2026 Australian Open Women's Singles Entry List: Sabalenka, Gauff, Swiatek & more

The first Grand Slam tournament of the 2026 season will be held in Melbourne, Australia, and the entry list for the Australian Open has already been released.

The Australian Open is traditionally the first major tournament of the season, and with only a few events held beforehand to prepare, anyone can feel they have what it takes to win the opening Grand Slam of the year.

Madison Keys won the event in 2025, stopping Aryna Sabalenka from winning the tournament three times in a row. Sabalenka is the 2023 and 2024 champion, and one of multiple former champions in the 2026 draw.

Apart from Keys and Sabalenka, Naomi Osaka and Sofia Kenin are the other two former champions on the entry list. They will all want to add another major trophy from Melbourne to their collection, but the field of challengers will be incredibly strong.

Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff will be two players to keep an eye on. They are both multiple-time Grand Slam champions, having won majors on multiple surfaces and continents. Neither succeeded in Australia, and they will try to change that in 2026.

Elena Rybakina is another former major winner on the entry list. The Kazakhstani player had an incredible end of the 2025 season, which saw her win the WTA Finals. She will finally want to follow up on her 2022 Wimbledon Championships win with another major trophy.

Amanda Anisimova and Jessica Pegula both came incredibly close to winning a Grand Slam title, but they have yet to take that final step. They will try to change that at the Australian Open, where they will be among the top eight seeded players.

There are also a few players who will certainly miss the opening Grand Slam of the 2026 season. Danielle Collins' name doesn't appear on the entry list, and Ons Jabeur will miss the tournament as well, after she recently announced her pregnancy.

Three players on the entry list used their special ranking to enter the event. That's a rule that allows players who were injured for a long time to return to the Tour and enter events using their previous ranking. Former world No. 1 Karolina Pliskova, Yafan Wang, and Mananchaya Sawangkaew are those three players.

The first three wild cards were announced as well. Home teenage prodigy Emerson Jones, Elizabeth Mandlik, and Zarina Diyas are the three players who received wild cards. More players will join them before the main draw action begins.