Aus Open projected men’s seeds: Alcaraz, Sinner top 2, Djokovic cushy despite inactivity, De Minaur, Musetti boosts
Carlos Alcaraz will headline the 2026 Australian Open, two-time defending champion Jannik Sinner will lead the bottom section while there is good news for Novak Djokovic.
With world No 1 Alcaraz and No 2 Sinner enjoying a healthy lead over their closest rivals in the ATP Rankings, they were always going to be the top two seeds for the Melbourne Park event despite not playing any warm-up events before the hard-court Grand Slam.
Alexander Zverev will be the next name on the draw sheet as he remains third in the rankings despite Germany’s early exit from the United Cup while Djokovic is assured of being the fourth seed despite not playing any competitive tennis since last November.
Djokovic skipped the ATP Finals and also didn’t play this week, but he is still sitting pretty in the rankings.
Of course, it does mean Zverev – the 2025 runner-up – and 10-time Australian Open champion Djokovic will need to get past both Alcaraz and Sinner if they are to win the title.
Alex de Minaur has been the big winner after the first week of action on the 2026 ATP Tour as he climbed one spot to No 5 while Lorenzo Musetti is set to be seeded sixth. However, the Italian could usurp De Minaur if he reaches the final of the Hong Kong Open.
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Felix Auger-Aliassime, Ben Shelton, Taylor Fritz and Alexander Bublik round out the top 10.
Fritz, though, could still finish as high as No 5 as he is still in action at the United Cup with the United States taking on Poland in the semi-final. If he wins his last-four clash in the singles, he will move up to No 7 while a win in the final will see him jump two more spots.
Jack Draper was due to be seeded 10th, but the British No 1 pulled out of the tournament due to his arm injury while Holger Rune (16th) is the other high-profile player who will miss the Australian Open.
Most of the spots between 11 and 31 have been wrapped with Corentin Moutet the last player to make the cut, but he is in danger of missing out as Alex Michelsen is 33 points behind him in the rankings and will surpass him if he wins his semi-final at the Brisbane International.
Seedings Based On Live Rankings
1. Carlos Alcaraz
2. Jannik Sinner
3. Alexander Zverev
4. Novak Djokovic
5. Alex de Minaur
6. Lorenzo Musetti
7. Felix Auger-Aliassime
8. Ben Shelton
9. Taylor Fritz
10. Alexander Bublik
11. Casper Ruud
12. Daniil Medvedev
13. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
14. Andrey Rublev
15. Karen Khachanov
16. Jakub Mensik
17. Jiri Lehecka
18. Francisco Cerundolo
19. Tommy Paul
20. Flavio Cobolli
21. Denis Shapovalov
22. Luciano Darderi
23. Tallon Griekspoor
24. Arthur Rinderknech
25. Learner Tien
26. Cameron Norrie
27. Joao Fonseca
28. Frances Tiafoe
29. Stefanos Tsitsipas
30. Brandon Nakashima
31. Valentin Vacherot
32. Corentin Moutet
Next Five
33. Tomas Machac
34. Ugo Humbert
35. Alex Michelsen
36. Jaume Munar
37. Sebastián Báez
