Gauff & Shelton lead 38 Americans at 2026 Australian Open, most this century
Editor's note: Taylor Townsend and Mackenzie McDonald were late additions to the Australian Open singles main draw as lucky losers, giving the U.S. 40 singles players across the women's and men's events—the most since 48 (24 men, 24 women) in 1995.
Third seed Coco Gauff and eighth seed Ben Shelton lead an outsized American presence in the 2026 Australian Open women's and men's singles draws, which were revealed Thursday in Melbourne.
All told, the 38 American singles players—20 men and 18 women—set to compete at the hard-court major are the most since 39 in 1997 (23 women, 16 men). Thirteen of those Americans are seeded (seven women, six men), the most at the Australian Open since there were also 13 seeded Americans in 2003 (nine women, four men).
Dating back to the 2024 US Open, an American woman has featured in five consecutive Grand Slam singles finals—with Madison Keys winning her first major title last year in Melbourne. The defending champ is seeded ninth for her title defense.
The full complement of seeded American women, along with their first-round opponents, includes: No. 3 Gauff (vs. Kamilla Rakhimova), No. 4 Amanda Anisimova (vs. Simona Waltert), No. 6 Jessica Pegula (vs. Anastasia Zakharova), No. 9 Keys (vs. Oleksandra Oliynykova), No. 15 Emma Navarro (vs. Magda Linette), No. 27 Sofia Kenin (vs. Peyton Stearns) and No. 29 Iva Jovic (vs. Katie Volynets).
In addition to the all-American matchups of Kenin vs. Stearns and Jovic vs. Volynets, Gauff and Venus Williams could meet in a marquee second-round match if both advance.
The seeded American men include: No. 8 Shelton (vs. Ugo Humbert), No. 9 Taylor Fritz (vs. Valentin Royer), No. 19 Tommy Paul (vs. Aleksandar Kovacevic), No. 25 Learner Tien (vs. Marcos Giron), No. 27 Brandon Nakashima (vs. Botic van de Zandschulp) and No. 29 Frances Tiafoe (vs. Jason Kubler).
Coco Gauff and Frances Tiafoe prepare for the 2026 Australian Open. Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images.
The 20 U.S. men in the draw is the most since 24 in 1995; four Americans qualified for the main draw, the most since five in 2017. Alongside the Paul vs. Kovacevic and Tien vs. Giron matchups, Sebastian Korda will meet Michael Zheng in another all-American opener.
The Australian Open singles main draw begins Saturday night in the U.S., which is Sunday in Melbourne. Complete draws and daily schedules are available on the official Australian Open website.
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