Preview Australian Open Day Two | 10-time champion Novak Djokovic returns to in action as Swiatek, Gauff, Anisimova and Pegula headline stacked WTA field

Day two of the Australian Open sees some more of the top ATP and WTA players make their way onto the court in the hopes of making progress through the premature stages of the major event.

It is a day featuring a plethora of talented and world class tennis players looking to avoid a surprising upset in the first round. It includes the highly anticipated return of a 10-time champion along with the WTA world number two, three and four looking to show off their title credentials.

Novak Djokovic is set to get a 21st Australian Open appearance underway under the lights in front of what is expected to be a packed Rod Laver Arena. However, there are looming concerns over whether he can get the job done.

In his return to Melbourne Park, the Serbian had to withdraw from a practice session within 12 minutes due to a neck injury. He was also very sluggish in a practice set against Daniil Medvedev just prior to this. It would make sense due to him not stepping onto the court since the Hellenic Championship title back in November but still concerning for Djokovic.

The 38-year-old will be hoping to be back on top form against world number 71 Pedro Martinez. The last time Djokovic lost in the first round was back in 2006, with the last time he failed to make at least the semi-finals coming in 2018 when appearing at the event.

It was supposed to be a mouth watering first round matchup against Matteo Berrettini for Aussie number one Alex de Minaur. However, his life has been made slightly easier with a tie against lucky loser Mackenzie McDonald. The American steps in for the injured Berrettini.

De Minaur will be hoping to put on a show for his home fans. He has made six Grand Slam quarter-finals, with his first in his native land coming last year.

Medvedev is someone to make it past that point on a number of occasions. The former world number one is a three-time finalist Down Under, losing all of them. He was two sets up against Rafael Nadal and Jannik Sinner in the 2022 and 2024 finals respectively, being painfully pegged back in both of them.

He goes into the event in much better form than what he replicated last year, winning just one match in all four Grand Slam tournaments. He is first on Margaret Court Arena with Jesper de Jong standing in his way of a first Grand Slam victory since this time last year.

The inform Felix Auger-Aliassime is looking to kick on from a number of brilliant results at the end of 2025. He clashes against Nuno Borges, while Casper Ruud goes toe to toe with Mattia Bellucci.

The WTA tournament has a whole heap of talent in it, with the winner possibly coming from anywhere. The real favourites are obviously at the top, with no better contender than Iga Swiatek.

The 24-year-old is looking to complete a stunning career Grand Slam with the Australian Open the only title not in her arsenal. She reached the semi-final las year, blowing a one-set advantage against eventual champion Madison Keys. Despite a brilliant United Cup triumph with Poland, questions around her form have been circling ahead of a test against qualifier Yue Yuan.

One of these defeats came to American number one Gauff in Poland’s victory in the semi-finals. Gauff has shown signs of positivity on the court with some great tennis, but scrutiny over particular aspects of her game such as her serve still remain. One slip up, and a maiden title in Melbourne could be vanished. She will begin the action Kamilla Rakhimova.

At the United Cup, the 21-year-old returned to the world number three spot ahead of Amanda Anisimova, who briefly held that position at the start of the year. She suffered an early exit in the Brisbane International but is coming off the back of two consecutive Grand Slam finals. While both of them ended in defeats, she will be hoping to finally get things right this year. She has achieved a trio of fourth round performances but is touted to go much further. She will need to get past Simona Waltert to clear the first hurdle.

Coming off the back of defeating Victoria Mboko for the Adelaide International title, Mirra Andreeva looks to be back on track after a cumbersome end to 2025. Her first test comes in the form of former Wimbledon semi-finalist Donna Vekic with the 18-year-old braced for possible major success.

The defeated finalist, Mboko, will be making her debut at Melbourne Park. It has been an incredible rise for the Canadian. This time last year, she was ranked outside the top 300. Now she has two WTA titles from three finals, has represented Canada in the Unitec Cup and is seeded for her second consecutive Grand Slam. It is a fascinating matchup against Aussie talent Emerson Jones. The 17-year-old wildcard has a hugely bright future in the sport and will be passionately cheered on by the Aussie fans.

The likes of Alexandra Eala and Linda Noskova will also be starting their tournaments. Both will be featuring on Court Six, with the Philippines trailblazer first taking on Alycia Parks before the 13th seed clashes against Darja Semenistaja.

Moving back to experience, and the world number six Jessica Pegula is hoping to improve on her three prior last eight appearances in Australia. She lines up against Anastasia Zakharova while 2025 semi-finalist Paula Badosa has been drawn against wildcard Zarina Diyas.