Australian Open 2026 Betting Preview

Written by Yaro Pavlenko

Read on below for Spreadex Sports' 2026  Australian Open tennis betting preview with the latest fixed odds and spread betting prices ahead of the tournament, as well as everything else you need to know before the first Grand Slam tournament of the season in Melbourne.

Italian world number two Jannik Sinner will be aiming to defend his title in the men's draw, while Madison Keys will be looking to also defend her crown on the women's side.

It is expected to be a hugely competitive and exciting tournament with plenty of contenders with strong cases for potential success, especially on the men's side with the likes of world number one Carlos Alcaraz aiming for a first crown Down Under, American hopes focused on Ben Shelton and Taylor Fritz, and Novak Djokovic still desperately chasing a record 25th Grand Slam at the age of almost 39.

On the women's side, Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff and Amanda Anisimova will be the top four seeds and will all fancy their chances for glory, but the likes of Elena Rybakina, resurgent Swiss Belinda Bencic and reigning champion Keys will all be a threat for the trophy.

*Odds/Spreads Subject to Change

Spread Betting losses can exceed initial deposit

When DOES THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2026 START?

The first of the four Grand Slams on the 2026 tennis calendar gets underway on Sunday 18th January 2026 and finishes on Sunday 1st February 2026. This year will be the 114th edition of this event with the first held way back in 1905.

WHO WON THE 2025 AUSTRALIAN OPEN?

On the men's side, Italy's Jannik Sinner won a second Australian Open title in 2025, defeating Germany's Alexander Zverev 6-3 7-6 6-3 in the final. On the women's side, USA's Madison Keys defeated world number one Aryna Sabalenka in a 6-3 2-6 7-5 upset.

WHERE IS THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN PLAYED?

Melbourne Park is the only Grand Slam tennis venue to have three courts installed with a retractable roof, allowing play to continue in the event of rain or extreme heat. The three main courts with these roofs are Rod Laver Arena (14,820 capacity) which will host the finals, John Cain Arena (10,300 capacity), and Margaret Court Arena (7,500 capacity). 

There are also three more courts with relatively large capacities - Show Court Arena (formerly Kia Arena, 5,000 capacity), Show Court 2 (formerly 1573 Arena, 3,000 capacity), and Court 3/ANZ Arena (3,000 capacity).

WHEN IS THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2026 FINAL?

The 2026 Australian Open will see the women's final played on Saturday, 31st January 2026 and the men's final played on Sunday, 1st February 2026.

Who are the Men's Betting Favourites at THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2026?

World number two and defending champion Jannik Sinner begins the tournament at 5/6, but the Italian will be pushed all the way if he wants a third title Down Under with world number one Carlos Alcaraz hungry to hold onto that ranking and claim a first Melbourne trophy which would allow the Spaniard to complete the career Grand Slam, having already won the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open. Alcaraz is the second-favourite in the outright betting at 13/8.

24-time Grand Slam champion and 10-time Australian Open winner Novak Djokovic cannot be totally discounted at the venue where he last won a Major in 2023, even at the age of 38, but his physical capabilities do seem to be waning in the latter stages of a two-week grind in the Grand Slam format.

Reaching the semi-finals here last year after defeating Alcaraz, he was forced to retire against Alexander Zverev after losing the opening set. In what will surely be one of his final chances to secure the record-breaking 25th Major crown, at odds of 12/1, those backing the old guard for a last hurrah may see this as a value punt.

2025 losing finalist Alexander Zverev is priced up at 16/1 to finally claim a maiden Grand Slam, and the German may feel he is running out of time to make the career breakthrough which has so far eluded him in heartbreaking fashion following final defeats here, as well as the 2024 French Open final and in the 2020 US Open final. With the conditions at Melbourne Park favouring the big German, could he go one better than 12 months ago?

The USA will feel as confident as they have in many a year of a potential Grand Slam winner in 2026 with the rise of the explosive and ever-improving lefty Ben Shelton, who has surged up the rankings into the top-10 and is a former semi-finalist at Melbourne Park from last year before losing to Sinner, equipped with a monster serve which he will hope can push him to become the first US winner of a Grand Slam since Andy Roddick at the US Open in 2003. Shelton is priced at 40/1.

The other major hopeful of the US contingent will be 2024 US Open finalist Taylor Fritz, who has previously reached the quarter-final stage in Australia. The conditions here should also suit the California native and Fritz comes in as a 28/1 shot.

Other notable contenders include three-time Australian Open finalist and former world number one Daniil Medvedev, who looks to be rediscovering his form and won the title in Brisbane last week. Medvedev is available at 18/1. Aussie home hopes will rest on 6th-ranked Alex De Minaur, who is priced up at 40/1, while young rising stars like Brazilian teen talent Joao Fonseca will also be looking to make a splash, with Fonseca priced up at 50/1.

You can view all of our available odds and bet on the Men's draw here.

Who are the women's Betting Favourites at THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2026?

Women's world number one Aryna Sabalenka may have fallen short in the last year's final, but she will arrive at Melbourne Park as still the consensus top player on hard courts and as a 2/1 shot to win a third Australian Open title after successes in 2023 and 2024.

Former world number one Iga Swiatek of Poland had a strong return to form in 2025 with a victory at Wimbledon, but the Australian Open has been the weakest venue for the Pole with the six-time Grand Slam champion's best result being semi-finals in 2022 and 2025. For those fancying her going all the way here, Swiatek is available at 9/2.

USA's Coco Gauff is another Grand Slam champion looking to add to her tally here, and the reigning French Open winner will be looking to improve on her previous best in Australia, which was a semi-final in 2024. Gauff is available at odds of 7/1. Big-serving Elena Rybakina is available at the same price (7/1).

Another American, Amanda Anisimova, had an incredible season in 2025 as she returned to the top of the women's game. The 24-year-old managed to reach the last two Grand Slam finals, although lost both. Can she make it three in a row here and third time lucky? Anisimova is available at 10/1.

Finally, last year's winner Madison Keys flew under the radar to secure the crown, and is not among the top favourites here. However, punters may see value in backing the defending champion at potentially enticing odds of 25/1.

You can view all of our available odds and bet on the Women's draw here.

HOW CAN I BET ON the AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2026 WITH SPREADEX SPORTS?

As always, with Spreadex Sports you have the option of fixed odds and spread betting on tennis. Aside from our full range of fixed odds markets, spread betting on tennis allows the option to bet on markets such as Total Points, Cross-Courts, Match Supremacy, Game Supremacy and much more.

If you decide to spread bet on our outright markets, you would bet on the Outright Index market. This market is settled in the following manner: 60 - Winner, 40 - Runner-Up, 20 - Losing Semi-Final, 10 - Losing Quarter-Final, 5 - Losing Round-of-16, 0 - Other. 

This means for example if you bought Jannik Sinner at a starting spread of 40.5 - 43.5 and he wins the title, you would win 16.5x your opening stake. If he was the losing finalist, you would lose 3.5x your stake. Or, if you sold at 40.5 and he made a shock exit before the round of 16, you would win 40.5x your stake. However, if you bought at 43.5 and he lost in the semi-final, you would lose 23.5x your original stake and so on.

View all of our latest Australian Open markets here.

View our guide to Tennis spread betting, including our spread betting calculator, here.

WHERE CAN I WATCH THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2026 ON TV?

Viewers in the UK will be able to watch the tournament on TNT Sports, or stream the action on every court on Discovery+.