Australian Open: Gigi Salmon previews Melbourne Grand Slam and predicts Jannik Sinner, Amanda Anisimova to claim title | Tennis News

Sky Sports Tennis’ Gigi Salmon looks ahead to the 2026 Australian Open, reveals her tips for chasing titles and takes a look at each Brit’s draw in her latest column.

I’m writing this 35,000 feet up on my way to a Happy Slam that got even happier this week when 29-year-old novice Jordan Smith (albeit an ATP-ranked one) won a stunning one-point slam and a life-changing check for A$1m.

She came in 48th place, edging out defending champion Jannik Sinner and two-time winner Amanda Anisimova.

The Grand Slams are always looking for ways to get more people through the gates in what is now – three out of four – ‘week 1’ of the three-week event on site.

We recently saw at the US Open a renewed mixed doubles event that was crowned the first Grand Slam champions before the draw even began. In Melbourne, the one-point slam gives ‘ordinary’ people like you and me the chance to dream of taking the court against the best in the world.

I also felt like it distracted, or distracted, from the serious business of fitness as I found myself scrolling through social media to find out who made it to the showcase stage of the event and how everyone else is doing, rather than looking to see how things are going in the finals!

When I arrive in Melbourne, I will have about 36 hours to shake off the jet lag, get my bearings and get my clearance before the big rush starts on Sunday morning local time. A similar change for those players in the final stages of the pre-Slam events.

The first medals of the year went to Poland, led by world number 2 Iga Swiatek and returning United Cup winner Hubey Hurkacz.

World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, Elina Svitolina, Daniil Medvedev – who holds the No 22 title in 22 different cities – and Alexander Bublik, who by winning the title in Hong Kong also secured his place in the world’s top 10 for the first time in his career.

‘The Sabalenka player will be beaten, no one is close to Sinner and Alcaraz’

So what are some of the questions we have going into the first Grand Slam of 2026? Will Novak Djokovic win his 11th Australian Open title and record 25th Grand Slam title? Can Sabalenka pick up where she left off in 2025 winning the US Open? Will Iga Swiatek find happiness and stability in the Happy Slam after an up and down season?

Sabalenka’s early signs are positive, claiming his 22nd career title and third in Brisbane.

The women’s event is at stake as there are many contenders for the top prize where 11 Grand Slam champions, including five former Australian Open champions, will be drawn. That’s five players who know what it’s like to win the first Grand Slam of the year – a priceless experience.

I’m still undecided about the role Elena Rybakina will play, as I’ve told her many times to rule the world only to come out with a bang! A good friend too Sky Sports Tennis commentator Naomi Cavaday went for Naomi Osaka to win her third AO title and first Grand Slam title since winning at Melbourne Park in 2021.

Osaka is relaxed, settled with his team, has returned to IMG – leaving the Evolve agency he co-founded – and knows what it’s like to win this title. I feel like I could continue to write down the names of the players in the category, including the ones to watch and it would be a long list which is what makes the women’s tournament attractive, but without question in these arenas Sabalenka is still the player to beat.

Back to Djokovic and his quest for history, he finds himself in Jannik Sinner’s part of the draw, and his quarter on paper is not too bad – with a very good head against all the seeds in his division – the fact that he does not have warm-up events in his legs and back to the best five sets, will be difficult again and will continue to be difficult.

Will anyone break the Grand Slam winning duopoly of Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz? The Italian starts as the two-time defending champion, while Alcaraz, with Juan Carlos Ferrero no longer by his side, is looking to complete the Grand Slam. Both, like Djokovic, opened their seasons at Melbourne Park.

I’ve never met anyone who thinks anyone outside the top two is going to win a major this year and maybe next year too, because they’re so far ahead of everyone else. The chasers, they can’t just see them from afar, they don’t have the belief that in the big stage they can get a win!

‘Draw not kind to Brits in Melbourne’

Britain’s involvement sees four British women in the main draw and three men, the same numbers as we had last year but the draw was not overly generous.

Britain’s Emma Raducanu will be looking to bounce back from her early exit as the top seed in Hobart to take on world No 204 Taylah Preston. At 28, she will face Thailand’s Mananchaya Sawangkaew – current world No. 194, who is making her Grand Slam debut, but is scheduled to run into world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka at the start of the third round.

Sonay Kartal is facing the 31st seed Anna Kalinskaya. Fran Jones has a fine first-round match against qualifier and world number 141 Linda Klimovicova – making her a Grand Slam draw – and Katie Boulter must have danced for joy when the news broke that she would not need to qualify and was instead in the main draw, that is until the draw and the United Nations final with United Cup winner Bencikclinda of 10 and Swilinda.

The British men are led by Cam Norrie, who thanks to a good return in 2025, got himself the Australian seed and as the 26th seed, he will face the Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi, who has played once before – the Metz final last year.

Jacob Fearnley, who hasn’t had the start to the year he could have wanted, outclassed tricky Pole Kamil Majchrzak, who reached the quarter-finals in Brisbane. And congratulations to Arthur Fery who qualified for the first Australian Open, he also drew 20th seed Flavio Cobolli.

If you’ve just returned to sport after the Christmas holidays and you’re back to work and the kids are back to school, a reminder that Jack Draper didn’t feel ready to put his body (and left arm) in the best of five fights and instead, all being well, he’ll be back in action for GB in the Davis Cup, when he goes to Norway in February.

‘Ison and Anisimova will raise their lips’

Why does it mean so much to players to take their place in a major Grand Slam tournament? However, the best reason is that the reward for getting into the first blocks in Melbourne is A$150,000 (£75,000) – that’s up from A$132,000 last year. The total prize money has increased by 16 per cent from 2025 and individual winners will walk away with A$4,150,000 (around £2.07m)

You may remember that last year I was very focused on talking about the event on the radio, last year I was hired as the ‘coach’ of world no. This year I didn’t realize that even though I’m thousands of kilometers away in the UK, I’ve already been hired and fired due to missing Dani’s Kooyong Classic exhibition event, so I’m waiting to see when I collect my approval to be rehired!

I’ve always had so much fun watching the season unfold Sky Sports Tennis and I will report from Melbourne. I believe it Sky Sports Tennis the group predictions of those who we think will finish in the ATP & WTA top 8s will make an appearance soon, but as for who goes with Daphne and Norman in Melbourne I predicted at the beginning of December and I will stick to what I said then: your champions will be Jannik Sinner and Amanda Anisimova.

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