*Article updated 29 December to reflect the latest Aussie participation during the Summer of Tennis.
Australian tennis is brimming with momentum.
Last year, Kimberly Birrell reached her first WTA 500 quarterfinal in Brisbane, while teenager Maya Joint broke through with a maiden WTA semifinal in Hobart.
Joint now joins Alex de Minaur at the United Cup, marking the first time Australia has featured both men’s and women’s players ranked inside the top 32 at the event.
As summer heats up, Aussies spread across the country, testing themselves against the world’s best. Here are all the Aussies in action in the lead-up to the Australian Open.
READ: AO wildcards awarded to Rinky Hijikata, Priscilla Hon, Talia Gibson, Taylah Preston
United Cup
Lleyton Hewitt will captain a promising Team Australia squad, led by world No.7 Alex de Minaur and No.32 Maya Joint.
Jason Kubler, Maddison Inglis, John Patrick Smith and former women’s doubles No.1 Storm Hunter complete the line-up as they take on Team Czechia and Casper Ruud’s Team Norway in Group D in Sydney.
READ: De Minaur revved and ready to start 2026 on home soil
TICKETS: United Cup tickets for Sydney group stages start at just $40.
Brisbane International
World No.37 Daria Kasatkina begins her first Aussie summer as an Australian WTA representative at the Brisbane International, where she achieved her best result as a quarterfinalist in 2024. It will be the 28-year's sixth main-draw campaign at the Queensland Tennis Centre. Meanwhile, Emerson Jones will contest the main draw of the WTA 500 tournament in Brisbane as a wildcard. The 17-year-old, ranked No.151, claimed a W35 title in Japan and reached a W50 final in California before winning the Australian Pro Tour Wildcard Points Race to secure entry into the Australian Open 2026 main draw.
Alexei Popyrin begins his season at the ATP 250 event for the fourth time, looking to pass the second round for the first time. The 2024 Canadian Masters champion opened last year at world No.19, reached the fourth round at Roland Garros and made Masters 1000 quarterfinals in Toronto and Monte Carlo, but a lack of consistency saw him end the season at world No.54. He faces a tough draw led by world No.13 Daniil Medvedev, No.14 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, reigning champion Jiri Lehecka and No.24 Joao Fonseca.
Adam Walton reached a career-high ranking of world No.74 in 2025 after an impressive run at Indian Wells and Miami, where he advanced from qualifying to the second and third rounds, respectively. Now ranked No.78, the 26-year-old heads to Brisbane as a wildcard, aiming to cement his place inside the top 100. Nick Kyrgios made his ATP Tour return in Brisbane in 2025 after injury sidelined the former ATP singles world No.13 for almost two years. The 2018 champion will compete in the Queensland event once again as a wildcard, aiming to become just the third player to win two Brisbane International men's singles titles, joining Andy Murray and Grigor Dimitrov. He will also reunite with Thanasi Kokkinakis in the men's doubles.
Four more Australians have received singles wildcards for Brisbane International. This includes 2025 quarterfinalist Kimberly Birrell, Talia Gibson who enjoyed her best season to date in 2025, returning competitor Ajla Tomljanovic who features at the event for the first time since 2020, and Aleksandar Vukic who returns after his first victory over David Goffin at the 2025 event.
READ: Birrell, Gibson, Tomljanovic, Vukic to return to Brisbane International
TICKETS: Brisbane International tickets are on sale via Ticketmaster. Prices start at $30.
Adelaide International
In the men's field, 2022 champion Kokkinakis competes in singles action for the first time since Australian Open 2025 after receiving a wildcard into the men's singles event. Popyrin will also compete in Adelaide after his Brisbane campaign.
While Australia doesn’t have representation among the 19 direct entrants in the women's field, Maya Joint is the first-place alternate should someone in the main draw drop out. With top-10 players Jessica Pegula, Madison Keys and Mirra Andreeva headlining the WTA 500 event, South Australians are in for an action-packed lead-up to AO26.
TICKETS: Adelaide International tickets are on sale via Ticketmaster. Prices start at $10.
Canberra International
Destanee Aiava made notable strides at the 2025 Australian Open, when she saved two match points against Greet Minnen for her maiden main-draw win, having earlier qualified, and pushed former finalist Danielle Collins to three sets in a tense second round.
Now ranked world No.238, the 25-year-old is Australia’s sole direct entrant in the WTA 125 field in Canberra.
Alex Bolt will compete in a men's draw featuring former world No. 4 Kei Nishikori and former world No. 7 David Goffin.
TICKETS: Canberra International tickets start at just $15.
Keep an eye on this page, as well as Tennis Australia’s social media, for further main draw, alternate and wild card announcements in Brisbane, Adelaide, Hobart and Canberra.