The first Grand Slam of 2026 is just around the corner and we know who the Canadians will face in the first round of the Australian Open, which starts on Sunday local time.
Canadian men’s No. 1 Felix Auger-Aliassime, who rose to world No. 5 after reaching the U.S. Open semifinals in September, will face Portugal’s Nuno Borges in the first round.
World No. 21 Denis Shapovalov will face wildcard Yunchao Kurt Boo, but may need to get through one of Casper Rudd (No. 12) or Ben Shelton (No. 8) to advance in the tournament.
Gabriel Diallo, who rose to world number 33 after winning his first ATP Tour title at the Libema Open, faces his toughest test of the Canadians in the first round against third-ranked Alexander Zverev.
Liam Draxall, 24, qualified for the singles main draw after defeating American Mackenzie McDonald on Thursday.
On the women’s side, standout teenager Victoria Mboko, who won the Masters 1000 event on her home soil for the first time at the National Bank Open, will first face Australia’s Emerson Jones, who earned a wildcard spot in the main draw. However, she faces a tough road in the quarter-finals, with the possibility of facing Denmark’s Clara Towson (No. 13) in the third round and Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka (No. 1) in the last 16.
Leylah Fernandez reached a career-high ranking of 13th in 2022 but is now ranked 22nd and will face Indonesian Janice Tjen in the first round. Fernandez reached the third round at the 2025 Australian Open but was eliminated in straight sets by Coco Gauff.
Marina Stakusic of Mississauga, Ont., earned a spot in Thursday’s main draw after defeating China’s Lin Zhu in the qualifying round. Her first-round opponent has yet to be determined.
Here are the results of the first round of draws:
Felix Auger-Aliassime(5) vs. Nuno Borges
Denis Shapovalov (21) vs. Yunchao Kurt (WC)
Gabriel Diallo (33) VS Alexander Zverev (3)
Liam Draxle(Q) vs. TBD
Victoria Mboko (17) vs. Emerson Jones (WC)
Leylah Fernandez (22) vs. Janice Tjen
Marina Starcusic(Q) vs. TBD
