three set round one matches at two of the three Slams they played in 2025. Gimme Shibahara-Zvonareva to blow up this section and perhaps push for a surprise quarterfinal. I think Muhammad-Routliffe will be the ones they’d have to go through to get to that point.
There are some strong seeds in this 4th quarter, but all carry some questions. Errani-Paolini have never seen their best results here, but the draw gives them some possiblities to change their history. Muhammad-Routliffe are still in the infancy of their partnership, are they ready to assert themselves as a top team over the next two weeks? And then there is Guo-Mladenovic, a team that looked good in their first tournament together and has the Slam experience of Mladenovic who has six Slam doubles titles in her trophy case. Shibahara-Zvonareva look the tastiest of the unseeded menaces.
BOTTOM HALF FORECAST
I definitely think at least one seed grabs a spot in the final four in this bottom half. Who is up for debate. If you didn’t get it beaten into your brain yet, I REALLY LIKE Perez-Schuurs to do damage this season and it could ramp up in Melbourne. There are some teams in their path that could knock them off for sure, but I just like the cut of their jib (did I just say that). This certainly could be the spot for Errani-Paolini to break the mini-jinx in Melbourne. The draw definitely affords them a shot at making round three with a chance to make their first Australian Open quarterfinal.
Guo-Mladenovic may have something to say about that, but the Italians will be the best pair they’ve played so far in 2026 if that shakes out. This bottom half also sports a boom or bust pair like Gadecki-Krawczyk in the top half and that is Cirstea-Kalinskaya. They are equal parts likely to lose round one to Mertens-Zhang or grab that opening win and make a push for a semifinal. This half instantly carries more intrigue simply because there is no Siniakova-Townsend, so it automatically is more wide open. Let’s see how it plays out.
SEMIFINAL PIX: (8)Perez-Schuurs vs (2)Errani-Paolini
The quest for a repeat is on for Siniakova-Townsend with the Czech doubles queen having a chance to further cement herself as one of the greatest doubles players in history. A win makes it four of the last five titles in Melbourne, something this site hasn’t see since the late 90s into 2000s when Martina Hingis won four titles in a six year span. With their record on hard courts in particular, you’d have to be a bit crazy not to include them as your favorite to win again this year. And with the one or two seeds having won the women’s titles in Melbourne for each of the last six years, going chalky with Errani-Paolini as a second choice isn’t a bad idea. They may not have found great success here just yet, but I do think their half of the draw gives them that opportunity. What a stunning way to get a first clash between Siniakova-Townsend and Errani-Paolini this could be!
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Siniakova-Townsend
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