Fan favorite off to flying start

China's highest-ranked woman in the draw, Olympic medalist Wang Xinyu, completed a smooth first-round win on Court 7 to continue the surging momentum she generated in the run-up to the 2026 Australian Open.

From an exhibition win over a former world No 1 to her deep run at a warm-up event, Wang's early momentum has raised fans' expectations that she will also have a good run at the season-opening major in Melbourne.

The Chinese fan favorite lived up to the high expectations in her first-round match by breezing past Ukrainian qualifier Anhelina Kalinina 6-3, 6-3 in one hour and 33 minutes to sail into the round of 64 at the AO for a third time.

Spurred on by a loud-cheering crowd, Wang overcame discomfort in her left arm to outplay 179th-ranked Kalinina with her power game, which was underlined by her hitting 10 aces during the two sets.

It marked Wang's first main-draw victory at Melbourne Park since 2023, following consecutive opening losses in 2024 and 2025, which has instilled hope among her fans that the 24-year-old will beat her previous best in the Grand Slam tournament, which was a third-round appearance three years ago.

"I think confidence builds up from every little step forward, not necessarily on the court, but off it and in your life," said Wang on her win.

"It all adds up, one little bit at a time, not just by telling yourself 'you are the best', but being able to get little things done in the right way.

"Whether making yourself a nice coffee in the morning, or winning a match like today, it all helps make your day and improve your confidence."

Wang's strong start in the 2026 season stemmed from her inspiring straight-sets win over Poland's former world No 1 Iga Swiatek at the WTCC exhibition event last month in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, her home city.

Riding on that momentum, she reached the final of the WTA250 tournament on Jan 11 in Auckland, New Zealand, where she was beaten by top seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine.

That announced her comeback from an injury-plagued year, which saw her finish the 2025 season with six straight losses after the US Open.

Wang will need to make the most of that feel-good factor in the second round against Latvia's 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko, the 24th seed who beat Slovakian Rebecca Sramkova in straight sets on Tuesday to set up a meeting with Wang.

"I am just going to focus on what I can control and doing the best I can (without worrying about others too much)," said Wang, who's never advanced into the second week of a major.

Earlier on Tuesday, Chinese veteran Zhang Shuai failed to pass the opening test in her 14th main draw campaign at the AO after losing 3-6,6-2, 3-6 to local wildcard Taylah Preston in a first-round match at the Kia Arena.

Yuan Yue was also sent packing in the first round, but walked off the central court applauded by the crowd and her high-profile opponent after putting up a gutsy fight against six-time major winner Swiatek at the Rod Laver Arena on Monday.

The 130th-ranked Yuan, who won three qualifying rounds to enter the main draw, proved she deserved the major spotlight as she pushed the Polish star to rack up 21 unforced errors in the first set, to her own 13, while Swiatek had to dig deep in a tiebreak to close out the first set before eventually pulling through 7-6 (5), 6-3.

Despite conceding her fourth straight first-round loss at the AO,Yuan gave herself a thumbs-up for delivering her A-game against the mighty former world No 1.

"I actually really appreciated the opportunity to challenge such a strong opponent in what might, perhaps, be considered a 'bad draw', because only by pushing myself against such a tough rival could I motivate myself to bring out my best," said the 27-year-old.

Swiatek echoed that sentiment, giving credit for Yuan's effort.

"I think she played well," said the No 2 seed.

"She was kind of playing pretty strong from the forehand side. She was for sure going for her shots, playing fast."