Australian Open, Sinner returns to the court. When he plays and where to see him

The great tennis season is about to restart. On Sunday, at 1am Italian time, theAustralian Open the first Slam del 2026. And it will be a blue-tinted start.

In the official program of the first day, in fact,Flavio Cobolli e Jasmine Paoliniwill play their first match on the John Cain Arena and on theRod Laver Arenathe most important field.

Cobolli making his debut against the qualifier Fery

Cobolli (n.22 in the world and n.20 in the draw) will make his debut against the British qualifierArthur Fery(n.185). It will be the first direct confrontation between the two ever. While Cobolli will be making his third consecutive participation in the Happy Slam (at most he reached the third round in 2024), for Fery it will be the very first appearance in a Slam apart from Wimbledon, where last year he won his first match on the major circuit.

Paolini finds Sasnovich again after 6 years

The program on Rod Laver Arena will open at 1.30am, with Paolini (n.7 in the world and also in the seeding) who will try to equalize the score in the direct clashes against the thirty-one year old BelarusianAliaksandra Sasnovich(n.102). The latter won the challenge held in 2020 at the WTA in Palermo, but today the ranking rewards the Italian. The Tuscan tennis player will play the Australian Open for the seventh consecutive time, where in 2024 she achieved her firstround of 16 at Slam level. Sasnovich, who had to go through the qualifiers this year, will make his tenth appearance. The best result remains the third round achieved in 2019 and 2020.

The program of the first day

The matches scheduled for Sunday are all attributable totop of the boardboth male and female. On Rod Laver Arena, the program is that of the best days. After Paolini, he will be on the pitchAlexander Zverev(n.3) against Gabriel Diallo. In the evening session (Italian morning), however, there is great anticipation for the debut of the two No. 1s:Aryna Sabalenkasfida Tiantsoa Sarah Rakotomanga Rajaonah, eCarlos Alcaraz sfida Adam Walton.

Sinner on the pitch between Monday and Tuesday

While waiting for very specific times, it is already certain that the remaining matches in the upper part – among themMatteo Berrettini contro Alex De Minaur (n.6) e Matteo Arnaldiagainst Andrey Rublev (n.13) – will be played on Monday. Between Monday itself and Tuesday, however, you will be able to see the matches of thelower partincluding the debut ofJannik Sinner(n.2) against Hugo Gaston, or that ofLorenzo Musetti(n.5) against Raphael Collignon. Together with them, tooLuciano Darderi (n.22), Lorenzo SonegoMattia Bellucci, Luca Nardi, Francesco Maestrelli and the only other Italian in the women’s draw,Elisabetta Cocciaretto.

Jannik’s last general test

Jannik Sinner batted, in atraining matchheld on a sold out Rod Laver,Very happy Augerafter two hours the third set (a super tie-break) with the final score of 6-4, 4-6, 10-4. It was the last dress rehearsal before his debut in the first round of the Australian Open against the Frenchman Gaston. “It couldn’t have gone any better, it’s therebest possible preparation– the two-time Melbourne champion then declared – we are good friends with Felix, we played some good games especially last year also at the Grand Slam and feeling this sensation during a training session would not have been possible without you. It was a good day, I got some good feedback on the things we have worked on and now we will see what will happen during the tournament.”

Sinner: “The Australian Open is a special tournament”

“I’m happy to start again from Melbourne, from the Australian Open which is aspecial tournamentfor me.” He told SupertennisJannik Sinneron the occasion of the media day on the eve of the first Slam of the season. Twice reigning champion, the Italian could become the fourth player to triumphthree years in a rowin the history of the men’s singles tournament after Jack Crawford (1931-33), Roy Emerson (1963-67) and Novak Djokovic (2011-13, 2019-21). He arrives there convinced and relaxed.

“The best thing for me was spend Christmas at home, and New Year in Monaco with my friends Antonio Giovinazzi, Giulio Ciccone and their families. It was a truly beautiful evening,” he said. Thinking about Alcaraz and the change of coach that took place last month, Sinner added: “I’ve been through it too, I understand the reasons, but then everyone has slightly different motivations. Carlos knows and will know very well what is good for him.”

Alcaraz: “My goal is to win the tournament”

Carlos Alcarazhas an ambitious goal ahead of it: theCareer Grand Slam(winning at least once each of the four Grand Slam tournaments throughout his career), a goal that not even the world number one has achieved so far. In Melbourne, where he never managed to get beyond the quarter-finals (2024 and 2025), the Spaniard is preparing for his debut against the Australian Walton, who will close the evening program on the Rod Laver Arena: “This is mymain objectivefor this year. So it will be really interesting for me to see how I do – I think I did greatoff-season preparationjust to be in good shape – said the Spaniard at the media day – I’m really hungry for the title, for get a great result here. I’m really excited that the tournament is about to begin.”

Il Career Grand Slamremains a priority, and when asked if he would prefer to win the other three Slams in 2026 or win the Australian OpenAlcaraz admits: “I don’t know. I don’t know what I would choose. Obviously completing the Career Grand Slam is something extraordinary, and to be the youngest to do it it’s even better. But three Slam trophies are three Slam trophies! So I don’t know. AND a question I need to think aboutthere is no immediate answer.”

Where to watch the Australian Open on TV

The Australian tournament is exclusive toWarner Bros. Discovery con i best matches trasmessi su Eurosport 1le Italian matches su Eurosport 2and for the first time in full version on the new platformHBO Max oltre a Discovery+.

Australian Open are broadcast in diretta su Eurosportfor the 32nd consecutive year with thetennis legends a commentare l’Australian Open per Warner Bros. Discovery, fra cui John McEnroeJim Courier, Mats Wilander, Tim Henman, Laura Robson, Barbara Schett e Anne Keothavong live da Melbourne Park.

The daily program and the experts in the studio

The programCourtsidewill precede theevening sessionof the Australian Open from 8.30 in the morning Italian between previews of the most anticipated matches and recaps of the first matches of the day. Come onquarter finalseach singles match will also have onepre- and post-game studydedicated with exceptional commentators, includingBoris BeckerAlex Corretja, Justine Henin andRoberta Vinci.