Top 5 surprise results at Australian Open 2026
The first Grand Slam of the year began with a lot of excitement and fanfare in the second week of January. As expected, the Slam down under hasn’t disappointed the huge legion of tennis fans, with some incredible contests having been witnessed at Melbourne Park.
Though some of the usual suspects progressed to the second week in both the men’s and women’s categories, a few top seeds were knocked out in the earlier rounds.
For any up-and-coming player, the Grand Slams are the biggest stage to announce themselves to the tennis world, and a few young guns have achieved that at this year’s Happy Slam. On the other hand, this is also a stage for the experienced, old war horses to deliver a knockout punch.
Here, we take a look at the five most surprising results from the 2026 Australian Open.
5. Eliot Spizzirri defeats João Fonseca | AO 2026 First Round
This was a shocking upset few saw coming in the first round. Brazilian prodigy João Fonseca was touted as one of the players to watch out for this year due to his heroics here last year, which included beating a top ten player, Andrey Rublev, in straight sets in the first round. After a fairly successful 2025, Fonseca, who is now ranked in the top 30, had entered the AO main draw and was expected to go further than the last time.
However, the 19-year-old came up against an in-form Eliot Spizzirri, who got the better of him in four sets, winning 6–4, 2–6, 6–1, 6–2. This was a fabulous win for the young American, who had never defeated a player ranked this much higher than him, having only won his first Grand Slam match at the US Open last year. Fonseca, in comparison, had already won several Grand Slam matches and didn’t lose any Grand Slam first-round match last year.
Though it was a great performance from Spizzirri, it was also an underwhelming one from Fonseca, who is seen as the future of men’s tennis, one of the few up-and-coming talents who possess the quality and the overall game to challenge the likes of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. So far, Fonseca hasn’t lived up to the billing, and challenging the likes of Alcaraz and Sinner feels like a distant dream for now.
After getting the better of Fonseca, Spizzirri continued his great run at the Australian Open and played superbly against the defending champion, Jannik Sinner, in the third round. Spizzirri took the opening set off the world No. 2 and put him in a spot of bother before losing in four sets.
4. Francisco Cerundolo vs Andrey Rublev | AO 2026 Third Round
Argentine player Francisco Cerundolo produced a surprise result in the men’s singles third-round match against Andrey Rublev.
Rublev is a highly experienced campaigner when it comes to the Slams, having reached the quarter-finals of all Majors previously. He has made it to the Australian Open quarter-finals thrice, while Cerundolo has only got past the third round of a Grand Slam twice, that too at the French Open in 2023 and 2024.
Even though the 27-year-old has risen through the ranks in recent years with consistent performances, Rublev, being the more experienced and higher-ranked player in this match-up, was expected to come out as the winner. However, hardly any sport delivers on expectations every time; whoever performs the best on a given day, prevails.
Cerundolo ended up defeating Rublev 6–3, 7–6, 6–3 in straight sets. It was a resounding win by the Argentine against a seasoned campaigner, one that may serve as a stepping stone for more such performances in the coming years.
3. Jasmine Paolini vs Iva Jovic | AO 2026 Third Round
The current world No. 8, Jasmine Paolini, was taken out by American youngster Iva Jovic in straight sets in the third round of the Australian Open this year. This was probably the biggest upset on the women’s side. Paolini rose to fame reaching back-to-back finals at Roland-Garros and Wimbledon, also reaching a career-best ranking of world No. 5. Being a top-ten player, she was the overwhelming favourite going into this AO third-round affair.
Iva Jovic, on the other hand, has just started her journey in professional tennis and had nothing to lose. Somehow, though, she ended up defeating Paolini 6–2, 7–6 in straight sets to move into the fourth round. In progressing to her first Grand Slam quarter-finals at the Australian Open, the American became the youngest player to reach the Australian Open quarter-finals since Venus Williams in 1998.
Though she ended up being outplayed by the world No. 1, Aryna Sabalenka, Jovic concluded her AO campaign with a string of impressive performances, looking like quite a well-rounded player for someone so new on the WTA circuit. Her incredible upset against a top-ten player was certainly one of the surprise results of the Happy Slam, and we hope to see more of her in the upcoming tournaments.
2. Daniil Medvedev vs Learner Tien | AO 2026 Fourth Round
This was a similar result to last year’s second-round meeting, where Daniil Medvedev perished to newcomer Learner Tien in five gruelling sets. However, the difference this year was that Medvedev was in form and looking to progress further as opposed to being horribly out of form last year.
What happened on the court was another huge surprise, as the American youngster completely dominated proceedings and won the match in straight sets, leaving Medvedev clueless. A former Grand Slam champion and a three-time finalist, here Medvedev was outplayed, outsmarted, and blown away by a fairly inexperienced Tien, who won the match 6–4, 6–0, 6–3.
This was a top performance from the 20-year-old, who looks like a much-improved player from last year. He has done some superb work in the off-season with coach Michael Chang, and the improvements are on display on the court. Tien reached his first Grand Slam quarter-finals, making a superb start to the 2026 season and bringing one of the most exciting change-ups in the men’s side of the draw at the Australian Open.
1. Elina Svitolina vs Coco Gauff | AO 2026 Quarter-finals
This was probably the biggest upset of the tournament courtesy of Elina Svitolina, who defeated multiple Grand Slam champion Coco Gauff in the women’s singles quarter-finals.
The Ukrainian had already defeated a top ten player in Mirra Andreeva in the previous round, but getting the better of the current world No. 3 with a score of 6–1, 6–2 in straight sets was absolutely phenomenal. Such was her dominance in the match that she made Gauff look ordinary.
The young American was one of the favourites to win the Australian Open this year, having also made it to the semi-finals here in 2024. However, she had a rude awakening against an inspired Svitolina. To add further context to this result, Svitolina returned to tennis in 2023 after giving birth, reaching her first-ever Australian Open semi-finals here at 31 years old, despite being up against a 21-year-old who was more agile, had won two Slams, and had been in good form lately and was a favourite to go all the way here.
For all these reasons, this quarter-final performance from the experienced Svitolina over a far younger and higher-ranked opponent was arguably the best in this tournament considering the level of difficulty for her. Her AO 2026 journey did come to an end in the semi-finals, though, where she lost to Aryna Sabalenka
