Who Canadians will face in Round 1 of Australian Open

The first Grand Slam of 2026 is approaching and we know who Canadian players will face in Round 1 of the Australian Open, beginning on Sunday, local time.

Top-ranked amongst Canadian men, Felix Auger-Aliassime — who reached world No. 5 after a semifinal run at the U.S. Open in September — will face Nuno Borges of Portugal in the first round.

World No. 21 Denis Shapovalov will face wild-card entrant Yunchaokete Bu, but may need to go through one of either Casper Ruud (No. 12) or Ben Shelton (No. 8) to advance deeper in the tournament.

Gabriel Diallo, who rose to world No. 33 after winning his first ATP Tour title at the Libema Open, faces the toughest test amongst Canadians when he squares off against third-ranked Alexander Zverev in Round 1.

Liam Draxl, 24, earned a qualifying spot in the main singles draw by beating American Mackenzie McDonald on Thursday. It will mark Draxl’s first career Grand Slam. The native of Newmarket, Ont. will face Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the first round.

On the women’s side, standout teenager Victoria Mboko, who won her first Masters 1000 tournament on home soil at the National Bank Open, will see Australia’s Emerson Jones first, who received a wild-card spot in the main draw. She faces a tough route to the quarterfinals, however, with the potential to face Denmark’s Clara Tauson (No. 13) in the third round and Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka (No. 1) in the Round of 16.

Leylah Fernandez, who reached a career-high No. 13 in 2022 but now sits at No. 22, will face Indonesia’s Janice Tjen in Round 1. Fernandez advanced to the third round at the Australian Open in 2025, but was ousted by Coco Gauff in straight sets.

Marina Stakusic of Mississauga, Ont., earned her spot in the main draw on Thursday after beating China’s Lin Zhu in the qualifying round. Her first-round opponent is wild card Priscilla Hon of Australia.

Here are the first-round draws:

ATP:

Felix Auger-Aliassime (5) vs. Nuno Borges
Denis Shapovalov (21) vs. Yunchaokete Bu (WC)
Gabriel Diallo (33) vs. Alexander Zverev (3)
Liam Draxl (Q) vs. Damir Dzumhur

WTA:

Victoria Mboko (17) vs. Emerson Jones (WC)
Leylah Fernandez (22) vs. Janice Tjen
Marina Stakusic (Q) vs. Priscilla Hon (WC)