Adelaide, Jan 15 (IANS) World No. 8 Mirra Andreeva stormed into the semifinals of the Adelaide International, setting up an all-Russian clash against Diana Shnaider after a dominant victory over local hope Maya Joint in Adelaide on Thursday.The Adelaide International serves as a crucial warm-up event ahead of the season’s first Grand Slam, offering players a final chance to fine-tune their form for Australian hard courts.Andreeva, the third seed, proved too strong for local hope Maya Joint in a …
Latest Melbourne Park News & Updates
Melbourne, Jan 15 (IANS) Swiss tennis great Roger Federer returned to Melbourne Park ahead of the Australian Open and lavished praise on Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, hailing their rivalry as one of the most exciting storylines in modern tennis. Federer, who announced his retirement in 2022, makes his appearance at the Melbourne Park ahead of the opening ceremony of the 2026 edition of the hard-court major, six years since the Swiss star played his final tournament.The six-time Australian Op…
Melbourne, Jan 14 (IANS) Amateur tennis player Jordan Smith produced a fairytale run at Melbourne Park, stunning reigning Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner and a host of top professionals to clinch the inaugural ‘1 Point Slam’ exhibition event, held four days ahead of the start of the 2026 Australian Open.The unique mixed-gender exhibition, hosted inside Rod Laver Arena, has a prize pool of AUD 1 million and brings together leading professionals and amateurs in a novel format where a si…
Melbourne, Jan 14 (IANS) Austrian tennis star Sebastian Ofner endured a dramatic and embarrassing exit from the Australian Open qualifiers after forgetting the final-set tie-break rules, celebrating prematurely against Nishesh Basavareddy before suffering a stunning defeat.Ofner seemed to be in complete command after taking a 6-1 lead in the deciding-set tie-break against Nishesh. When he extended the advantage to 7-1, the Austrian prematurely assumed the contest was over and began celebrating, …
Melbourne, Jan 9 (IANS) Former champion Stan Wawrinka and Australians Jordan Thompson and Chris O’Connell have been awarded wildcards for Australian Open maind draw, which begins January 18 at Melbourne Park.Wawrinka won the first of his three Grand Slam titles at Australian Open 2014, a season during which he peaked at world No.3. He reached additional semifinals in 2015 and 2017, as well as advancing to the 2020 quarterfinals.This will be the 20th time Wawrinka competes in singles at the Aus…
Melbourne, Jan 6 (IANS) Australian Open tournament organisers announced a record AUD 111.5 million prize money pool Tuesday, the largest in the tournament’s history. The prize money pool saw a 16 per cent increase on last year prize money of 96.5 million Australian dollars. The winners of the men’s and women’s singles at the season-opening Grand Slam will each receive AUD 2.79 million, marking a 19 per cent rise from last year’s AUD 2.35 million. The runner-up will earn AUD 2.15 million …
Brisbane, Jan 6 (IANS) Last year’s Australian Open finalists Madison Keys and Aryna Sabalenka have made strong opening statements in 2026, each beginning their new campaigns with convincing wins at the Brisbane International. World No.1 Sabalenka opened her campaign in emphatic fashion, dismantling Spain’s Cristina Bucsa in 47 minutes on Tuesday, while defending Australian Open champion Keys secured a 6-4, 6-3 win against McCarthy Kessler in the second round at Pat Rafter Arena.Brisbane defe…
Melbourne, Jan 2 (IANS) Seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams received a wild card entry into the main draw at the 2026 Australian Open.It will be her first appearance at Melbourne Park since 2021 and the first time she will have competed outside the United States since 2023. Of her seven Grand Slam singles titles, none have come in Melbourne. Venus reached the final twice, in 2003 and 2017, and both times her sister and 23-time Grand Slam champion, Serena Williams, emerged victorious.In…