Zhang Zhizhen is on the brink of elimination, with both male and female singles players exiting in the first round; 13 Chinese players compete in doubles.

In just three minutes daily, get all the latest tennis news. Hello tennis fans, today is Sunday, January 18, 2026. Welcome to the news midday report brought to you by "Tennis Home."

At 8 a.m. Beijing time today, the 2026 Australian Open began in Melbourne. On the first day, Chinese player Zhang Zhizhen played Argentine star F. Cerundolo at Margaret Court Arena. After the match started, the Argentine clearly showed better form, taking a 5-0 lead. Although Zhang fought back to win three games, he lost the first set 3-6. In the second set, near the end, Zhang broke his opponent's serve in the match point game to level at 6-6 but ultimately lost in the tiebreak, falling behind 0-2 overall, putting him on the edge of elimination. As of this report, the third set is still in progress.

In the completed men's singles first-round matches, 20th seed and Italian rising star Cobolli suffered an upset, losing in straight sets 7-6(1), 6-4, 6-1 to British qualifier Ferry, becoming the first seeded male player eliminated and marking a second consecutive year of first-round exits in Melbourne. Meanwhile, Serbian Kecmanovic and Argentine Echeverri are tied 2-2 in sets after four sets, heading into a decisive fifth set. As of this report, Echeverri trails 3-4. Third seed and German star Zverev lost the first set 6-7(1) but has launched a comeback, currently leading Canadian Diallo 5-0 in the second set.

In the women's singles, local wildcard Gibson performed impressively, defeating Russian Blinkova 6-1, 6-3 to become the first player to win a main-draw Grand Slam match this season. On Rod Laver Arena's opening match, seventh seed and Italian powerhouse Paolini dominated Belarusian qualifier Sasnovich 6-1, 6-2, advancing strongly in her first match.

Meanwhile, 26th seed Ukrainian Yastremska was defeated 6-4, 7-5 by Romanian Ruse, becoming the first seeded female player eliminated at this year's Australian Open. Greece's top player Sakari overcame a 1-4 deficit in the first set to beat French player Jeanjean 6-4, 6-2, securing her place in the second round. Kazakhstan's Putintseva rallied from a set down to defeat Brazil's top player Maia 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, earning a good start. In another match, American McNally comfortably beat Japan's Sakamoto Hino 6-3, 6-1

to advance smoothly past the first round.

Czech star Van Uytvanck has withdrawn from this year's Australian Open due to a shoulder injury, with her spot taken by lucky loser Townsend. Chinese player Bai Zhuoxuan, competing today, will face Russian star Pavlyuchenkova around 2:30 p.m.

Additionally, yesterday Beijing time, the 2026 Australian Open released the men's and women's doubles draws. The Chinese contingent has 14 players forming pairs to compete. In men's doubles, Shang Juncheng and Zhang Zhizhen face Ebden and Ram; in women's doubles, Xu Yifan and Yang Zhaoxuan play Valentova and Van Uytvanck, Jiang Xinyu and Zhan Haoqing face Blinkova and Laksimova, Zhang Shuai and Mertens meet Kostyia and Kalinskaya, Wang Xinyu and Zheng Saisai play Cabrera and Preston, Guo Hanyu and Muradnovic face Parks and Yastremska, Tang Qianhui and Ramsden play Errani and Paolini. Moreover, Xie Shuwei and Wu Fangxian will team up with Ostapenko and Hozumi Er respectively.

Let's also look back at yesterday's ATP 250 Adelaide singles final. In the match that ended yesterday afternoon Beijing time, eighth seed Czech player Machac defeated French star Humbert 6-4, 6-7(2), 6-2, claiming his second career tour title following his 2025 Acapulco victory. Congratulations to him!

Finally, let's play a guessing game. The photo below shows a player during a match. Without any hints, can you identify who she is?

In the last guessing game, some fans gave the correct answer. That's right, the person in the photo is Kazakhstan's star Bublik.

(Source: Tennis Home Author: Lone Wolf)