The four 2026 Australian Open seeds to lose on Day 1: Alexandrova, Cobolli lead shock exits
The opening day of the Australian Open kicked off what looks set to be a thrilling fortnight of action, with several of the biggest names in men’s and women’s tennis in action.
But, while the likes of Aryna Sabalenka, Carlos Alcaraz, Jasmine Paolini, Alexander Zverev, and Emma Raducanu all safely made it through to the second round, some of their fellow seeded players were not so lucky.
Here, we look at the four 2026 Australian Open seeds that fell at the first hurdle of this year’s tournament, alongside some of the other notable names who exited the event.
Men’s singles — (20) Flavio Cobolli
Italian star Cobolli has the unfortunate distinction of being the only men’s singles seed to be beaten on the opening day of the tournament.
The world No 22 was considered a potential dark horse by many, after a 2025 that saw him reach the Wimbledon quarter-final, win two ATP Tour titles, and prove Italy’s hero in the Davis Cup Finals.
Cobolli was seemingly handed a favourable draw against qualifier Arthur Fery, though — with some suggestions that he was battling with illness — the Italian ultimately slumped to defeat.
World No 186 Fery barely put a foot wrong in a hugely impressive performance, with the Brit ultimately easing his way towards a 7-6(1), 6-4, 6-1 triumph.
It is the second time that Fery has reached the second round of a Grand Slam, after also beating another 20th seed — Alexei Popyrin — at Wimbledon last year, and he will face Tomas Martin Etcheverry next.
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Women’s singles — (11) Ekaterina Alexandrova
The highest women’s singles seed to fall on Sunday was 11th seed Alexandrova, whose rotten run at the Australian Open continued with her latest early exit.
Alexandrova soared up the WTA Rankings in 2025 and cracked the top 10 for the first time, with the 31-year-old reaching the fourth round of Roland Garros, Wimbledon, and the US Open.
However, having lost in the opening round of the Australian Open to Laura Siegemund in 2024 and Raducanu in 2025, the Russian was beaten in her first match for the third straight year.
It was qualifier Zeynep Sonmez who beat the world No 11, the Turkish qualifier defying the 101 places between the two to claim a battling 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 triumph.
Victory puts Sonmez into the second round of the Australian Open for the first time, and she will discover who her next opponent is on Monday.
Women’s singles — (20) Marta Kostyuk
Kostyuk beat three top-10 players on her way to the Brisbane International less than two weeks ago, and the former Australian Open quarter-finalist was backed by many for a deep run.
However, the Ukrainian ultimately fell in a historic defeat to Elsa Jacquemot, with the Frenchwoman claiming the first triple tiebreak win in Australian Open women’s singles history.
World No 60 Jacquemot rallied from a set down to stun Kostyuk 6-7(4), 7-6(4), 7-6(7) on Sunday, claiming her first-ever main draw win in Melbourne.
The Frenchwoman will go on to face Yulia Putintseva in the second round, after the Kazakh battled past Beatriz Haddad Maia in the opening round.
With Alexandrova and Kostyuk in the same mini-section of the draw, it is already guaranteed that an unseeded player will reach the second week.
Women’s singles — (26) Dayana Yastremska
Yastremska memorably reached the semi-final of the Australian Open as a qualifier back in 2024, but was unable to recapture that magic this year.
The Ukrainian is not adverse to big Grand Slam wins herself, beating Coco Gauff in the opening round of Wimbledon last summer, but was on the wrong side of an upset on Sunday.
The 26th seed was beaten by Elena-Gabriela Ruse inside Melbourne Park, with the Romanian sealing an impressive 6-4, 7-5 victory.
World No 79 Ruse will discover who she plays next later in the week, the Romanian set to take on either qualifier Yuliia Starodubtseva or Ajla Tomljanovic in the second round.
Who else exited the tournament?
Technically, four seeds exited the women’s event on Sunday, with 32nd seed and former Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova withdrawing from the event just one hour before her match.
Her spot in the draw was filled by lucky loser Taylor Townsend, who was ultimately beaten in three sets by compatriot Hailey Baptiste.
Another notable shock on Sunday saw world No 53 and former top-20 star Sebastian Korda stunned by reigning NCAA champion Michael Zheng, with the latter prevailing in a five-set thriller.
Venus Williams also just missed out on a seismic victory, with the 45-year-old spurning a 4-0 deciding-set lead in a 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4 loss to Olga Danilovic.
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