Australian tennis is in an extremely strong place in 2026, spearheaded by top 10 star Alex de Minaur.
The nation’s tennis stars had an Australian Open to remember as de Minaur reached the quarter-finals yet again.
De Minaur lost to Carlos Alcaraz in straight sets as Australian tennis enjoyed a number of breakout performances in Melbourne.
The same is happening yet again as the nation, and de Minaur, has made tennis history already at Indian Wells.
Australian tennis celebrates impressive Indian Wells feat
Eight Australian tennis stars have reached the second round of Indian Wells, which has never happened before.
Two men, Adam Walton and Rinky Hijikata, confirmed their places in the second round by beating Quentin Halys and Francesco Maestrelli, respectively.
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De Minaur, meanwhile, has helped Australia break its record without even playing, thanks to a first-round bye.
He will face an incredibly tricky second round tie against Sebastian Korda, who defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas in his opening round match.
- Alex de Minaur
- Adam Walton
- Rinky Hijikata
- Maya Joint
- Kimberley Birrell
- Talia Gibson
- Ajla Tomljanovic
- Storm Hunter
Five Australian women have managed to reach the second round, with four of them winning their first round matches at Indian Wells.
Storm Hunter, Ajla Tomljanovic, Kimberley Birrell, and Talia Gibson all came through their first round matches.
Hunter beat Magdalena Fręch; Tomljanovic toppled Elena-Gabriela Ruse; Birrell found a way past Oksana Selekhmeteva, and Gibson defeated Ann Li.
Maya Joint is the only Australian women to receive seeded entry and she will play Jacqueline Cristian in round two.
Alex de Minaur’s tough route at Indian Wells
Despite his seeded entry at Indian Wells, de Minaur is going to have to work extremely hard to even make it to the fourth round of the tournament.
The Australian’s match with an in-form Korda will see him battle it out to face either Cameron Norrie or Mackenzie McDonald.
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Norrie will be the favourite to make it through to the third round and a potential match with de Minaur will be a true battle of endurance.
De Minaur, if he makes it as far as the fourth round, will then most likely play another in-form star in Alexander Bublik.
In a 96-field draw, de Minaur has managed to pull the short draw on just about every round until the quarter-finals.
