American Peyton Stearns carries on swimmingly at the 2026 Australian Open
MELBOURNE, Australia — Peyton Stearns is playing in a fishbowl at the Australian Open. Not literally, of course, but mentally—and it’s working.
Stearns says she’s trying to think like a goldfish circling the bowl, with no memory of the last mistake, treating every point as brand new. Miss a shot, dislodge it from memory. Reset. Swim on.
“I was a goldfish on the court,” Stearns explained after dispatching 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin in the first round here Tuesday.
The idea, she explained, is simple: Goldfish are said to forget almost immediately, and that short memory is a virtue in tennis.
“Sometimes I like to overthink on court,” she said. “You miss one shot, and you hound on it.”
Stearns, 24, kept that mindset going on Thursday. She came back from a 2-5, second-set deficit to defeat 20-year-old Petra Marcinko of Croatia, 6-2, 7-5, to reach the third round in Melbourne for the first time.
“She was really a better player today,” the 81st-ranked Marcinko said, adding that her 5-8 opponent never stopped battling in the second set and that her big forehand put her under constant pressure, which caused her to rush and overplay at times.
Along the way, Stearns, the 2022 NCAA singles winner while at the University of Texas, had to battle some unruly fans that got under her skin by shouting obscenities that security measures eventually tamped down.
“I think college tennis teaches you that,” she said of warding off the distractions.
Following two years at Texas, Stearns turned pro and made an impressive run to the 2023 US Open’s fourth round, falling to reigning Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova in three sets. The result catapulted her into the Top 50.
Peyton Stearns of the United States playing in the first round of the 2026 Australian Open in Melbourne, Australia. Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images.
Steady progress in 2024 continued, including her maiden WTA title at Morocco. The Cincinnati-native finished the season ranked No. 48.
But for Stearns, 2025 felt like something to swim around and forget as well.
There was a very public incident in Rome while beating Naomi Osaka, when she left everything on the court—quite literally—before celebrating victory.
There were injuries, including a September stress fracture in her right foot. There were illnesses, most notably an E. coli infection that forced her off court and disrupted her momentum. There were mental challenges, too, as the grind of the tour began to weigh. She finished the season below .500 at 17-21.
“Last year was a really tough year for me,” the 68th-ranked Stearns said earlier this week. “There were a lot of mental things happening off court that will stay private.”
Stearns said she shut things down after the season, finishing the year in a walking boot and realizing her body and mind needed a “reset.”
Peyton Stearns of the United States celebrates a point in the first round of the 2026 Australian Open at Melbourne Park. Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images.
She spent much of October and November rehabbing and moving between Sarasota, Fla., and Austin, training lightly, seeing friends and stepping away from the daily grind, only hitting occasionally and mostly decompressing.
By late November, she said, the switch flipped. Her longtime acquaintance and new coach, Rafael Font de Mora, flew in from Spain, and they began structured training days that still left room for life off the court.
“I kind of brought that mentality into this year,” she said.
She’s also concentrating less on ranking points and results.
“Last year, I felt like I was looking at that a lot, and it just adds another pressure to you,” she said. “But if I focus on the things that I can control, showing up every day, giving 100 percent, all that good stuff, then it's gonna come.”
Next up for Stearns is a big test, but one she’s passed before: a third-round clash with fourth-seeded American Amanda Anisimova.
Stearns won their only previous meeting in Madrid on clay last year. Not long after, Anisimova went on to reach the first of two Grand Slam finals, at Wimbledon and later the US Open.
“(She) plays very physical tennis,” said Anisimova after beating second-round opponent Katerina Siniakova, 6-1, 6-4. “I’m sure it’s going to be a very tough match.”
“I can definitely use that match for references of maybe what worked, what didn't work, but I feel like she's evolving as a player and getting better as well,” Stearns said of her upcoming opponent.
And holding on to that goldfish mentality. No longer swimming upstream, but rather in purposeful circles.
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