The Dallas Open takes place at The Star In Frisco on Wednesday February 5, 2025 in Frisco, Texas. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Dallas Open)
As the 2025 tennis season comes to a close, it’s not too early to start looking ahead toward 2026. After all, each new year on the annual tennis calendar begins with a bang. The summer Down Under, headlined by the Australian Open, wastes no time heating things up.
On the men’s side, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have swept the last eight Grand Slam singles titles dating back to the start of 2024. They have faced each other in the final at three consecutive slams. Alcaraz and Sinner are -140 to both advance to the final and go head-to-head for yet another Grand Slam title. You can bet on tennis—the Australian Open included—and all other sports such as the NFL at DraftKings Sportsbook.
There is far more parity in the women’s game at the moment. For comparison’s sake, take a look at the current Aussie Open odds. Sinner (+120) and Alcaraz (+140) are the only two men with better than +1100 odds to lift the trophy in Melbourne. On the other hand, there are six women with +1000 odds or better to take the title. The four Grand Slams in 2025 were shared by four different women: Madison Keys (Australian Open), Coco Gauff (French Open), Iga Swiatek (Wimbledon), and Aryna Sabalenka (U.S. Open).
Here are the title odds in both the men’s and women’s events for the first major of the 2026 tennis season.
2026 Australian Open odds
Men’s singles
Jannik Sinner +120
Carlos Alcaraz +140
Novak Djokovic +1100
Alexander Zverev +1400
Daniil Medvedev +1800
Jack Draper +2000
Taylor Fritz +2500
Ben Shelton +2500
Joao Fonseca +4000
Tommy Paul +5000
Alex de Minaur +5000
Jakub Mensik +6000
Arthur Fils +6500
Women’s singles
Aryna Sabalenka +200
Iga Swiatek +400
Coco Gauff +550
Mirra Andreeva +900
Madison Keys +1000
Amanda Anisimova +1000
Naomi Osaka +1200
Elena Rybakina +1200
Qinwen Zheng +2200
Karolina Muchova +2500
Jessica Pegula +2800
Emma Navarro +3500
Jasmine Paolini +4000
Barbora Krejcikova +4000
Victoria Mboko +4000
Let’s take a look at some of the outside contenders who could pull off a surprise and capture the 2026 Australian Open title.
Daniil Medvedev (+1800)
Medvedev finally won a tournament for the first time since May of 2023 in Rome when he triumphed at last month’s ATP 250 in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Obviously making the jump to a Grand Slam title is quite a step, but there is no reason why Medvedev can’ do it. The 29-year-old Russian has done it before. He lifted the trophy at the 2021 U.S. Open, crushing Novak Djokovic in the final to deny the Serb a calendar-year Grand Slam. Medvedev may not be at his slam-winning best these days, but a recent coaching change seems to have done him some good and he can ride recent momentum heading into the 2026 campaign.
Taylor Fritz (+2500)
Fritz has been one of the most improved players on the ATP Tour in recent years. The fourth-ranked American has done pretty much everything except win a major; he captured a Masters 1000 title in Indian Wells (2022) and he finished runner-up to Sinner at the 2024 U.S. Open. Fritz has not enjoyed quite as much success Down Under as Medvedev (three runner-up performances), but the 28-year-old reached the quarterfinals in 2024 (lost to Djokovic in four sets) and has lost prior to the third round only once since 2018. If Fritz can maintain his No. 4 ranking, he is guaranteed to avoid Alcaraz and Sinner at least until the semifinals.
Amanda Anisimova (+1000)
Anisimova is not exactly a darkhorse given how well she has played in 2025, but she has great value to win the 2026 Australian Open at relatively long +1000 odds. The fourth-ranked American has finished runner-up at each of the last two majors, falling to Iga Swiatek at Wimbledon last summer followed by a setback against Aryna Sabalenka at the U.S. Open. Anisimova upset Swiatek to reach the semis of the WTA Finals earlier this week, so she is ending the season on a high note. Similar to the case with Fritz, snagging a top-four seed at Melbourne would be huge for Anisimova. It would allow the 24-year-old to avoid Sabalenka, Swiatek, and Coco Gauff until at least the semifinals.
Elena Rybakina (+1200)
Rybakina is flying a bit under the radar because she lost prior to the quarterfinals at all four Grand Slams in 2025, but she is ending the season like gangbusters. The 2022 Wimbledon champion is currently on a nine-match winning streak, which includes a title in Ningbo, China and WTA Finals victories over Swiatek, Anisimova and Ekaterina Alexandrova. Rybakina is a former finalist at the Aussie Open (lost to Sabalenka in 2023), so she knows what she is doing Down Under and should be armed with a ton of confidence this coming January.
