Félix Auger-Aliassime and Emma Navarro both suffered opening-round exits at the ongoing Australian Open. However, besides them, there were some other decent players who also endured a similar fate in Melbourne. On that note, let us take a look at 10 players who got knocked out early from the Australian Open.
Emma Navarro
Navarro had a disappointing 2025 season and her start to 2026 was far from impressive, as she won two out of four matches entering the Australian Open. The American’s first-round opponent was Magda Linette, who entered the Melbourne Major after reaching successive quarterfinals in Auckland and Hobart.
Navarro won the first set but the Pole bounced back to register a 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 win and book her place in the second round for the first time since her semifinal run in 2023. This is the first time Navarro got eliminated in the first round of the Australian Open.
Félix Auger-Aliassime
Seventh seed Félix Auger-Aliassime’s exit was one of the most shocking scenes from the opening round of the Australian Open. The Canadian had an impressive 2025 season, winning three titles, reaching the final of the Paris Masters and the semifinals of the US Open and the ATP Finals.Auger
Auger-Aliassime had high hopes at the Australian Open and started his first-round match against Nuno Borges well, winning the first set 6-3. However, the Portuguese won the next two sets by a 6-4 scoreline before the Canadian retired due to cramps.
Auger-Aliassime has won just one out of three matches so far in the 2026 season.
Ekaterina Alexandrova
Another player who had an impressive 2025 season was Ekaterina Alexandrova, who reached the top 10 of the WTA rankings for the first time in her career and also played a match at the WTA Finals, where she was an alternate.
Alexandrova has had a poor start to the 2026 season, suffering a second-round exit at the Brisbane International while exiting the Adelaide International in the opening round. The Russian entered the Australian Open as the 11th seed and faced Turkey’s Zeynep Sönmez in the opening round.
Sönmez won the first set before Alexandrova took the second set 6-4 to force the match into a decider. However, the Turk was not to be denied, as she won the third set 6-4 to win a main-draw match at the Australian Open for the first time in her career. Sönmez also produced a moment of class during the match as she came to the aid of a ballgirl, who was struggling with the heat.
A ball girl fainted during the Zeynep Sonmez and Ekaterina Alexandrova match at the Australian Open.
Zeynep immediately went over to help her & walked her off the court.
Compassion. ❤️
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) January 18, 2026
Marta Kostyuk
Marta Kostyuk started the 2026 season strongly by reaching the final of the Brisbane International, beating Amanda Anisimova, Mirra Andreeva, and Jessica Pegula in the process. The Ukrainian was expected to do well at the Australian Open but Elsa Jaquemot stopped her in the first round.
The match was tightly-contested, with all three sets going to tiebreaks. Jaquemot won 6-7(4), 7-6(4), 7-6(10) after Kostyuk hurt her ankle, which eventually forced her to withdraw from the women’s doubles event where she was set to partner Elena-Gabriela Ruse.
Leylah Fernandez
Leylah Fernandez has had a forgettable start to the 2026 as she is yet to win a match. The Canadian suffered opening-round exits in Brisbane and Adelaide but was expected to get her first win of the year at the Australian Open.
However, Indonesia’s Janice Tjen had other plans and produced a fine performance to win 6-2, 7-6(1) and register her first main-draw win at the Melbourne Major. Fernandez thus maintains her unwanted record of having at least one first-round exit at a Grand Slam each year since she started competing in Majors.
Flavio Cobolli
Flavio Cobolli had an impressive ending to the 2025 season as he helped Italy win the Davis Cup. The 23-year-old, who reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals last year, started 2026 by winning one of his two matches at the United Cup.
He then entered the Australian Open as the 20th seed and faced British qualifier Arthur Fery in the opening round. Fery, who is ranked 164 places below Cobolli in the ATP rankings, produced some splendid tennis to win 7-6(1), 6-4, 6-1 and book his place in the second round of the Australian Open. This is the first time the Brit won a Grand Slam fixture in straight sets.
This is the second successive year when Cobolli was ousted in the Australian Open in the first round.
João Fonseca
João Fonseca is among the rising stars in tennis and produced some promising performances in 2025 that saw him enter the top 25 of the ATP rankings for the first time in his career. The Brazilian faced some fitness issues early in 2026 as he withdrew from the Brisbane International.
He started his year at the Australian Open and Eliot Spizzirri in the first round. Spizzirri won the opening set 6-4 but Fonseca took the second set to level the match. The American was dominant in the next two sets and eventually bagged a 6-4, 2-6, 6-1, 6-2 win to hand Fonseca his maiden opening-round exit at a Grand Slam.
Jiří Lehečka
Jiří Lehečka has produced some impressive performances over the past few years and is always someone to watch out for when he is at his best. However, the Czech did not have the best of starts to 2026, bowing out of the Brisbane International after suffering an ankle injury during his second-round fixture against Sebastian Korda.
This injury saw him pull out of the Adelaide International but he competed at the Australian Open as the 17th seed. Lehečka faced French qualifier Arthur Géa in the opening round and 5-7, 6-7(1), 5-7. This is the Czech’s first opening-round exit at a Grand Slam since US Open 2023.
Liudmila Samsonova
Liudmila Samsonova’s disastrous record at the Australian Open continues as she suffered another first-round exit. The Russian had a decent start to the 2026 season by reaching the quarterfinals of the Brisbane International. However, she followed this with an opening-round exit at the Adelaide International.
Samsonova entered the Australian Open as the 18th seed and cruised to the lead against Laura Siegemund in the opening round after bageling the German in the first set. However, the 37-year-old made a remarkable comeback to win 0-6, 7-5, 6-4 and reach the second round.
Samsonova, who has a 4-7 record at the Australian Open at present, suffered her first opening-round exit at a Grand Slam since the 2024 edition of the Melbourne Major.
Alexandra Eala
Rising star Alexandra Eala had a promising start to the 2026 season as she reached the semifinals of the ASB Classic. The young Filipino then entered the Australian Open with high hopes. She faced Alycia Parks in the opening round and bageled the American in the opening set.
However, Parks bounced back and won 0-6, 6-3, 6-2, thus concluding a match where Eala faced a lot of support from the crowd. The match itself gained a lot of controversy for being scheduled on Court 6 despite the possibility of a huge Filipino crowd in Eala’s support.
Honorable Mentions- Tallon Griekspoor and Dayana Yastremska
Tallon Griekspoor and Dayana Yastremska were also among the surprise casualties in the opening round of the Australian Open. While Griekspoor lost 2-6, 3-6, 2-6 to Ethan Quinn, Yastremska lost 4-6, 5-7 to her compatriot Kostyuk’s doubles partner Ruse.
