Felix Auger-Aliassime has begun his 2026 tennis campaign with a bang, defeating Zhizhen Zhang 6-4, 6-4 in his opening United Cup match.
The Canadian enjoyed a resurgent end to 2025, challenging for the US Open title and rising to world number five.
Auger-Aliassime has picked up where he left off, producing a stunning performance to begin his 2026 season.
By defeating Zhang, Auger-Aliassime capitalised on Victoria Mboko’s victory earlier in the day, securing Canada’s victory against China.
Auger-Aliassime will hope his strong form continues when Canada play Belgium on Tuesday.
Felix Auger-Aliassime has won his first match of an ATP Tour season for the first time since 2021
Five years ago, Felix Auger-Aliassime won his first match of the 2021 season by defeating Japan’s Yuichi Sugita in the second round of the Murray River Open.
In the four years following this result, the Canadian failed to win his opening match of each season.
How would you rate Felix Auger-Aliassime’s chances of winning a Grand Slam in 2026?
In 2022, Auger-Aliassime was defeated by Taylor Fritz in the ATP Cup, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4.
A year later, Australian star Alexei Popyrin defeated Auger-Aliassime 6-4, 7-6 at the Adelaide International.
The Canadian’s woes were compounded in 2024 when he lost to Daniel Altmaier in straight sets at the Auckland Classic, despite being the fourth seed at the tournament.
Auger-Aliassime made it four in a row at the start of the 2025 season, losing 6-0, 4-6, 4-6 to Borna Coric at the United Cup.
Felix Auger-Aliassime’s next opponent
Auger-Aliassime, a dark horse for the Australian Open title, will be hoping to continue his excellent form on Tuesday when Canada play Belgium.
The Canadian is set to play Zizou Bergs, who was a key component during Belgium’s run to the 2025 Davis Cup semi-finals.
Auger-Aliassime and Bergs last played each other nearly eight years ago in the first round of qualifying at the 2018 Antwerp Open.
Auger-Aliassime defeated Bergs 5-7, 6-3, 7-6.
Who will be the United Cup MVP? Anyone else? Let us know in the comments
Victoria Mboko, Canada’s rising star on the WTA Tour, will play world number 20 Elise Mertens. The pair have yet to play each other on the WTA Tour.
