The Australian Open has already seen some big names exit after the first round of the 2026 tournament.
Best Seeds Carlos Alcaraz And Aryna Sabalenka won in straight sets to advance to the second round of the tournament.
Advertisement
However, this was not the case for all the top players, with a sixth seed Félix Auger-Aliassime unable to finish his first round match to the Australian Open This year.
In addition to some of the top players coming out of the draw, four Grand Slam singles champions failed to win their first round matches in Melbourne.
Photo by Robert Prange/Getty Images
Venus Williams tops list of Grand Slam champions already absent from Australian Open
Venus Williams
Perhaps the most prominent of these Grand Slam champions already absent from the Australian Open is a seven-time major singles tournament winner. Venus Williams.
After Williams lost her fifth straight singles match at Hobart International, many had low expectations for the 45-year-old’s arrival at the Australian Open.
Advertisement
However, the former world number one almost proved many of her doubters wrong, with Williams producing vintage tennis to win the first set of her match against Olga Danilovic.
Despite losing the second set, Williams found herself 4-0 down in the decider and looked on course to win her first Grand Slam singles match since 2021.
That was not the case for Williams, as Danilovic made an almighty comeback and won six straight games to beat the American, 6(5)-7 6-3 6-4.
Williams is also now out of the doubles tournament, which could potentially signal the end of her Australian Open career.
Sloane Stephens
Williams is one of three American Grand Slam champions already absent from the Australian Open, with Sloane Stephens joining her.
Advertisement
Stephens ended his 13-fight losing streak to win his first match since 2024 and qualify for the Australian Open.
The old US Open The champion, who fell outside the top 1000 after suffering a foot injury last year, then suffered a tough first-round draw against former world number one Karolina Pliskova.
Stephens had won six of her previous seven matches against Pliskova, but it wasn’t meant to be at the Australian Open.
Pliskova beat Stephens, 7-6 (7) 6-2, to win her first Grand Slam match since 2024 and send the former world number three home.
Barbora Krejcikova
The only non-American Grand Slam singles champion to lose in the first round of the Australian Open is Barbora Krejcikova.
Advertisement
Krejcikova, who is a Roland-Garros alumnus and Wimbledon champion, has faced numerous battles with back and knee injuries over the past year.
As a result, this caused the former world number two to no longer appear in the top 50 of the world rankings.
This meant Krejcikova was unseeded for the Australian Open and was therefore handed a tough draw against 23rd seed Diana Shnaider.
Although she won the first set against Shnaider, Krejcikova could not maintain this pace and was ultimately beaten 2-6 6-3 6-3.
Sofia Kenin
Of the four Grand Slam champions already out of the Melbourne tournament, only one of them is actually a former Australian Open champion.
Advertisement
That person is Sofia Kenin, who won the 2020 Australian Open title and entered this year’s tournament as the 27th seed.
However, since his run to the Australian Open title, Kenin has only won one match at the Melbourne major.
Kenin continued his poor recent tournament record after losing to compatriot Peyton Stearns in straight sets.
This marks a fourth consecutive loss for Kenin at the Australian Open, who has not won a match in the tournament since 2021.
These four players will now have to wait a long time before the next major tournament, with the start of Roland-Garros in May.
