American star Taylor Townsend continues her quest for historic silverware while several all-Australian duos continue through the draw as the doubles’ rounds at AO 2026 head towards their conclusion.
Townsend advanced to the mixed doubles semifinals with Nikola Mektic on Tuesday, overcoming Irina Khromacheva and Christian Harrison in straight sets 6-4 6-2.
MORE: All the results from AO 2026
The American is also the reigning women’s doubles champion alongside the all-conquering Katerina Siniakova, and the pair remain the team to beat this year.
The top seeds haven’t dropped a set and will be heavy favourites ahead of their quarterfinal on Wednesday against seventh seeds Anna Danilina and Aleksandra Krunic.
Townsend has the chance to join the exclusive club of players to have won both the mixed and women’s doubles at a single Australian Open.
Only three women in the Open era have achieved the feat: Hsieh Su-Wei in 2024, Rennae Stubbs in 2000 and Margaret Court in 1969.
If the title holders advance to the semifinals, they may face a member of that club, Hsieh, should she and Jelena Ostapenko win their own quarterfinal.
It would be a replay of last year’s thrilling finale, which the Czech-American duo won in three sets. For Siniakova, another championship run would add a 12th Grand Slam doubles title to her illustrious trophy cabinet.
Dangerous fourth seeds Elise Mertens and Zhang Shuai also progressed to the quarters on Tuesday with a straight-sets win over Hailey Baptiste and Peyton Stearns, meaning there are five seeded teams among the final eight.
But lingering in the draw is also all-Australian upset squad Kimberly Birrell and Talia Gibson.
The wildcards dumped out the second seeds in the first round and will draw on immense home crowd support in Wednesday’s match at Rod Laver Arena against Ena Shibahara and Vera Zvonareva, in what will be Gibson’s first Slam quarterfinal.
“That's super cool,” Gibson told ausopen.com ahead of the matchup. “I would've been pretty shocked if you told me last week that we'd be here in the quarters.”
“Just another reminder that anything can happen if you just go out there, enjoy it and, and trust the work that you've done,” the 21-year-old smiled.
In the mixed draw, Townsend will face stiff competition in the semis.
She and Mektic will take on all-Australian defending champions Olivia Gadecki and John Peers, who came through their quarterfinal against Krunic and Mate Pavic 6-1 7-6(6).
Gadecki and Peers have an extra incentive to go back-to-back, should they need any. They would become the first pair to successfully defend an AO mixed doubles title since Jana Novotna and Jim Pugh in 1989.
The third all-Aussie pairing still steaming ahead at Melbourne Park is Jason Kubler and Marc Polmans.
The newly-formed duo are making waves in the men’s doubles draw, having taken down 2022 champions the “Special Ks” of Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis in the first round.
The Australian pairings will be aiming to continue the home country’s enviable record of having at least one Australian champion, across all events, every year since 2011.
At AO 2025, Gadecki and Peers took out the mixed doubles event, while Matthew Ebden won the men’s doubles in 2024 alongside Rohan Bopanna of India.
Australian duos also lifted the men’s doubles trophies in 2023, and in 2022 when the Special Ks famously beat countrymen Ebden and Max Purcell.