The US is flooding the quarterfinals of the 2026 Australian Open, with half of eight women still standing in the Grand Slam representing the United States.
World No. 3 Coco Gauff, No. 4 Amanda Anisimova, No. 6 Jessica Pegula, and No. 27 Iva Jović all advanced from the weekend's fourth round, joining No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, No. 2 Iga Świątek, No. 5 Elena Rybakina, and No. 12 Elina Svitolina in Monday and Tuesday's quarterfinals.
"I'm just trusting the level that I have been able to put out and hopefully that will be enough," 18-year-old Jović said as she gears up for her Monday night clash with Sabalenka — a two-time winner (2023, 2024) of the Melbourne Slam.
Pegula's success, meanwhile, came at the expense of her US teammate and the reigning Australian Open champion, No. 9 Madison Keys, whom she ousted in straight sets in the Round of 16 on Sunday.
Even more, Pegula's quarterfinal matchup will again feature friendly fire as she takes on Anisimova on Tuesday night.
"Sucks that one American has to go out in the quarterfinals," Anisimova said. "Jess is such a great player, so I'm sure it's going to be a great battle."
How to watch the 2026 Australian Open quarterfinals
The Australian Open quarterfinals start at 7:30 PM ET on Monday, when No. 27 Jović takes on No. 1 Sabalenka before No. 3 Gauff's 3 AM ET Tuesday matchup with No. 12 Svitolina.
No. 6 Pegula's clash with No. 4 Anisimova, as well as No. 5 Rybakina vs. No. 2 Świątek will close out the quarterfinals early Wednesday morning.
All matches from the Melbourne Slam air live across ESPN platforms.
The world's top tennis stars are rolling in Melbourne, as the first round of the 2026 Australian Open wrapped early Tuesday morning with only a few ranked seeds suffering early defeats.
World No. 15 Emma Navarro was the highest-ranked US player to fall in the first round, with the 24-year-old exiting the season's first Grand Slam in a 6-3, 3-6, 3-6 loss to Poland's No. 50 Magda Linette on Sunday.
No. 11 Ekaterina Alexandrova also stumbled in the first round, with her Melbourne run ending in a three-set loss to Turkey's No. 112 Zeynep Sönmez on Saturday before No. 68 Peyton Stearns ousted fellow US star and 2020 Australian Open champion No. 30 Sofia Kenin in straight sets on Sunday.
Many contenders still remain in the hunt, however, as the entire WTA Top 10 cruised through their opening matchups to advance to the Slam's second round.
That said, fans will miss out on one highly anticipated showdown, as wild card entry Venus Williams's first-round loss ended the 45-year-old tennis icon's path to a second-round clash with US favorite No. 3 Coco Gauff.
How to watch the second round of the 2026 Australian Open
The 2026 Australian Open continues when the Slam's second round kicks off with a Tuesday night slate that features stars like No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, No. 3 Coco Gauff, and No. 7 Jasmine Paolini.
Tuesday's action begins at 7 PM ET, with all Melbourne matches airing live across ESPN platforms.
The first Grand Slam of 2026 has arrived, as the main draw of the Australian Open hits the court on Saturday evening, promising some early-round fireworks.
World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka enters as the tournament favorite, though the rest of the WTA Top 10 promises to give her a run for her money — as No. 2 Iga Świątek chases the only major tournament title still eluding her.
Meanwhile, No. 9 Madison Keys will attempt to defend her 2025 crown, as fellow US products No. 3 Coco Gauff, No. 4 Amanda Anisimova, and No. 6 Jessica Pegula also locked down top seeds.
Another US superstar will return this weekend, with 45-year-old Venus Williams following up her impressive 2025 performances by accepting a wild-card entry to her first Australian Open in five years.
"Even though I've been on tour for a long time, this is also still my first experience as [reigning champion]," Keys said. "I'm really just trying to soak in all of the really cool fun parts."
How to watch the 2026 Australian Open
The 2026 Australian Open begins at 7 PM ET on Saturday, with Williams as well as top-seed Sabalenka and world No. 7 Jasmine Paolini set to face their first opponents on the first day of the Slam's main draw.
The second day of first-round matches will see the rest of the WTA elite in action, as No. 2 Świątek, No. 3 Gauff, No. 4 Anisimova, No. 6 Pegula, and No. 9 Keys — as well as No. 5 Elena Rybakina, No. 8 Mirra Andreeva, and No. 10 Belinda Bencic — will hit the hardcourt in Melbourne starting at 7 PM ET on Sunday.
All matches in the 2026 Australian Open — from the first round through the women's final on Saturday, January 31st — will air live across ESPN platforms.
As top tennis talents turn toward the 2026 Australian Open, this week's WTA rankings refresh hints at the drama to come as the year's first Grand Slam nears.
Following her strong 2026 United Cup showing against world No. 2 Iga Świątek, Team USA favorite Coco Gauff jumped to No. 3, leapfrogging fellow US star No. 4 Amanda Anisimova along the way.
Meanwhile, reigning Australian Open champion Madison Keys hit a slight skid, falling two spots to No. 9 after unwavering No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka ousted her from last week's Brisbane Open quarterfinals.
Sabalenka aside, Switzerland's No. 10 Belinda Bencic might have the hottest hand heading into Melbourne, busting into the Top 10 after winning all five of her 2026 United Cup singles matches — including a dominant three-set victory over Poland's Świątek.
Bencic also made history in this week's rankings update, becoming the first returning mother to crack the WTA's top tier since US tennis icon Serena Williams did so in 2021.
"I think it's been a huge goal, maybe a huge ride after the whole comeback, to come back and prove this to myself, that it's possible," Bencic said this week.
How to watch top WTA ranked tennis players this week
Next up for the WTA rankings' elite will be the record-breaking 2026 Australian Open, with the main draw of the season's first Slam kicking off down under on Sunday.
Live coverage from the Melbourne hardcourt will air across ESPN platforms beginning at 7 PM ET on Saturday.
WTA star Aryna Sabalenka suffered a blow on Sunday, as the world No. 1 fell to Australian ATP player Nick Kyrgios in straight sets at the sold-out "Battle of the Sexes" showdown in Dubai.
"I made a lot of great shots, moved a lot to the net," Sabalenka said following the 6-3, 6-3 loss. "I really enjoyed the show and I feel like the next time when I play him, I already know the tactics — I know his strengths, his weaknesses, and it's going to be a better match for sure."
"Seeing someone as great as Aryna out here, and myself, it truly is a spectacle," added world No. 671 Kyrgios. "I think this is a great moving stepping stone forward for the sport of tennis."
Designed to mirror 1973's iconic "Battle of the Sexes" bout between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs, Sunday's matchup received some criticism, stirring up fears it could exacerbate stereotypes surrounding men's and women's tennis.
"The only similarity is that one is a boy and one is a girl. That's it," King told BBC Sport ahead of the event. "Everything else, no. Ours was about social change; culturally, where we were in 1973. Mine was really political. I knew I had to beat him for societal change. I had a lot of reasons to win."
Tennis star Aryna Sabalenka has done it again, with the world No. 1 taking home the WTA Player of the Year award for a second straight season on Monday — becoming just the seventh woman to earn the honor back-to-back.
Sabalenka won Player of the Year in dominant fashion, garnering nearly 80% of the media vote after leading the 2025 WTA Tour in wins, titles, and finals appearances — all while racking up a record $15 million in prize money.
The 27-year-old spent the entire year as the sport's No. 1 player, all while reaching three of the four Grand Slam finals en route to winning the 2025 US Open.
After an elite season, US rising star Amanda Anisimova won the WTA Most Improved Player honor for reaching a career-first two Grand Slam finals while jumping from No. 34 to No. 4 in the rankings.
Following her own breakout 2025 campaign, 19-year-old Canadian talent No. 18 Vicky Mboko took home Newcomer of the Year, with Swiss No. 11 Belinda Bencic earning Comeback Player of the Year after returning from pregnancy in stellar form.
The world's top duo of Czechia's Katerina Siniakova and US standout Taylor Townsend also capped their 2025 season with hardware, earning the sport's Doubles Team of the Year.
US tennis star Coco Gauff continues to win off the court, with the 2025 French Open champion topping Sportico's list of the 15 Highest-Paid Female Athletes for the third consecutive year.
Fueled by $23 million in off-court endorsements, the $31 million earned by the 21-year-old world No. 3 WTA player edged out the $30 million total income that fellow tennis star and world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka garnered in 2025.
Unsurprisingly, a full 10 athletes on the Sportico Top 15 list are tennis stars, a direct result of the fact that all four Grand Slams and the Masters 1000 tournaments boast equal prize money between the men's and women's competitions — a shift that began with the 1973 US Open.
That established expectation of gender equity in prize money has tennis far outpacing salaries in most other women's sports.
Also making the Top 15 are two LPGA golfers — world No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul (No. 15 on the Highest-Paid Female Athletes list) and US star No. 2 Nelly Korda (No. 7) — as well as popular Olympic skiier Eileen Gu (No. 4), WNBA superstar Caitlin Clark (No. 6), and USA gymnastics legend Simone Biles (No. 11).
Notably, Gu, Clark, and Biles as well as Venus Williams (No. 14) all proved the power of endorsements on this year's list, with nearly all of the quartet's earnings coming from sponsorship deals.
World No. 5 Elena Rybakina lifted her first-ever WTA Finals trophy on Saturday, when the 2022 Wimbledon champ upset No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets 6-3, 7-6(0) to close out the 2025 tennis calendar in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The 26-year-old Kazakhstan star — who notably was the final player in the eight-athlete field to secure her tournament spot — capped her run on a winning tear, taking down No. 2 Iga Świątek, No. 4 Amanda Anisimova, and No. 6 Jessica Pegula en route to the 2025 title.
"It's been an incredible week. I honestly didn't expect any result, and to go so far is just incredible," Rybakina said following her championship-winning match.
Handing Sabalenka just her second-ever defeat in the final match of the WTA Finals — and doing so with just the third dropped tie-break in Sabalenka's 2025 season — Rybakina emerged from the end-of-year round-robin tournament without a single loss — earning her a women's tennis-record $5.23 million winner's check.
"She played incredible," Sabalenka said of her opponent, after Rybakina scored an impressive eight aces against the world No. 1 in the clash. "I feel like I did my best today. It didn't work, but I think so many things I have to be proud of. And yeah, I'm leaving this tournament without any disappointment."
World No. 1 tennis star Aryna Sabalenka is back in the headlines, agreeing to feature in a "Battle of the Sexes" exhibition match against No. 652-ranked ATP player Nick Kyrgios next month.
Taking advantage of a quiet period in the tennis calendar, the pair's showdown will take place at the 17,000-seat Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai on Sunday, December 28th.
"I genuinely think that I'm going to win," said Sabalenka, a two-time Australian Open champion and the reigning two-time US Open winner. "I'll definitely go out there and I'll try my best to kick his ass."
The upcoming "Battle of the Sexes" match is organized by Evolve, the agency co-founded by fellow tennis phenom Naomi Osaka, which counts both Sabalenka and Kyrgios as clients.
"This is about respect, rivalry, and re-imaging what equality in sport can look like," Evolve co-founder Stuart Duguid told BBC Sport on Tuesday.
The exhibition's concept mirrors the 1973 world-famous "Battle of the Sexes" match between tennis legend Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs — with King emphatically winning the bout in straight sets.
As for December's iteration, the match will be a best-of-three affair with a 10-point tiebreak, with 2022 Wimbledon runner-up Kyrgios serving toward a slightly smaller court and both participants restricted to one serve each.
"I have so much respect for Billie Jean King and what she has done for the women's game," Sabalenka continued. "I'm proud to represent women's tennis and to be part of this modern take of the iconic Battle of the Sexes."
Upsets are stealing the show at the 2025 WTA Finals, with world No. 5 Jessica Pegula taking down reigning champion No. 3 Coco Gauff 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-2 on Sunday before No. 6 Elena Rybakina topped No. 2 Iga Świątek 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 to open Monday's action at the eight-player, season-ending tennis tournament.
Gauff's well-documented serve struggles plagued Sunday's showdown, with the 2025 French Open winner hitting 17 double faults — including three consecutive misses — en route to the second-set tiebreak.
"Coco is a great champion, great competitor, good friend, so it's always tough playing her," Pegula said afterwards. "I don't think there's any secrets with this group of girls here."
Rybakina then continued the streak of WTA Finals upsets by storming past Świątek on Monday morning, winning 12 out of the last 13 games to humble the 2025 Wimbledon champ after Świątek cruised past No. 7 Madison Keys 6-1, 6-2 in Saturday's round-robin group stage opener.
Other top seeds rolled in their first tests, with each four-player group's top two finishers advancing to Friday's semifinals.
No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka dominated No. 8 Jasmine Paolini 6-3, 6-1 on Sunday, with the 2025 US Open winner later saying, "I take this tournament as a regular tournament that I have to win five matches if I want to win the title. So I'm just trying to bring my best tennis and fight for every point."
How to watch the 2025 WTA Finals
Round-robin play continues through Thursday, before the semifinalists battle on Friday for a spot in Saturday's championship match.
All 2025 WTA Finals matches air live on the Tennis Channel.