The Australian Open opens the Grand Slam season every January, and the 2026 edition runs January 18 to February 1 at Melbourne Park. It is the youngest major by lineage — founded in 1905 as the Australasian Championships — but the most modern by build. The 1988 move from grass at Kooyong to the purpose-built Melbourne Park complex installed an acrylic hardcourt and the first retractable roof over a Slam show court, a feature Wimbledon and the US Open only adopted decades later.
What separates Melbourne from its three peers is the conditions, not just the surface. The medium-fast hardcourt is the most neutral footing on the calendar — quicker than the clay of Roland-Garros, more forgiving than Wimbledon's grass — but late-January Australian heat turns the fortnight into an endurance test. The tournament's Extreme Heat Policy can suspend play and close the three roofed arenas, which is why the "Happy Slam" nickname coexists with a reputation as the most physically punishing major to win.
The recent honor roll reads like a power list. Novak Djokovic owns the men's record here, his 2023 title over Stefanos Tsitsipas part of a decade-plus stranglehold. Jannik Sinner broke through in 2025, dropping Alexander Zverev in straight sets, before Carlos Alcaraz claimed the 2026 crown, recovering from a one-set deficit to beat Djokovic 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, 7-5. On the women's side, Aryna Sabalenka successfully defended in 2024, overpowering Zheng Qinwen in the final.
The event has scaled up to match its stakes — a 15-day calendar, a Sunday start, and prize-money pools among the largest in the sport. With Alcaraz now the reigning men's champion and Sabalenka a recent multiple winner, the 2026 fortnight set the tone for the season that followed.
Every Australian Open champion on The Drop Shot — 4 editions from 2023 to 2026. Elena Rybakina and Carlos Alcaraz won the most recent edition (2026).
Most Australian Open titles on record: Jannik Sinner (2), Aryna Sabalenka (2).
| Year | Champion | Runner-up | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Elena Rybakina | Aryna Sabalenka | 6-4 4-6 6-4 |
| 2026 | Carlos Alcaraz | Novak Djokovic | 2-6 6-2 6-3 7-5 |
| 2025 | Madison Keys | Aryna Sabalenka | 6-3 2-6 7-5 |
| 2025 | Jannik Sinner | Alexander Zverev | 6-3 7(7)-6(4) 6-3 |
| 2024 | Jannik Sinner | Daniil Medvedev | 3-6 3-6 6-4 6-4 6-3 |
| 2024 | Aryna Sabalenka | Qinwen Zheng | 6-3 6-2 |
| 2023 | Aryna Sabalenka | Elena Rybakina | 4-6 6-3 6-4 |
| 2023 | Novak Djokovic | Stefanos Tsitsipas | 6-3 7(7)-6(4) 7(7)-6(5) |