Seed shake-up for the Australian Open: Andrey Rublev drops as Alex De Minaur secures Top-8 position

Andrey Rublev's defeat at the Hong Kong Open has led to a last-minute change in the seedings for the Australian Open. While the seedings seemed settled just a week ago, Alex de Minaur has secured a spot among the top eight, leaving the Russian with a tougher draw than usual.

Since 2021, Rublev has been among the top eight seeds in 14 out of his 15 Grand Slam main draw appearances. The only exception was at the 2022 US Open, where he held the 9th seed and reached the quarterfinals, defeating 7th seed Cameron Norrie in the fourth round.

This marks the first time De Minaur will begin a major as a top-eight seed, ensuring he avoids facing higher-ranked players until at least the quarterfinals.

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Rublev’s early Hong Kong exit costs him top-8 seeding 

Rublev entered the Hong Kong Open as the defending champion and top seed, being the only top-15 player in the draw. However, he suffered a first-round exit against Fabian Marozsan (world No. 58), losing 240 points in the rankings. Meanwhile, De Minaur’s victories in the United Cup helped him defend part of the points at stake this week.

Despite Australia’s elimination from the United Cup, De Minaur’s two wins will see him climb to world No. 8 next week with 3,532 points—just 15 points ahead of Rublev. This ranking will determine the seedings for the Australian Open, as the Monday rankings set the official draw order.

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Although players like world No. 7 Novak Djokovic and world No. 11 Grigor Dimitrov are still competing this week, their results will not impact their seeding positions.

Thus, the top eight seeds for the Australian Open are as follows:

1. Jannik Sinner

2. Alexander Zverev

3. Carlos Alcaraz

4. Taylor Fritz

5. Daniil Medvedev

6. Casper Ruud

7. Novak Djokovic

8. Alex de Minaur

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