Australian Open 2026: Why you should set your alarm for these five first-round matches - Venus Williams' return, Katie Boulter faces title contender

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Who needs sleep? Certainly not us. And we are here to convince you to join us in some early mornings as the Australian Open gets underway on Sunday. You can watch every minute of the action on TNT Sports and discovery+ over the fortnight, as Jannik Sinner and Madison Keys defend their titles at Melbourne Park. We have picked out five of the best first-round matches ahead of the action.

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Video credit: SNTV

The Australian Open presents a unique conundrum for UK-based tennis fans.

When should I go to sleep?

There is little worse than waking up to the realisation you have missed a belter of a five-setter, or a huge upset, and watching highlights just does not conjure the same range of emotions.

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Every minute of the 'Happy Slam', which starts on Sunday, will be shown live on TNT Sports and discovery+.

Indeed, every single match, from the first round up until the final on Sunday, February 1. That is a lot of action to attempt to keep pace with.

So TNT Sports has made your viewing picks that little bit easier with five first-round matches you simply cannot miss; ties that are worth setting that alarm for, in order for you to avoid that wrenching FOMO feeling.

And don't forget to cast your vote for the most intriguing first-round match at this year's tournament!

Alex de Minaur v Matteo Berrettini

Get a feeling of the vibe around Melbourne Park, and there will be few matches as highly-anticipated as when home favourite Alex de Minaur gets his Australian Open up-and-running against Matteo Berrettini.

Berrettini was up at world No. 6 just four years ago. He now languishes at No. 56, a ranking which quite clearly belies his ability, and makes him perhaps the most dangerous of the unseeded players in this tournament.

The Italian has struggled to stay fit in recent years, putting paid to the strong momentum he built with his Wimbledon final appearance in 2021 and in Melbourne six months later.

Pertinently, Berrettini holds a 3-2 record over De Minaur ahead of their first-round meeting, and won their only clash at a Grand Slam - at Wimbledon in 2023.

Will world No. 6 De Minaur come through his tricky start? If so, it would set him in good stead as he seeks to become the first Australian man to win his home Grand Slam since Mark Edmondson in 1976.

Stan Wawrinka v Laslo Djere

Stan Wawrinka, fittingly, was handed a wildcard to compete at this year's Australian Open - his final appearance at the major he won in 2014, in his final year on the professional circuit.

Wawrinka announced in December that the 2026 tennis season would be his last. The Swiss former world No. 3, who wormed his way through the dominance of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, managed to capture three major titles between 2014-16.

Now aged 40, Wawrinka will have one last dance down under - and will face world No. 91 Laslo Djere, an opponent he has twice beaten in their three meetings.

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Players bidding farewell to Grand Slams - especially when they are as universally liked as Wawrinka - always conjures up emotion. That he is playing for the last time in Australia makes Wawrinka's run in Melbourne worth watching, and if there is to be a victory along the way, well that would just make it even sweeter!

Katie Boulter v Belinda Bencic

The 2025 campaign was a disappointing one for British No. 4 Katie Boulter. A number of early tournament exits saw her usurped by Emma Raducanu in the British rankings, and she has since slipped behind Sonay Kartal and Francesca Jones.

But there is every reason to believe Boulter might fight her way back to the top this term. For one, she is now working alongside Michael Joyce, the former coach of tennis great Maria Sharapova - with Jessica Pegula, Johanna Konta and Victoria Azarenka also among his list of former colleagues.

World No. 113 Boulter, though, may have stumbled across the toughest draw she could possibly have faced.

Aside from the usual contenders, Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff and reigning champion Madison Keys, Belinda Bencic may be the most feared name in the women's draw as she comes into Melbourne in sparkling form.

The 2021 Olympic champion has yet to win a Grand Slam, but has every reason to be confident that record may be consigned to history, with her return from becoming a mother reaching its crescendo after working her way to world No. 10 with some eye-catching results.

None more so than her victory over Swiatek at the United Cup last week - ensuring her perfect record over five singles matches in the competition would remain intact.

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Video credit: TNT Sports

Per the BBC, Bencic is the first woman to enter the top 10 after giving birth since the great Serena Williams in 2019. The Swiss star has won two titles since the maternity break (Abu Dhabi and Tokyo in 2025), and reached the semi-finals of Wimbledon last year.

If any player on the women's tour is to break their Grand Slam duck in Melbourne - like Keys did last year - Bencic would have to be among the favourites.

Venus Williams v Olga Danilovic

The Venus Williams comeback continues. It is a simply irresistible storyline, as the seven-time singles Grand Slam champion is set to become the oldest woman to ever compete at the Australian Open, aged 45.

Williams marked her stunning return to Grand Slam action at last year's US Open, where she snatched a set off No. 11 seed Karolina Muchova, but ultimately succumbed to the Czech over three sets on the captivated Arthur Ashe Stadium.

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The American great has yet to taste victory in her preparations for the 'Happy Slam', but has been putting in the hard yards, which included more history when her straight-sets defeat to Tatjana Maria, 38, in Tasmania broke the record for the highest-combined age between two players in a WTA match.

Williams has not lost her baseline prowess in her mid-40s, and has looked laser-focused in her preparations for Melbourne.

The athletic left-hander Olga Danilovic, though, will test Williams in just about every department. The Serbian reached the last 16 at last year's Australian Open, and will be looking to mix it with the big names to go even further.

Sloane Stephens v Karolina Pliskova

Sloane Stephens, the 2017 US Open champion, was perhaps the most high-profile name to emerge from Australian Open qualifying. The 32-year-old is ranked outside the top 1000 in the WTA scene, but that clearly does not tell the story of her undoubted quality.

Before coming through qualifying unscathed, a quite remarkable run saw Stephens fail to record a single victory since a straight-sets win over Elsa Jacquemot at Wimbledon more than 18 months ago.

The Australian Open was the only major Stephens played last season, and she was defeated by Sabalenka in the opening round. A persistent foot injury hampered her 2025 campaign, and her protected ranking of No. 115 helped her into the qualifying draw.

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In Melbourne thus far, Stephens has looked as though she was never away, dropping just a single set, and sealing her first-round spot by dismissing Lucia Bronzetti without reply.

Karolina Pliskova can largely relate to Stephens' last couple of years on the tour.

A former US Open (2016) and Wimbledon (2021) finalist, Pliskova has also plummeted beneath the top 1000 in the women's rankings - ultimately putting a lot on the line for two elite tennis players looking to revive their careers with a run in Melbourne.

It sets up a truly intriguing meeting.

Honourable mentions

Glaring omitted from the above list are many of the top contenders for the record prize on offer at this year's Australian Open.

There is, of course, huge intrigue in Novak Djokovic's run, as he looks to pull clear of his joint record alongside Margaret Court with a 25th Grand Slam title down under.

The Serbian, who reached last year's semi-finals before retiring against Alexander Zverev through injury, meets Pedro Martinez in his first competitive match of the 2026 campaign, having pulled out of his scheduled Adelaide warm-up event through fitness issues.

Interesting to note, is Martinez comes into the first-round tie off the back of winning the Bengaluru Open - dropping just one set along the way.

World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz, meanwhile, will face the wrath of the home crowd as they cheer on home favourite Adam Walton. Jannik Sinner, hunting a third consecutive Melbourne title, will face Hugo Gaston.

In the women's draw, Raducanu will be aiming to continue the positive momentum she built in 2025 as she faces Mananchaya Sawangkaew of Thailand.

Sabalenka gets her hunt for a third Australian Open title up-and-running against Tiantsoa Rakotomanga Rajaonah, while Keys begins her defence against Ukraine's Oleksandra Oliynykova.

How to watch the 2026 Australian Open

All the action from Melbourne will be available live and on-demand via TNT Sports and its streaming platform discovery+.

TNT Sports is available across all major TV platforms, offering a line-up of up to four TV channels (TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports 2, TNT Sports 3, TNT Sports 4), up to six digital or red-button channels (TNT Sports 5 to 10), and TNT Sports Ultimate plus TNT Sports Box Office HD.

The streaming home for TNT Sports in the UK is discovery+, where fans can enjoy a subscription that includes TNT Sports and entertainment in one destination.

You can also watch TNT Sports through BT, EE, Sky, and Virgin Media.

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