99 of the world’s top 100 men and 98 of the top 100 women will travel to Melbourne Park in January, according to the release of entry lists for the 2026 Australian Open.
VIEW: List of participants Men’s Singles | List of participants for women’s singles
World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz, who is aiming for a career Grand Slam at AO 2026, leads the men’s field, while two-time AO champion Aryna Sabalenka, who has appeared in the last three AO finals, leads the women’s list.
Alcaraz still needs to progress beyond the quarter-finals at Melbourne Park and will face intense competition from world No. 2 Jannik Sinner, the 2024 and 2025 champion who is aiming to become only the second man in the Open era after Novak Djokovic to win three consecutive AO singles titles.
He and Alcaraz have met in the last three Grand Slam finals, with the Australian Open being the only major tournament where they have never met.
Djokovic, a 10-time AO champion, enters as world No. 4 having reached all four major semifinals in 2025. This makes him the oldest man in the Open era to achieve this feat in a season.
The notable absentee in the men’s race is world number 15. Holger Rune, who continues to rehabilitate a torn Achilles tendon.
Sabalenka will be joined on the women’s side by defending champion Madison Keys, world No. 2 Iga Swiatek – who is aiming for a career Slam after her Wimbledon win in Melbourne in 2025 – and reigning Roland Garros champion Coco Gauff, who defeated Sabalenka in the French final.
World number 64 Danielle Collins and 76th-ranked Ons Jabeur, currently on maternity leave, will miss the tournament, while former world number 1 Karolina Pliskova, China’s Wang Yafan and rising Thai talent Mananchaya Sawangkaew competed via protected placements.
Four men – Chinese stars Shang Juncheng and Zhang Zhizhen, Finn Emil Ruusuvuori and Australian favorite Thanasi Kokkinakis – entered the tournament via protected rankings.
This makes Argentina’s Thiago Agustin Tirante the last direct acceptor, who was number 101 in the world at the time of the November 17 rankings on which the men’s entries are based. The last direct confirmation in the women’s field is the Frenchwoman Leolia Jeanjean, who was in 103rd place at the registration deadline on December 8th.
Meanwhile, world number 7 Alex de Minaur leads the Australian contingent. The AO 2025 quarter-finalist is one of six Australians in the men’s field, while the country’s top-ranked woman, world number 32 Maya Joint, leads four compatriots into the women’s tournament.
Eight wildcards and 16 qualifiers round out the 128-player field in both men’s and women’s singles, with three of those wildcards already announced.
The qualifying competition will take place at Melbourne Park from January 12-15 as part of the opening week presented by the Herald Sun
The 2026 Australian Open, supported by lead partner Kia in collaboration with ANZ, Emirates, Luzhou Laojiao and Rolex, will take place at Melbourne Park from January 12 to February 1, 2026.
Tickets sold via Ticketmaster. For more information, visit ausopen.com.