Gauff calls for more player privacy after racquet smash
Coco Gauff calls for more privacy for players after she was filmed smashing a racquet after a devastating defeat by Elina Svitolina in the Australian Open quarter-finals.
Coco Gauff calls for more privacy for players after she was filmed smashing a racquet after a devastating defeat by Elina Svitolina in the Australian Open quarter-finals.
Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic will continue their Australian Open campaigns on Wednesday when they take to court in quarter-final action.
The two-time defending champion Sinner will face eighth seed Ben Shelton in the next stage of his three-peat attempt at the hard-court major. The Italian, who has not lost in Melbourne since 2023, will open the evening session not before 7 p.m. AEDT / 3 a.m. EST. Sinner leads Shelton 8-1 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series.
View Wednesday’s schedule here
[NO 1 CLUB]Earlier in the day on Rod Laver Arena, record 10-time titlist Djokovic will meet Italian fifth seed Lorenzo Musetti, with the match not before 2:30 p.m. AEDT / 11:30 p.m. EST Wednesday. Djokovic will be aiming to earn his 103rd win at the major, surpassing Roger Federer as the outright leader for most victories in the tournament’s history.
If Sinner and Djokovic both advance, they will face off in the semi-finals on Friday.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Third seed Alexander Zverev thanks his serve for pulling him past an “unbelievable” Learner Tien to reach the Australian Open semi-finals.
Alexander Zverev advanced to his third consecutive Australian Open semi-final on Tuesday by ending the career-best major run of Learner Tien. The German, who reached his third Grand Slam final last year in Melbourne, battled to a 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-1, 7-6(3) victory to keep alive his bid for a maiden major title.
With the Rod Laver Arena roof closed due to extreme heat, the No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings controlled the match with powerful and consistent serving, hitting 24 aces, according to Infosys Stats. Zverev saved all three break points he faced with unreturned serves — including one that doubled as set point at 5-6 in the fourth set — and kept Tien at a distance by dominating rallies of 0-4 shots, winning 106 of those exchanges to his opponent’s 68.
“Learner from the baseline was playing unbelievable. I don’t think I’ve played anyone who plays that well from the baseline for a very long time,” Zverev said of the 20-year-old, drawing huge cheers from the crowd. “Without my [24] aces, I probably would not have won today. I’m obviously very happy with my serve, just generally happy to be back in the semis.”
Semi-final bound ✈️@AlexZverev defeats Tien to reach the final four in Melbourne for the fourth time.@AustralianOpen | #AO26 pic.twitter.com/3gBr9yFKI6
— ATP Tour (@atptour) January 27, 2026
After an emphatic upset of Daniil Medvedev in the fourth round, the 25th-seeded Tien put a scare into Zverev when he rattled off four straight points to win the second-set tie-break from 3/5 down. But more stellar serving helped the German regroup to roll through the third.
The patient Tien had more success in longer rallies, doing his damage with precision rather than power and effectively using width to open the court. But the free points kept coming on Zverev’s serve, leaving the German free to hit out as he repeatedly dragged his opponent into rallies on return.
After failing to close out the second-set tie-break, Zverev sealed the victory after building a 6/0 lead in the fourth-set tie-break — though his first double fault of the match at 6/0 injected one last bit of drama.
Zverev finished the 2025 season at No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings but still called it an “incredibly unsatisfying” year after winning just one title (Munich). The 28-year-old is living up to his sky-high standards this fortnight, particularly in his past two wins against an in-form Francisco Cerundolo and Tien — both of whom earned at least one Lexus ATP Head2Head win against Zverev last year.
Through to his 10th Grand Slam semi-final and his first since last year in Melbourne, Zverev awaits the winner of the Tuesday evening showdown between World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz and Aussie hope Alex de Minaur.
Tien, who bettered his breakout fourth-round run from one year ago at the Australian Open, is up to No. 24 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, setting himself up to debut inside the Top 25.
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Tournament organisers postpone the wheelchair events and will start play early on outside courts in anticipation of extreme heat in Melbourne on Tuesday.
Top seeds dominate as a historic quarter-final line-up is confirmed in Melbourne.
Ben Shelton showcased the growing versatility of his game on Monday at the Australian Open, where he rallied past Casper Ruud to book a return to the quarter-finals in Melbourne.
The 23-year-old American combined resilient defence with bursts of explosive aggression to seal a gripping 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 victory after two hours, 36 minutes inside Rod Laver Arena. It marks Shelton’s third quarter-final appearance in just four trips to Melbourne Park, where he advanced to a meeting with two-time defending champion Jannik Sinner.
“For me, the atmosphere is everything,” said Shelton. “I’m definitely a competitor. I’m rowdy on the court and I look forward to rowdy crowds. Down here in Australia, there’s no shortage… From my first experience, I fell in love with this tournament. It’s one of my favourites marked down on the calendar every year.”
Quarter-Finals Bound! 👏@BenShelton takes out Ruud to advance into a 5th career Grand Slam quarter-final 💪#AO26 pic.twitter.com/Qp1kC6H4y3
— ATP Tour (@atptour) January 26, 2026
Ruud had set the tone early with a dominant serving display in the opening set, but the Norwegian will rue costly lapses on serve late in both the second and third sets, moments that allowed Shelton to wrestle control of the contest.
Once in front, the eighth seed raised his level, striking a series of eye-catching winners and finishing points at the net with authority. Shelton won 97 per cent (29/30) of net points during the clash, according to Infosys Stats, and dropped just three points on serve in the fourth set as he closed out the match in commanding fashion.
“It’s what you look forward to most in this sport,” Shelton said of his upcoming clash with Sinner, who leads their Lexus ATP Head2Head series 8-1, including victory in their semi-final meeting in Melbourne last year. “It’s where I wanted to be. I wanted to be back here. I wanted to give myself another shot, improve on some things I didn’t do as well last year and leave it all out on the court.”
Ruud, who reached the fourth round at the Australian Open for the first time since 2021, will now head home to Norway, where he and his wife Maria are expecting a daughter.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Luxembourg’s Chris Rodesch captured his second ATP Challenger trophy on Sunday when he triumphed at the Indoor Oeiras Open 1 in Portugal.
The 24-year-old, a former standout at the University of Virginia, adds to the list of collegiate alums to succeed at the next level. Last year, 23 different players with college tennis experience earned at least one ATP Challenger title, including Rodesch, who won his maiden crown in Tallahassee in April.
Now back in the winner’s circle, the 6’6” (198cm) Rodesch defeated Hungary’s Zsombor Piros 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 in the Oeiras final.
Trophy time in Oeiras 🏆#ATPChallenger pic.twitter.com/bG9IWeblpN
— ATP Challenger (@ATPChallenger) January 25, 2026
“I’m really happy, it was a really tough week,” said Rodesch, up 55 places to No. 154 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings. “I felt like my first two tournaments in Australia, I had a really good level, but I didn’t get rewarded the way I wanted to.
“So to get rewarded now, in the third tournament of 2026, with the level I’m playing, is really nice. It’s a really, really special feeling to win my second Challenger.”
Rodesch graduated from the University of Virginia in 2024, earning ITA All-American honours three times during his college career. Rodesch and former World No. 21 Gilles Muller are the only players from Luxembourg to win on the ATP Challenger circuit.
Paraguay’s Vallejo wins fourth Challenger trophy
Adolfo Daniel Vallejo captured his fourth Challenger title at the Itajai Open in Brazil, where he overcame home hope Thiago Seyboth Wild 7-5, 4-6, 6-2 in a three-hour, 13-minute final.
Vallejo, 21, captured two Challenger titles in 2025, including in the final week at the Guayaquil Challenger. After reaching the final round of qualifying at the Australian Open, Vallejo travelled to Brazil and easily made the transition to clay. Vallejo is No. 125 in the PIF Live ATP Rankings, setting him up for a new career high.
<img alt=”Adolfo Daniel Vallejo wins the Itajai Challenger.” style=”width:100%;” src=”/-/media/images/news/2026/01/26/15/04/vallejo-itajaich-2026.jpg” />
Adolfo Daniel Vallejo wins his fourth Challenger title, three of which have come in Brazil. Credit: João Pires
Harris, former No. 31, returns to titletown
Former World No. 31 Lloyd Harris won his first title at any level since June 2024 with his victory at the Soma Bay Open in Egypt. The fifth-seeded Harris, who was a quarter-finalist at the 2021 US Open, led Jack Pinnington Jones 6-1, 5-2 in the final when the Briton retired with a right foot injury.
The smile of a champion 😁
Lloyd Harris lifts his first trophy since 2024 with a 6-1, 5-2(ret) victory over Pinnington Jones in Soma Bay#ATPChallenger | @TennisSA pic.twitter.com/4N90w1ZdiQ
— ATP Challenger (@ATPChallenger) January 25, 2026
Kwon, two-time tour-level titlist, advances through qualifying en route to trophy
South Korean Soonwoo Kwon also returned to the winner’s circle with his triumph at NovaWorld Phan Thiet Challenger 1 in Vietnam. His first title at Challenger level or above since winning the ATP 250 in Adelaide in 2023, Kwon advanced through qualifying en route to lifting the trophy. The 28-year-old, who won seven matches in eight days, defeated Ilia Simakin 6-2, 7-6(5) in the championship match.