Australian Open 2026: Venus Williams makes history in loss; Carlos Alcaraz, Aryna Sabalenka win easily

Venus Williams made history the instant she took the court at the Australian Open on Sunday. She very nearly continued her record-setting run before ultimately falling to Olga Danilović in the first round of the event.

With her match Sunday, Williams became the oldest woman to compete in the Australian Open singles main draw. A little while later, she became the oldest woman to win a set in the Australian Open singles main draw.

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But Williams couldn’t keep that momentum. After taking the first set 7-6 (5), Williams fell 6-3 in the second set.

Just as it looked like Williams’ run was over, she responded with a 4-0 lead in the final set. But Williams couldn’t close things out. She lost steam in the final set, eventually falling to Danilović 6-4 in the third set.

While it was a disappointing result, Williams told the Associated Press she was pleased with her performance.

“It was an amazing journey on the court today,” said Williams, who left the stadium with a smile and a wave.

“I’m really proud of my effort today because I’m playing better with each match, getting to the places that I want to get to,” Williams said. “Right now, I’m just going to have to keep going forward and working on myself and working to control my errors.”

Danilović wasn’t taking Williams’ age for granted. Following the win, Danilović called it “a pleasure” to take the court against a legend.

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With the win, Danilović will take on the winner of Coco Gauff and Kamilla Rakhimova.

Carlos Alcaraz, Aryna Sabalenka cruise to wins

The top seeds on both the men’s and women’s sides wasted no time making quick work of their opponents in the first round of the 2026 Australian Open. Carlos Alcaraz picked up an easy win Sunday, beating Adam Walton 6-3, 7-6, 6-2 to advance.

Sabalenka didn’t face much trouble, either, winning 6-4, 6-1 over Tiantsoa Sarah Rakotomanga Rajaonah.

There weren’t many major upsets on the first day of the event. The most notable belonged to No. 20 seed Flavio Cobolli on the men’s side. Cobolli played through the event with an illness, which may explain why he lost 7-6(1), 6-4, 6-1 to Arthur Fery.

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Frances Tiafoe wins for Americans in first round

The first handful of matches at the 2026 Australian Open didn’t go well for the Americans. Of the four Americans to take the court, Frances Tiafoe was the only one to come up with an early win. Tiafoe defeated Jason Kubler 7-6, 6-3, 6-2 to advance.

In addition to Williams’ loss, the Americans also saw Jenson Brooksby fall to No. 10 Alexander Bublik in straight sets and Zachary Svajda fall to Yannick Hanfmann in four sets.

While it was a disappointing result, some of the higher-ranked Americans, including Gauff, Tommy Paul, Amanda Anisimova and Jessica Pegula will take the court for their first-round matchups later Sunday night.