Can Sinner make it a threepeat? Our tennis scribes have their say: Expert tips to Australian Open

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Carlos Alcaraz might have arrived in Australia this summer as the world No.1, but his fierce rival – and world No.2 – Jannik Sinner maintains an edge if you put them on the blue hard courts of Melbourne Park.

That’s the overwhelming verdict of our tennis experts, all except one of who are backing Sinner to charge to a third straight Australian Open men’s singles crown over the next fortnight.

There’s less consensus about who will win the women’s singles title, and our views of where Alex de Minaur’s tournament will end are – like his efforts on the court – consistent.

Read on to find the predictions of our tennis team, and, beyond that, you’ll find Marc McGowan’s Bluffer’s Guide to the AO. It’s a perfect ready reckoner ahead of the first serve of the tournament on Sunday.

Todd Woodbridge

Men’s winner: Jannik Sinner.
Women’s winner: Belinda Bencic.
The player everyone will be talking about: Carlos Alcaraz. He is looking to win the final major and have all four in the trophy cabinet! It will be interesting to see how he reacts to a change of coach, too.
Biggest story of the tournament: Don’t know yet! The beauty of the AO is it will be a story we least expect.
The Australian who will capture the public’s attention: Alex De Minaur.
How far will Demon make it? Semi-final.

As winner of the past two men’s singles crowns at the Australian Open, Italian Jannik Sinner is again the one to beat in 2026.

Marc McGowan

Men’s winner: Jannik Sinner.
Men’s runner-up: Carlos Alcaraz.
Women’s winner: Aryna Sabalenka.
Women’s runner-up: Elena Rybakina.
The player everyone will be talking about: Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva has long been touted as a future No.1, and it is only a matter of time until she breaks through at grand slam level. She is an effervescent personality, too.
Biggest story of the tournament: The stars continue their fight for a greater revenue share (and more welfare contributions) as Craig Tiley and grand slam bosses insist everything is OK.
The Australian who will capture the public’s attention: Barring a Destanee Aiava-like fairytale from last year, expect the nation to start dreaming of an Alex de Minaur title after he moves into the second week.
How far will Demon make it? The quarter-finals again, only to run into an inspired Alcaraz.
The thing that will have fans grumbling: “My food costs how much?! I’ve already paid $200 for my ticket!”

Michael Gleeson

Men’s winner: Sinner again.
Men’s runner-up: Zverev again
Women’s winner: Coco Gauff.
Women’s runner-up: Swiatek.
The player everyone will be talking about and why: Not everyone will be talking about it, but the coffee drinkers will not lightly forget Iga Swiatek dissing Melbourne coffee. Because, like, Polish coffee is so good ...
Biggest story of the tournament: Casper Ruud quits the semi-final mid-match to fly to Norway to be at the birth of his first child.
The who will capture the public’s attention: Casper Ruud (see above).
How far will Demon make it? Third round (Tiafoe).
The thing that will have fans grumbling: Why are there more party courts? Why aren’t there more party courts? Also, where is Danielle Collins? I miss her.

Coco Gauff warming up at Melbourne Park this week.

Billie Eder

Men’s winner: Jannik Sinner.
Men’s runner-up: Carlos Alcaraz.
Women’s winner: Elena Rybakina.
Women’s runner-up: Aryna Sabalenka.
The player everyone will be talking about: OK, big call, but I’m going to say Australian wildcard Taylah Preston. I watched her beat Emma Raducanu on Thursday night, and she looked ferocious and powerful. She would likely have a tough second round opponent in Linda Noskova, but Australians always perform and surprise at Melbourne Park.
Biggest story of the tournament: Here we go, another big call, but I think Australian Alexei Popyrin eliminates 2025 finalist Alexander Zverev in the second round. Popyrin can pull an amazing tournament out of nowhere, and Zverev has been vulnerable since his appearance in last year’s final. Heard it here first.
The Australian who will capture the public’s attention: Who else but our newest Australian, Daria Kasatkina? She should win her first round match against qualifier Nikola Bartunkova, but it will be the second round that’s likely tricky, with world No.10 Belinda Bencic predicted to play Kasatkina. First Australian Open as an Australian, that’s going to be pretty memorable.
How far will Demon make it? I really want Alex de Minaur to make his grand slam semi-final debut in Australia, but unfortunately, I just don’t think that’s going to happen. He’s predicted to meet world No.1 Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals, and I think that’s where his tournament ends.
The thing that will have fans grumbling: Come on, as always, it’s going to be the late finishes. Tennis is renowned for its ridiculous finish times, and I can already see the fans streaming out of Melbourne Park at 1am or 2am after a five-set epic.

Scott Spits

Men’s winner: Carlos Alcaraz. It’s time for the world No.1 to make his mark on Melbourne.
Men’s runner-up: In a dream final Alcaraz will pip Jannik Sinner in four sets.
Women’s winner: Elena Rybakina.
Women’s runner-up: Coco Gauff.
The player everyone will be talking about: Jordan Smith. We might have already seen the player on everyone’s lips. The amateur player from NSW took home $1 million – the last player standing in the AO’s “1-Point Slam”. Everyone was gripped by the moment, even Alcaraz.
Biggest story of the tournament: Novak Djokovic. Whatever the 10-time champion does, how far he goes in the tournament and even his interactions with a TV host – ala his dispute with Tony Jones last year – are guaranteed to generate headlines.
The Australian who will capture the public’s attention: Maya Joint might be women’s world No.32 and our best women’s player, but she remains a huge unknown to the local audience. That will change over the next two weeks.
How far will Demon make it? Quarter-finals. I’m tipping Alex de Minaur to fight his way through a challenging draw before Alcaraz stops him at the oh-that’s-so-frustrating quarter-final stage.
The thing that will have fans grumbling: Fighting for seats on the outside courts. The AO gets bigger and bigger by the year. Therefore, securing great seats on show courts and smaller courts to watch top matches gets more difficult.

Jake Niall

Men’s winner: Sinner.
Runner-up: Alcaraz.
Women’s winner: Sabalenka.
Runner-up: Amanda Anisimova.

The player everyone will be talking about: Novak Djokovic. At 38, this might be his last shot at an 11th title.
Biggest story of the tournament: Dodgy use of medical timeouts in a critical match.
The Australian who will capture the public’s attention: Maya Joint.
How far will the Demon make it: The fourth round.
The thing that will have the fans grumbling: Beer prices or shortages.

Hannah Kennelly

Men’s winner: Sinner.
Men’s runner-up: Alcaraz.
Women’s winner: Swiatek.
Women’s runner-up: Sabalenka.
Player everyone will be talking about: Sabalenka. After her controversial Battle of the Sexes match with Nick Kyrgios, I suspect Sabalenka will continue to keep Aussies talking. She’s got a brilliant, fiery style of tennis and will no doubt stay in the headlines.
The Australian who will capture the public’s attention: Dane Sweeny. Ranked as low as 680th in the world last year, Sweeny’s had a meteoric comeback and qualified for the men’s singles this year. There wasn’t a spare seat for his qualifying matches this week. The 24-year-old has an entertaining, almost acrobatic, style of tennis and is definitely one to watch.
How far will Demon make it: Fourth round. I’m a massive fan, but the Aussie definitely has a tough draw this year. I struggle to see him getting past Alexander Bublik, but happy to be proved wrong.

Bluffer’s guide to the Open

By Marc McGowan

Not everyone is a tennis aficionado. But you will be able to bluff your mates by reading our Australian Open form guide, which should quickly bring you up to speed with what is about to happen across the next fortnight.

The bankable stars

Ten-time champion Novak Djokovic is the undisputed king of Melbourne Park, and has not lost before the semi-finals since 2018. Even at age 38, Djokovic remains a leading title threat. World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka is trying to win her third women’s singles championship in four years – after losing the final to Madison Keys in 2025 – while Jannik Sinner is hunting a hat-trick of men’s titles.

Chasing history

This is the worst-performed slam for Carlos Alcaraz, but he was still a quarter-finalist the past two years and needs the Australian Open trophy to complete his grand slam set. Alcaraz would join Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Andre Agassi, Rod Laver, Roy Emerson, Fred Perry and Don Budge as the only men to do that if he salutes at Melbourne Park. Iga Swiatek is also eyeing a career grand slam in Australia after winning Wimbledon for the first time last year. Margaret Court, Maureen Connolly, Steffi Graf, Doris Hart, Shirley Fry, Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova won each of the four majors.

Don’t count on ’em

Casper Ruud is a triple grand slam finalist, but reached the fourth round at Melbourne Park only once in six previous trips, including four exits by the second round. Other men’s seeds with questionable records here are Alexander Bublik (four first-round and three second-round exits), Lorenzo Musetti (never beyond the round of 32 in four visits), Arthur Rinderknech (three first-round losses from four Opens) and Corentin Moutet (lost by the second round in five of six attempts). On the women’s side, it is difficult to trust Leylah Fernandez (five second-round losses from six tries), Liudmila Samsonova (never past the second round in six trips), Emma Raducanu (three second-round exits out of four attempts) and Ekaterina Alexandrova (five first-round defeats from nine Opens).

New names to track

Valentin Vacherot is at the top of this list. A virtual unknown before last year’s Shanghai Masters, the Monaco man stormed from qualifying to the title, beating his cousin Rinderknech in an unlikely final. His scalps included Bublik, Holger Rune and Djokovic. Powerful trio Gabriel Diallo, Raphael Collignon and Ethan Quinn enjoyed breakout seasons in 2025, too. Indonesia’s Janice Tjen was one of the WTA Tour’s biggest risers last year, surging from a year-end ranking of No.412 in 2024 to a career-high No.53. Other steep climbers were Germans Eva Lys and Ella Seidel, Filipino Alexandra Eala and Colombia’s Emiliana Arango.

The teenage tyros

Joao Fonseca and Victoria Mboko are only 19, but already gatecrashed the top 30, and Mirra Andreeva is even younger at 18, but a top-10 staple. Rising with a bullet is in-form American Iva Jovic, while Czech Republic’s Tereza Valentova and Sara Bejlek are also on the fast-track to the top. Australian young guns Maya Joint – seeded at a major for the first time – and Emerson Jones are others to watch. Among those to qualify for the men’s draw were former junior No.1s Nicolai Budkov Kjaer and Rei Sakamoto, plus fellow emerging talent Rafael Jodar. Teenager Nikola Bartunkova advanced from women’s qualifying.