MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – JANUARY 20: Naomi Osaka of Japan walks out ahead of the Women’s Singles First Round match against Antonia Ruzic of Croatia on day three of the 2026 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 20, 2026 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
(January 20, 2026) Defending champions Madison Keys and Jannik Sinner opened with wins on Tuesday in Melbourne on day three of the Australian Open.
No. 9 Madison Keys overcame a 0-4 start in the first set and saved two set points in the tiebreaker to defeat Oleksandra Oliynykova 7-6 (6), 6-1 in Rod Laver Arena to lead off the day session. The Ukrainian’s offbeat playing style initially baffled the American in the first set.
“Obviously I was very nervous at the start,” Keys said. “As nervous as I was, I’m really glad to be back, and that I got through that match.”
“I feel like that made things a little extra tricky,” Keys said. “I felt like at the end of the tiebreaker I really kind of found my game and then was able to carry that into the second set.”
“It’s just been a really long time to play someone who plays that style, but she does it so effectively,” Keys said. “They’re so high and they’re so deep. It was really hard. I felt like I couldn’t really take a swing volley or kind of like take it off of the bounce just because she hits such a good ball off of that.”
“I think at that point I had kind of just felt like I was playing a little bit too passive and timid and just not really taking advantage when I could,” Keys said. “I feel like when I’m playing my best tennis, when I see my opportunities, I go for it.
“All these people telling me that I won’t be able to progress with this game style,” said the Ukrainian. “But, actually, you know, my idea is to do my ‘weird’ things on court, but to be the best player with this type of game.
“I saw today, even with one of the best players in the world, it could be really uncomfortable. I will probably try to keep improving in this and not typical game style.”
Oliynykova’s body art and ink, and a printed message for Ukraine on a T-shirt she wore in her post-match news conference.
“I was hearing that I will not be in top 1000, then in top 500, in top 300, and in top 100,” Oliynykova said.
Keys won 5 straight games from 0-4 down in the first set. Oliynykova won the next two games and served for the set but could not close it out.
Keys will play her second-round match against fellow American Ashlyn Krueger.
No. 2 Jannik Sinner began quest for an Australian Open three-peat with a shortened two-set 6-2, 6-1 win over No. 93-ranked Hugo Gaston, who retired from the match.
“I saw that he was not serving with a very high pace,” said the Italian, but “it’s not the way you want to win the match.”
“We put in a lot of work to be back on court and it felt great. Obviously not the way you want to win the match, but from my side I’m very happy to be back on court.”
“He’s such a talented player, so I knew I had to play at a very high level, try to be aggressive as possible, which I’ve done. So I’m very happy, very happy to be back here.”
Gael Monfils said farewell to the Australian Open. In October, the 39-year-old Frenchman, a former world No. 6, announced that 2026 would be his final year on tour.
Monfils bid adieu as he lost his first-round match to local qualifier Dane Sweeny 6-7 (3), 7-5, 6-4, 7-5 on Tuesday.
“First of all, thank you so much,” Monfils said to the crowd after the match. “For me, my journey here with you guys started in 2003, when I came here for the first time,” said Monfils.
“Now we are in 2026 and somehow it is the finish line but thank you so much for this amazing ride. You have been unbelievable, so thank you so much.”
“I’ve got a lot of great memories here. A couple of big battles. Quarters, fourth round, even today was almost four hours.”
“For Dane, you guys did an amazing job [supporting him]. I read his story. This kid got hurt, so I really wish [him] good luck for the next one, because he is playing very good. Good luck to him.
“I am very grateful. I’ve been very lucky to play here for many years, so lastly thank you very much, merci beaucoup, a bientot les amis (thank you very much, see you soon, friends).”
In the last match at Rod Laver Arena, two-time Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka made a fashion statement with her court entrance, wearing a wide-brimmed hat and veil and holding a white parasol as she walked onto the court for her first-round match.
The No. 16 seed outfought a game Antonia Ruzic to win 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 in 2 hours and 22 minutes.
Osaka talked about her outfit after the match.
(Nike) “Let me design this one.” The colors and tendrils on her dress represented a jellyfish, inspired by her daughter, Shai.
“It’s modeled after a jellyfish,” she said. “I’m just so grateful I get to do the things I love.”
The WTA Tour social media described the outfit as a “diva-worthy” entrance, and the hat as “decorated with a butterfly and worn low over the eyes à la Beyoncé in the singer’s ‘Formation’ video.”
“Honestly it came together quite beautifully,” Osaka said, “because I didn’t know what to expect when I arrived here. Then it just felt like everywhere I looked, the theme was water. Obviously the walkout was like, you see oceans and waves. I thought that it was really beautiful. Really amazing coincidence.”
“This is definitely months [of] planning,” she said. “Obviously you kind of have to prep for this. You also have to see the design, see if it works, see if you can walk. The scariest thing for me was I didn’t know if the umbrella could fit in the tunnel. I did, low key, hit a couple of the little boards. I think it worked.”
Other seeds advancing included No. 5 Lorenzo Musetti, No. 8 Ben Shelton, No. 9 Taylor Fritz, No. 15 Karen Khachanov, No. 16 Jakub Mensik, and No. 22 Luciano Darderi
No. 5 Elena Rybakina, No. 10 Belinda Bencic, and No. 24 Jelena Ostapenko also advanced.
Three women’s seeds were ousted on Day 3, with Janice Tjen upsetting 2021 U.S. Open finalist Leylah Fernandez and Tereza Valentova besting Australia’s Maya Joint, the 31st seed, and No. 22 Liudmila Samsonova.
The upsets on the men’s side of the draw, No. 19 Joao Fonseca and No. 23 Tallon Griekspoor.
