Qualifying action begins at the 2026 Australian Open this Monday, with 128 men and women bidding to make the main draw in Melbourne. While there may not be as much glitz and glam this week, rest assured that the competition will still be fierce. I’ve dug into the qualifying draws for each event and come up with 14 players to watch this week.
Men’s Australian Open qualifiers to watch in 2026
Cruz Hewitt
The teenage son of a former world No 1 and Australian legend? Yes please! Lleyton Hewitt is a household name downunder, and now his 17-year-old son Cruz is looking to carry on the family business. Cruz has been playing professionally for 18 months already despite his young age, and this will be his second appearance in the Australian Open qualifiers. Last year he fell to Nikoloz Bashilashvili first round, but since then he’s halved his ranking and picked up some good wins, including a 6-2, 6-1 thrashing of world No 192 James McCabe late last year.
Rei Sakamoto
Another teenager to keep an eye on this week is 19-year-old Sakamoto (image on top). The Japanese world No 200 is a former junior No 1 and claimed the boy’s Australian Open title in 2024. He arrives in Melbourne in strong form, having won the Yokohama Challenger in late November (his third title at that level) and pushed world No 39 Lorenzo Sonego to a tiebreak in the opening round of Hong Kong last week. This is also his second time attempting to qualify for the Australian Open. Find out more about Rei Sakamoto’s racquet.
Nicolai Budkov Kjaer
Budkov Kjaer is the first of three names from the most recent ATP NextGen Finals that I’m keeping a close eye on heading into this year’s Australian Open qualies. The Norwegian had a brilliant 2025 season, rising to a career high of No 132 and claiming four Challenger titles. He’s in good nick at the moment too, having made the semi-finals of the NextGen Finals in late December. With a big serve and a cracking forehand, look for the 19-year-old to make a splash.
Rafael Jodar
Spaniard Jodar didn’t make it out of his pool at the NextGen Finals, despite winning two of his three matches and beating eventual champion Learner Tien. That didn’t discourage him, however, as he headed over to Australia, qualified for the Canberra Challenger, and made the final. Ranked No 165, Jodar is playing more like a top-50 player and is a great shot at qualifying in Melbourne. He’s also no stranger to success, with three Challenger titles in 2025.
Alexander Blockx
Blockx is the man of the hour, with 15 wins from his past 17 matches. The Belgian made the final of the NextGen Finals off the back of winning the Bratislava 2 Challenger late last year, and has backed it up by claiming the Canberra Challenger just recently. Of the young prospects in this qualifying draw he’s one of the more experienced, playing seven Tour-level main draw matches last year (headlined by a win over world No 61 Marcos Giron). He’s another that is playing closer to top-50 at the moment, and is a favorite to qualify in Melbourne. More info on Blockx current racquet.
Nikoloz Basilashvili
Switching from young talent to seasoned threats, Georgia’s Basilashvili is a constant danger at the qualifying level. The former world No 16 is a five-time titlist on the ATP Tour and plays a brutal style of tennis: full-noise, red-lining, smoking every ball. Sometimes it flops, sometimes it pays off – just ask Lorenzo Musetti, who he beat in the first round of Wimbledon 2025. Last year, the 33-year-old was a menace in Grand Slam qualifying, making three of four main draws.
Kei Nishikori
Last but not least, former world No 4 Nishikori is the biggest name lurker in the 2026 Australian Open qualifying. The Japanese player has made the quarters in Melbourne four times, while over at the other hard-court Grand Slam, he’s made the final once and semis twice. Recent years haven’t been so kind to the 36-year-old who strung together a 6-9 record at Tour-level in 2025. Still, his experience and top level isn’t to be underestimated.
Women’s Australian Open qualifiers to watch in 2026
Sloane Stephens
It’s not often you see a former Grand Slam champion playing qualifying ahead of a major, but that’s exactly what’s happening this week. The 2017 US Open winner has seen her ranking plummet to No 1098 courtesy of a foot injury that sidelined her for the majority of the past two seasons. Still, she’s made the semi-finals in Melbourne before, and has the kind of power game to blast her way through the qualifying field and be a nightmare of a first-round match for someone.
Ksenia Efremova
France’s Efremova is one to keep an eye on both in this year’s Australian Open qualifying and in the future. There’s a reason why coach Patrick Mouratoglou declared when she was just 14 years old that Efremova would be a future world No 1 – the teen has an excellent mental game and is stylistically sound. She’s still ranked No 575 and has been playing low-level ITF’s, but doing well with an eight-match win streak late last year. It’s unlikely she’ll make it through qualifying here, but she’s one to watch regardless.
Storm Hunter
I’m high on a pair of Aussies to go deep in the women’s qualifying this year. The first is Hunter, is a 31-year-old veteran that has peaked as high as No 114 in the world in 2024. She’s down at No 426 currently, but that’s largely due to spending nearly a year off court between March 2024 and April 2025. In 2024, she made her way through qualifying in Melbourne and went as far as the third round. I wouldn’t put another deep run past her this year either, given she’s just shown an uptick in form by making the W75 Sydney semis late last year.
Destanee Aiava
Another Aussie I like for a run here is Aiava. She is currently ranked No 235 but also has a track record of success at the Australian Open, navigating qualifying in 2025 and winning her opening match before falling to Danielle Collins in a deciding set in the second round. Results have been mixed recently – she’s on a four-match losing streak, but pushed three of those to a third set. In front of a home crowd, I’m confident she’ll not just snap her losing run, but flip the script and string some wins together.
Kristina Mladenovic
Remember Mladenovic? Back in 2017 the Frenchwoman hit a career high of No 10 in the world, off the back of a title in St Petersburg and finals in Acapulco, Stuttgart and Madrid. While her singles game has slipped somewhat, she’s been a force in doubles over the past decade, collecting nine Grand Slam titles. The 32-year-old is now looking to be more active in singles and will be a threat with her adept net game in Melbourne.
Renee Alame
Alame is the youngest player across both qualifying draws at just 16 years of age. She’s a promising young Australian that has nothing to lose as she begins transitioning to the professional circuit. There’s not a lot to talk about results-wise – she’s played just seven professional matches in her career and is currently unranked – but the idea of a loose cannon like this arriving in qualifying with a rowdy Aussie crowd behind her is fascinating to me.
Alina Korneeva
Another exciting young prospect to watch in the 2026 women’s Australian Open qualifiers is Russia’s Korneeva. She’s a former junior world No 1 who has been training at the Rafael Nadal Academy and has tasted success down under before, winning the junior Australian Open in 2023. Korneeva sits just outside the world’s top 200 at the moment, but peaked at No 128 two years ago before a wrist injury saw her drop down. Recently, she’s reclaimed some form, winning three ITF titles to round out 2025.
