There’s so much happening at Australian Open 2026. It can be tough to keep up!
MORE: All the scores from Day 11 at AO 2026
That’s why we’re rounding up the best, wildest and most talked-about moments every day of the AO, all in one place, bite-sized and easy to catch up on – so you never miss a moment.
Best performance – Elena Rybakina
Elena Rybakina continued her red-hot form on Wednesday with an eighth consecutive WTA top-10 victory, defeating second seed Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals. The Kazakhstani has now won 18 of her past 19 tour-level matches since October and is yet to drop a set en route to the semifinals, where she will face Jessica Pegula.
“She's a very experienced opponent, and she moves well,” Rybakina said of Pegula.
“Also, her ball stays quite low. So that makes it a bit difficult sometimes to play her, but I will try to adjust.”
Best junior – Mariia Makarova
Mariia Makarova, the 13th seed, upset first seed Alena Kovackova 7-6(3) 7-5 in the third round of the girls’ singles draw on Wednesday.
Makarova is just 16 and ranks 22nd in the ITF junior rankings. She will face either eighth seed American Thea Frodin or Ukrainian Antonina Sushkova in the quarterfinals.
Best starts – Alfie Hewett and Tokito Oda
The top seeds in the men’s wheelchair singles draw got off to convincing starts on Wednesday, with top seed Alfie Hewett securing a 6-2 6-1 victory over Japan’s Takuya Miki, and second seed Tokito Oda cruising through his first-round match with American Casey Ratzlaff 6-3 6-3.
Oda is chasing the ‘Oda Slam’ at AO 2026, having already claimed titles at Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open last year. Another triumph in Melbourne would make him just the second player in men’s wheelchair tennis history to win four consecutive Grand Slam singles titles.
Best match – Olivia Gadecki and John Peers
All-Aussie duo Olivia Gadecki and John Peers are one win away from becoming the first repeat Australian Open mixed doubles champions since 1989.
On Wednesday, Gadecki and Peers prevailed in a thrilling mixed doubles semifinal over Taylor Townsend and Nikola Mektic, becoming the first reigning Australian Open mixed champions to reach the final the following year since Kristina Mladenovic and Daniel Nestor in 2015.
Heroic in the third-set match tiebreak, Gadecki said the opportunity to accomplish something last achieved 13 years before she was born “would be pretty special.”
“To break a couple of records and get the Gadecki name out there would be pretty cool,” she said, with the Mladenovic/Manuel Guinard pairing their opponents in Friday's final.
Best escape – Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic fell behind by two sets in his quarterfinal showdown with Lorenzo Musetti, but advanced in the third set after the Italian suffered a leg injury.
The 10-time AO champion offered a heartfelt message after the match.