There was a sense of deja vu for Olivia Gadecki and John Peers at Rod Laver Arena on Friday as they once again hoisted the Australian Open mixed doubles trophy.
The first pair to claim back-to-back mixed doubles crowns at the Australian major since Jana Novotna and Jim Pugh in 1988-89, Gadecki and Peers prevailed over French duo Kristina Mladenovic and Manuel Guinard 4-6 6-3 [10-8].
“It's pretty incredible to be back-to-back Grand Slam winners. Even saying that out loud is crazy, and I'm still trying to comprehend it,” Gadecki said. “It's so nice to get it at home in front of friends and family.”
While it has been 62 years since an all-Australian duo achieved the feat – Margaret Court and Ken Fletcher in 1963-64 – Australia’s recent success at their home Slam tells a very different story.
In each of the last 15 years, at least one Australian has featured on an honour roll at Melbourne Park, dating back to 2012 when Luke Saville won the boys’ singles crown, overturning his 2011 loss to future top-40 men’s singles player Jiri Vesely.
Throughout that period, 2013, 2016, and 2019 were Australia’s most successful years, with three champions in each of those campaigns. However, AO 2026 could be Australia’s most successful year of their streak.
With Gadecki and Peers already securing the mixed doubles title, there are further opportunties to add silverware on the final weekend of the tournament.
Wildcard pairing Jason Kubler and Marc Polmans are aiming to maintain Australia’s recent stranglehold on the AO men’s doubles title. Victory over No.6 seeds Christian Harrison and Neal Skupski on Saturday would see at least one Australian win the trophy in four of the last five campaigns.
READ: Kubler and Polmans advance to AO 2026 men's doubles final
Ymerali Ibraimi and Cooper Kose booked their place in the boys’ doubles final on Friday as they strive to become Australia’s first champions in this category at Melbourne Park since Alex de Minaur and Blake Ellis at AO 2016.