AO 2026's Grand Slam debuts: Sawangkaew, Bartunkova, Oliynykova and more
Eight players will make their Grand Slam main-draw debuts at the 2026 Australian Open -- three direct entrants (including one via special ranking) and five qualifiers -- including the first two Thai representatives in six years. Get to know them here:
Nikola Bartunkova (CZE)
The youngest of this year's batch of Australian Open qualifiers, 19-year-old Nikola Bartunkova's talent and unusual game style have long made her one to watch. When she reached her first WTA semifinal in Guadalajara last September -- defeating defending champion Magdalena Frech along the way -- her blend of net-rushing, drop shots and sudden, flat strikes drew comparisons to Ons Jabeur.
"My tennis is unpredictable, I hit something different each time so rivals don't know what ball is coming," Bartunkova told iSport.cz following Guadalajara (where she also said that her mood was boosted by a players' outing to a Shakira concert, spearheaded by Jelena Ostapenko).
Bartunkova, the 2023 Wimbledon junior finalist, has had to overcome what she described as "a dark time" to reach her current career high of No. 126. After winning her first WTA main-draw match at Cluj-Napoca 2023 over Dayana Yastremska, she'd ascended to No. 226 by the following April. But after testing positive for trimetazidine days after her 18th birthday, the rest of 2024 turned into a nightmare.
The Bartunkova family embarked on lengthy and expensive detective work, eventually succeeding in getting the ITIA to accept a contamination defense with "no significant fault or negligence" and reduce Bartunkova's suspension from four years to six months. Bartunkova herself focused on graduating from high school, and returned to action at the start of 2025. Her 54-19 record last year included her first WTA 125 final in Samsun as well as her Guadalajara breakthrough.
"I realized that I can't live without tennis," Bartunkova told isport.cz on her return, saying that her experience had enabled her to enjoy the sport more. That was evident last week in her first Grand Slam qualifying event -- she needed just 61 minutes to deliver a bravura performance in the final round, defeating Whitney Osuigwe 6-1, 6-0 to reach the main draw. Bartunkova will face Daria Kasatkina in the first round.
Linda Klimovicova (POL)
Keen watchers of Grand Slam qualifying rounds in 2025 will have noted Linda Klimovicova's name. The 21-year-old Pole was involved in two of the best opening matches of those events last year: a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 loss to Iva Jovic (who is now in the Top 30) at Wimbledon, and a 7-6(4), 6-7(2), 6-4 win over Alina Korneeva at the US Open.
Having fallen at the final hurdle at Roland Garros and the US Open, Klimovicova has succeeded in making her first main draw at the fifth attempt this week in Melbourne. No similar barnburners were required: she powered past Stefani Webb, Lizette Cabrera and Greet Minnen without dropping a set, and only conceding 20 total games.
As a junior, Klimovicova reached No. 11 and was part of the Czech conveyor belt of talent that included two fellow Lindas -- Noskova and Fruhvirtova. But her career has blossomed since switching her flag to Poland in autumn 2024. Ranked No. 268 in November that year, she started this season at a career high of No. 133. In 2025, she compiled a 51-19 record that included her biggest title to date at the Vitoria-Gasteiz ITF W75 and -- with new teammate Iga Swiatek cheering her on -- a victorious Billie Jean King Cup debut.
Klimovicova's recent success has still involved her Czech roots, though. Since last October, she's been working with Emil Miske -- Karolina Muchova's former coach. In an interview with iDNES.cz, Miske described her as as "very ambitious and willing, she wants to give everything to tennis -- that reminds me of Karolina."
The Australian Open will mark not just Klimovicova's first Grand Slam main draw but her tour-level debut when she starts against Francesca Jones.
Petra Marcinko (CRO)
Five former Australian Open junior champions will compete in the 2026 main draw. The youngest and most recent of those is Petra Marcinko, who lifted the trophy as the 16-year-old junior World No. 1 in 2022.
That year would be a spectacular one for the Croatian. She rocketed from No. 905 to No. 194 in the PIF WTA Rankings, winning the Poitiers ITF W80 and reaching the Rabat second round on her WTA debut. But the next two seasons were marred by injuries -- in particular, torn ankle ligaments at the end of 2023 -- stop-start results, and a slump outside the Top 300 by October 2024.
That all changed in 2025 -- notably, she told HRT Sport last month, her first full season without health issues. The second half of the year was particularly impressive: between July and December, Marcinko compiled a remarkable 40-8 record. That included her first WTA 125 title in Rome, and four ITF titles at W75 and W100 level.
The last of those, in Dubai, saw Marcinko defeat former World No. 2 Vera Zvonareva in the final. That result enabled her to enter the Top 100 for the first time and to seal direct entry to the Australian Open in the last week before the main-draw cut-off, having previously fallen in Grand Slam qualifying on nine occasions.
Now at a career high of No. 77, 20-year-old Marcinko will open her campaign against 38-year-old Tatjana Maria.
Guiomar Maristany Zuleta De Reales (ESP)
On Tuesday, the likelihood of Guiomar Maristany Zuleta De Reales reaching the Australian Open main draw were slim. She faced four match points -- including three in a row -- down 6-5 in the third set of her second qualifying round against Tatiana Prozorova. But the 26-year-old Spaniard -- who had upset former No. 31 Mayar Sherif in her opener -- saved all of them, and pulled through 6-2, 2-6, 7-6[7]. And as if she hadn't worked hard enough, she came out on top of the longest final qualifying contest, a 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 barnburner over Elvina Kalieva in 2 hours and 57 minutes.
Maristany Zuleta De Reales made her big move into Slam qualifying territory in 2024, the season she cut her ranking from No. 377 to No. 189 and made her US Open qualifying debut. She consolidated her ranking in 2025, collecting another two ITF trophies in Sabadell and Heraklion, making her WTA main-draw debut in Iasi (where she took Ann Li to three sets in the first round) and reaching a career high of No. 168 in November.
Now ranked No. 184, Maristany Zuleta De Reales will face Polina Kudermetova in the first round.
Oleksandra Oliynykova (UKR)
Nine years ago, a 16-year-old Oleksandra Oliynykova caught the attention of social media with her story of trying to make it against the odds. Her family were political refugees who had fled Ukraine's then pro-Russian government in 2011; they had settled in Croatia, where despite their lack of resources they were determined to support Oliynykova in her dream to become a tennis pro.
Oliynykova was the talk of Tennis Twitter -- as it was then -- and even received a donation of racquets and tennis shoes from Sara Errani. But an attempt at crowdfunding her career went nowhere. Over the next decade, Oliynykova would gain a foothold on the ITF World Tennis Tour, popping up in occasional headlines pertaining to increasingly unusual career-funding mechanisms: crypto tokens that gamified her results, auctioning off part of her arm as an NFT in 2021.
Last year, Oliynykova levelled up on court. She won three WTA 125 titles -- in Tolentino, Tucuman and Colina -- the joint-most of any player in 2025. Her 59-21 record enabled her to jump from No. 305 at the end of 2024 to her current No. 90 -- and to gain direct entry to the Australian Open, even though she has yet to compete on the main WTA Tour.
Oliynykova's rise has been an emotional one -- not just because of all she's overcome to get here, but what she's playing for now. Her family have returned to their homeland -- she began playing under the Ukrainian flag in 2022 -- and her father currently serves in the Ukrainian army. After winning the Colina title and breaking into the Top 100, Oliynykova dedicated her achievements to him.
The 24-year-old's tour-level debut is sure to be a memorable one -- she's drawn defending champion and No. 9 seed Madison Keys in the first round. It's about as tough as it gets on paper, but Oliynykova has shown that she knows how to face all the tough challenges that life throws at her.
Himeno Sakatsume (JPN)
"DREAMS COME TRUE🪄," Himeno Sakatsume wrote on social media after a hard-fought 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-4 win over Marina Bassols Ribera in the final round of Australian Open qualifying.
It was a dream that had arguably been three years overdue. Back in 2023, the year Sakatsume cracked the Top 200 for the first time, she held five match points against Kaja Juvan in the final round of US Open qualifying -- only to fall 2-6, 7-6(8), 6-4. The Japanese player bounced back in her next tournament to notch her first WTA main-draw win, defeating Alexandra Eala 6-0, 6-3 in Osaka -- but 12 months after that, she had slumped outside the Top 300.
In 2025, Sakatsume built momentum throughout the year, and ended it with two career-best performances. In Hong Kong, she upset Sofia Kenin -- her first Top 100 win -- en route to her maiden WTA quarterfinal. A month later, she won her biggest title to date at the Takasaki ITF W100. The 24-year-old has brought that form into 2026 -- she reached the Canberra WTA 125 semifinals as a qualifier last week, has risen to a career high of No. 140 and already has an 8-1 record in January.
Sakatsume will get the chance to extend that when she faces Caty McNally in the first round.
Mananchaya Sawangkaew (THA)
Last June, Mananchaya Sawangkaew cracked the Top 100 after the best 12-month period of her career.
Over the previous year, she'd made her Grand Slam qualifying debut (Wimbledon 2024), qualified for her first WTA main draw (Hua Hin 2024, on home soil), reached three WTA quarterfinals (Guangzhou 2024, Jiujiang 2024 and Singapore 2025) and made her first WTA 125 final (Mumbai 2025). Sawangkaew drew attention for her speed and touch around the court, as well as for putting her country back on the tennis map: she was just the third Thai player in history to be ranked inside the Top 100, following Tamarine Tanasugarn and Luksika Kumkhum.
But Sawangkaew wasn't able to enjoy her new status, or even play a tournament as a Top 100 player. A back injury sidelined her for the next six months, and she only returned to action in November. She's gained entry to the Australian Open main draw via a special ranking of No. 100, though -- and even better, has already found her form in 2026. The 23-year-old claimed the biggest title of her career to date at the Nonthaburi ITF W75 last week on home soil, and has risen back to No. 195 this week.
Sawangkaew -- who attended Oklahoma State University for one year in 2021-22 -- will face another 2002-born player, No. 28 seed Emma Raducanu, in the first round.
Lanlana Tararudee (THA)
The Thai tennis drought on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz has lasted for over half a decade -- but like London buses, two promising players are on the verge of a breakthrough at once. As well as Sawangkaew, 21-year-old Lanlana Tararudee has been steadily improving her ranking every year since 2022.
Tararudee, who trains at former ATP No. 9 Paradorn Srichaphan's academy in Bangkok, was particularly impressive over the second half of 2025. She reached the final round of Grand Slam qualifying for the first time at Wimbledon, and followed that by reaching her maiden WTA 125 final in Porto. Tararudee finished the year by delivering some stellar hard-hitting tennis to make her first tour-level semifinal in Chennai, becoming the first Thai player in the last four of a WTA tournament since Luksika Kumkhum at Seoul 2017.
Having made her Grand Slam qualifying debut at the 2024 Australian Open, Tararudee brought her new level into the event two years on. She defeated recent Auckland quarterfinalist Sofia Costoulas, former No. 70 Harriet Dart and Roland Garros junior champion Lilli Tagger to book her place in the main draw, where she'll face No. 21 seed Elise Mertens in a first ever meeting with a Top 50 opponent.
Tararudee and Sawangkaew will become the fourth and fifth Thai women to compete in a Grand Slam main draw in the Open Era, following Tamarine Tanasugarn, Noppawan Lertcheewakarn and Kumkhum. The last time a Grand Slam main draw featured one Thai player was Kumkhum's final appearance at Wimbledon 2019, and the last time two were included was at the 2011 US Open, where Tanasugarn and Lertcheewakarn both featured.
Previously:
US Open 2025's Grand Slam debuts: Tjen, Ruzic, Pareja and more
Wimbledon 2025's Grand Slam debuts: Ito, Xu, Stojsavljevic and more
Roland Garros 2025's Grand Slam debuts: Mboko, Eala, Garland and more
Australian Open 2025's Grand Slam debuts: Lamens, Emerson Jones, Erjavec and more
US Open 2024's Grand Slam debuts: Joint, Jovic, Sierra and more
Wimbledon 2024's Grand Slam debuts: Todoni, Stakusic
Roland Garros 2024's Grand Slam debuts: Sonmez, Carle, Riera and more
Australian Open 2024's Grand Slam debuts: Kessler, Starodubtseva, Preston and more
US Open 2023's Grand Slam debuts: Ngounoue, Prozorova, Crawley
Wimbledon 2023's Grand Slam debuts: Bouzas Maneiro, Bai, Naef and more
Roland Garros 2023's Grand Slam debuts: Mirra Andreeva, Waltert, Shymanovich
Australian Open 2023's Grand Slam debuts: Shnaider, Lys, Polina Kudermetova and more
US Open 2022's Grand Slam debuts: Erika Andreeva, Bejlek, Stearns and more
Wimbledon 2022's Grand Slam debuts: Kartal, Yuan, Chwalinska and more
Roland Garros 2022's Grand Slam debuts: Noskova, Niemeier, Selekhmeteva and more
Australian Open 2022's Grand Slam debuts: Zheng Qinwen, Bronzetti, Cristian and more
US Open 2021's Grand Slam debuts: Navarro, Krueger, Parks and more
Wimbledon 2021's Grand Slam debuts: Raducanu, Burrage
Roland Garros 2021's Grand Slam debuts: Osorio, Liang, Gorgodze and more
Australian Open 2021's Grand Slam debuts: Danilovic, Francesca Jones
Roland Garros 2020's Grand Slam debuts: Tauson, Sherif, Zarazua and more
US Open 2020's Grand Slam debuts: Gracheva, Baptiste, Kawa and more
Australian Open 2020's Grand Slam debuts: Fernandez, Trevisan, Cocciaretto and more
US Open 2019's Grand Slam debuts: Wang Xiyu, Volynets, Bolkvadze
Wimbledon 2019's Grand Slam debuts: Gauff, McNally, Flink
Roland Garros 2019's Grand Slam debuts: Rybakina, Paolini, Samsonova and more
Australian Open 2019's Grand Slam debuts: Swiatek, Badosa, Veronika Kudermetova and more
US Open 2018's Grand Slam debuts: Muchova, Yastremska, Kalinina and more
Wimbledon 2018's Grand Slam debuts: Ruse, Dart, Lapko and more
Roland Garros 2018's Grand Slam debuts: Krejcikova, Dolehide, Jakupovic and more
Australian Open 2018's Grand Slam debuts: Kostyuk, Kalinskaya, Wang Xinyu and more