Four places remain for the semifinals in the men’s and women’s singles draws at Australian Open 2026, with a quartet of clashes between big seeds and Grand Slam champions set to serve up high-quality tennis at every turn on Wednesday.
Opening the order of play at Rod Laver Arena on Day 11 is women’s No.2 seed Iga Swiatek against No.5 seed Elena Rybakina. Swiatek has a 6-5 advantage over Rybakina in head-to-head meetings, but Rybakina overcame Swiatek when they last met in Melbourne, in the round of 16 in 2023 when Rybakina advanced to the final.
MORE: AO 2026 women's singles draw
“We played many times. Of course, I know that I need to stay aggressive and go for my shots,” Rybakina said.
“But definitely focus for me is my serve, stay aggressive, and yeah, let's see what's going to happen.”
Swiatek is going into this quarterfinal matchup with weapons at the ready.
“On every match [Rybakina’s] been a tough opponent, and her tennis for sure is great,” she said.
“I need to be 100 per cent ready and go for it and use my experience, and also the knowledge from previous matches.”
Following Wednesday’s first match will be an all-American battle between countrywomen Jessica Pegula and Amanda Anisimova, who are both fighting to make their Australian Open semifinal debut.
Pegula brings a 3-0 head-to-head record against Anisimova into Wednesday’s match-up, but Anisimova isn’t deterred.
“I feel like I always have a chance against anyone. It's not really … in my head, I feel like every match is new and different,” said Anisimova.
“I think the fact that I've never beaten her before is an extra challenge for me.”
Regardless of who wins or loses, Pegula takes this quarterfinal match as a win for the US.
“At least one of us will get through, and I think that's great for American tennis,” she said.
Pegula comes off a fourth-round victory against Australian Open 2025 winner Madison Keys, who she defeated in straight sets to reach her fourth Australian Open quarterfinal.
Novak Djokovic, who only last week celebrated his 100th AO win, returns to Rod Laver Arena well rested and raring to go after a fourth-round walkover when 16th seed Jakub Mensik withdrew from the tournament with an abdominal injury.
Djokovic takes on fifth seed Lorenzo Musetti in Wednesday’s quarterfinal, and has won nine of 10 previous meetings with the Italian as he looks to take the next step in his quest to achieve a 25th Grand Slam win.
MORE: AO 2026 men's singles draw
Musetti’s sole victory over the Serb was in 2023 at the Monte Carlo Masters. While he acknowledges the difficulties that come with playing against someone whose experience far outweighs his own, the 23-year-old feels he’s in with a chance.
“Playing against Novak is always challenging, especially here, which he won many, many, many times,” said Musetti.
“But of course we know each other pretty well because we played a lot ... Hopefully I'll take my revenge, because last time in Athens we were really, really close. I feel like I have another chance now.”
Should Djokovic defeat Musetti, he will move into his 13th Australian Open semifinal. For Musetti, a quarterfinal win will extend his already career-best campaign in Melbourne, his previous best coming in 2025 when he made the third round.
The night session at Rod Laver Arena welcomes reigning two-time Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner, who will confront American Ben Shelton.
Sinner holds an 8-1 record against No.8 seed Shelton, including his latest victory in the round robin stage at Nitto ATP Finals in November 2025, and Wednesday’s meeting comes one round earlier than their clash in the semifinals at Melbourne Park last year, which Sinner won in straight sets.
Aside from a shaky third round for the Italian, who conceded the first set to world No.85 Eliot Spizzerri, Sinner has been operating as expected, winning in straight sets against opponents Hugo Gaston, James Duckworth and Luciano Darderi.
Shelton has brandished his powerful serve and heavy strokes to topple Ugo Humbert, Dane Sweeny, Valentin Vacherot and most recently Casper Ruud before landing at the quarterfinals. His dominant second serve is his biggest weapon against the defending champion; if he can keep Sinner from stepping inside the baseline and taking early control, he may have a chance at winning back a point and snapping an eight-match losing streak against the Italian.
“For me, like I've said in earlier rounds, I have a lot more that I want to do here, and I have a lot more to prove … I'll be ready to go,” said Shelton.