Australian Open Day 3 order of play: Keys, Osaka and Rybakina take center stage
The photo of Madison Keys hoisting last year’s Australian Open trophy, mounted on a wall in the sprawling tennis complex, triggered some terrific memories.
“It's something you dream of in your career,” Keys said. “Then being able to experience it is really fun.”
Naomi Osaka, the champion in 2019 and 2021, felt the same pleasant wave of nostalgia when she arrived in Melbourne.
“Just eating dinner with my team, going to my favorite restaurants,” Osaka said last week. “There are routines that I like to do, like go on bike rides near the water. I was able to do that this morning, which was really fun.”
Fun is the operative word for these two WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz players who own three of the past seven titles. On Tuesday, they begin their 2026 pursuit of another, along with former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic and Aussie teen sensation Maya Joint.
Here’s a look at some of the remaining high-profile first-round matches:
No. 9 Madison Keys vs. Oleksandra Oliynykova
Head-to-head: 0-0.
At the age of 30 and playing her 12th Australian Open -- and 50th Grand Slam overall -- Keys isn’t averse to learning new things.
“One of my big goals this year is to kind of force myself to be a little bit uncomfortable on court,” Keys explained, “and try to actually implement some of the things we're working on, as uncomfortable as those are in those big moments. I'm really trying to push myself to kind of evolve and add more things to my game.”
After losing her first main-draw match here, to Zheng Jie in 2012, Keys has won the past 10. She’s won more matches here (34) than at any other tournament.
By contrast, Oliynykova -- a 25-year-old from Ukraine -- is playing in her first main draw at a major.
No. 5 Elena Rybakina vs. Kaja Juvan
Head-to-head: 1-0, Rybakina, 2023 Australian Open
While Rybakina was the winner of the WTA Finals in Riyadh, she failed to reach a Grand Slam quarterfinal for the first time since 2020.
That said, she’s never lost a first-round match here (6-0) and will rely on her dangerous serve; a year ago, Rybakina led all players with a .749 first-serve percentage in the majors.
Juvan, a 25-year-old from Slovenia ranked No. 100, is 3-2 in first-round matches.
No. 10 Belinda Bencic vs. Katie Boulter
Head-to-head: 1-0, Bencic, 2022 Tallinn Open
Bencic is off to a blazing start in 2026 after winning nine of 10 matches (5-0 in singles) at the United Cup. She’s also won her past seven first-rounders in Melbourne. Last year, Bencic reached the fourth round before losing to Coco Gauff.
Boulter has lost 18 of 22 matches against Top 10 players but was a winner against Paula Badosa last year at Wimbledon.
No. 16 Naomi Osaka vs. Antonia Ruzic
Head-to-head: 0-0
Osaka loves these hard courts Down Under.
Only World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka has won more matches at the Australian Open (28) than Osaka’s 26 going back to her main-draw debut 10 years ago. Likewise, Sabalenka is the only player with a better winning percentage -- .824 to .788.
Osaka, a semifinalist at last year’s US Open, has gradually returned to elite form after giving birth in July of 2023. She’s won eight of nine first-round matches here.
This is the second Grand Slam main draw for Ruzic, a 22-year-old Croatian ranked No. 65.
No. 30 Maya Joint vs. Tereza Valentova
Head-to-head: 0-0
Australian fans are excited about the emergence of Joint, the first Aussie teenager to collect 30-plus wins in a single year (2025) since Jelena Dokic in 2000. She won two titles, on the clay in Rabat and Eastbourne’s grass.
Joint is seeded at a Grand Slam for the first time.
Valentova, 18, is another talented teenager. She qualified for her first major main draws last year at Roland Garros and the US Open. Now ranked No. 54, the Czech player was a direct entry here. For what it’s worth, Valentova is 2-0 in first-round major matches.
Order of play: Australian Open Day 3
Rod Laver Arena
11:30 a.m. local; 7:30 p.m. ET (Monday)
• Oleksandra Oliynykova (UKR) vs Madison Keys (USA) [9]
Followed by
Not before 1:30 p.m. local; 9:30 p.m. ET (Monday)
• Ben Shelton (USA) [8] vs Ugo Humbert (FRA)
7 p.m. local; 3 a.m. ET (Tuesday)
• Hugo Gaston (FRA) vs Jannik Sinner (ITA) [2]
Followed by
• Naomi Osaka (JPN) [16] vs Antonia Ruzic (CRO)
Margaret Court Arena
11:30 a.m. local; 7:30 p.m. ET (Monday)
• Lorenzo Musetti (ITA) [5] vs Raphael Collignon (BEL)
Followed by
• Elena Rybakina (KAZ) [5] vs Kaja Juvan (SLO)
7 p.m. local; 3 a.m. ET (Tuesday)
• Katie Boulter (GBR) vs Belinda Bencic (SUI) [10]
Followed by
• Shintaro Mochizuki (JPN) vs Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) [31]
John Cain Arena
11 a.m. local; 7 p.m. ET (Monday)
• Tereza Valentova (CZE) vs Maya Joint (AUS) [30]
Followed by
• Karen Khachanov [15] vs Alex Michelsen (USA)
5 p.m. local; 1 a.m. ET (Tuesday)
• Valentin Royer (FRA) vs Taylor Fritz (USA) [9]
Followed by
• Maddison Inglis (AUS) vs Kimberly Birrell (AUS)
KIA Arena
11 a.m. local; 7 p.m. ET (Monday)
• Shuai Zhang (CHN) vs Taylah Preston (AUS)
Followed by
• Karolina Pliskova (CZE) vs Sloane Stephens (USA)
• Dane Sweeny (AUS) vs Gael Monfils (FRA)
• Grigor Dimitrov (BUL) vs Tomas Machac (CZE)
1573 Arena
11 a.m. local; 7 p.m. ET (Monday)
• Cristian Garin (CHI) vs Luciano Darderi (ITA) [22]
Followed by
• Joao Fonseca (BRA) [28] vs Eliot Spizzirri (USA)
• Rebecca Sramkova (SVK) vs Jelena Ostapenko (LAT) [24]
• Laura Siegemund (GER) vs Liudmila Samsonova [18]
ANZ Arena
11 a.m. local; 7 p.m. ET (Monday)
• Leylah Fernandez (CAN) [22] vs Janice Tjen (INA)
Followed by
• Christopher O’Connell (AUS) vs Nishesh Basavareddy (USA)
• Hubert Hurkacz (POL) vs Zizou Bergs (BEL)
• Daria Kasatkina (AUS) vs Nikola Bartunkova (CZE)
Court 5
11 a.m. local; 7 p.m. ET (Monday)
• Ashlyn Krueger (USA) vs Sara Bejlek (CZE)
Followed by
Not before 12:30 p.m. local; 8:30 p.m. ET (Monday)
• Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard (FRA) vs Sebastian Baez (ARG)
• Rei Sakamoto (JPN) vs Rafael Jodar (ESP)
• Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova / Clara Tauson (DEN) vs Lyudmyla Kichenok (UKR) / Katie Volynets (USA)
Court 6
11 a.m. local; 7 p.m. ET (Monday)
• Varvara Gracheva (FRA) vs Viktorija Golubic (SUI)
Followed by
Not before 12:30 p.m. local; 8:30 p.m. ET (Monday)
• Jakub Mensik (CZE) [16] vs Pablo Carreno Busta (ESP)
• James Duckworth (AUS) vs Dino Prizmic (CRO)
• Rinky Hijikata (AUS) / Tristan Schoolkate (AUS) vs Luke Johnson (GBR) / Jan Zielinski (POL)
Court 7
11 a.m. local; 7 p.m. ET (Monday)
• Maia Lumsden (GBR) / Qianhui Tang (CHN) vs Sara Errani (ITA) / Jasmine Paolini (ITA) [2]
Followed by
• Xinyu Wang (CHN) vs Anhelina Kalinina (UKR)
• Luca Nardi (ITA) vs Yibing Wu (CHN)
• Vit Kopriva (CZE) vs Jan-Lennard Struff (GER)
Court 8
11 a.m. local; 7 p.m. ET (Monday)
• Jesika Maleckova (CZE) / Miriam Skoch (CZE) vs Marta Kostyuk (UKR) / Elena-Gabriela Ruse (ROU)
Followed by
• Marcelo Demoliner (BRA) / Jean-Julien Rojer (NED) vs Alexander Bublik (KAZ) / Alexander Shevchenko (KAZ)
• Ekaterina Alexandrova / Venus Williams (USA) vs Emiliana Arango (COL) / Elsa Jacquemot (FRA)
• Iryna Shymanovich / Solana Sierra (ARG) vs Olga Danilovic (SRB) / Anastasia Potapova (AUT)
Court 12
11 a.m. local; 7 p.m. ET (Monday)
• Francisco Cerundolo (ARG) / Juan Manuel Cerundolo (ARG) vs Hugo Nys (MON) / Edouard Roger-Vasselin (FRA) [8]
Followed by
• Tereza Mihalikova (SVK) / Olivia Nicholls (GBR) [12] vs Anna Bondar (HUN) / Jaqueline Cristian (ROU)
• Francisco Cabral (POR) / Lucas Miedler (AUT) [9] vs Mattia Bellucci (ITA) / Fabian Marozsan (HUN)
• Alexandra Eala (PHI) / Ingrid Martins (BRA) vs Shuko Aoyama (JPN) / Magda Linette (POL)
Court 13
11 a.m. local; 7 p.m. ET (Monday)
• Lorenzo Sonego (ITA) vs Carlos Taberner (ESP)
Followed by
• Lulu Sun (NZL) vs Linda Fruhvirtova (CZE)
• Anna Kalinskaya [31] vs Sonay Kartal (GBR)
• Sorana Cirstea (ROU) vs Eva Lys (GER)
Court 14
11 a.m. local; 7 p.m. ET (Monday)
• Panna Udvardy (HUN) vs Katerina Siniakova (CZE)
Followed by
• Ethan Quinn (USA) vs Tallon Griekspoor (NED) [23]
• Ulrikke Eikeri (NOR) / Ingrid Neel (EST) vs Iva Jovic (USA) / Victoria Mboko (CAN)
• Pruchya Isaro (THA) / Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha (IND) vs Pedro Martinez (ESP) / Jaume Munar (ESP)
Court 15
11 a.m. local; 7 p.m. ET (Monday)
• Andrey Golubev (KAZ) / Aleksandr Nedovyesov (KAZ) vs Tomas Martin Etcheverry (ARG) / Camilo Ugo Carabelli (ARG)
Followed by
• Julia Grabher (AUT) vs Elisabetta Cocciaretto (ITA)
• Petr Nouza (CZE) / Patrik Rikl (CZE) vs Terence Atmane (FRA) / Alexandre Muller (FRA)
• Kevin Krawietz (GER) / Tim Puetz (GER) [5] vs Arthur Rinderknech (FRA) / Valentin Vacherot (MON)