Doubles surprises at Australian Open: Venus Williams and Leylah Fernandez find new partners, Mboko teams up with Jovic as Kasatkina pairs with Aussie player

Sunday, 18 January 2026 at 04:30

As the Australian Open 2026 prepares to kick off, most eyes are on the singles main draws, but the doubles action is also about to begin. Grand Slams often leave room for surprise pairings and unexpected partnerships that we rarely see on the regular WTA or ATP tours.

In women’s doubles, one of the standout stars is undoubtedly former World No. 1 Venus Williams, who received a wildcard into the doubles draw—but with a new partner. After her partnership with Leylah Fernandez at the US Open, where they reached the quarterfinals, the American and Canadian have now found different partners for this edition.

Daria Kasatkina, currently Australia’s No. 2-ranked female player, also received a wildcard to participate in the doubles draw. She will team up with a local Australian partner, Arina Rodionova, with a home crowd likely to be watching closely. Rodionova previously reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open in doubles in 2016, giving her experience to draw upon.

Top seeds and champions to watch

The favourites once again are Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, two-time Grand Slam champions as a team, with their latest title at Wimbledon 2025, making them the No. 1-seeded pair. Siniakova, a 10-time major doubles champion, mostly with Barbora Krejcikova, has found in Townsend an experienced partner, while Townsend has added the final punch she needed to secure major titles.

The second seeds are Italians Jasmine Paolini and Sara Errani, a well-established pair who have been among the best doubles teams on tour in recent years. Errani, an Olympic gold medallist and 2025 French Open champion, brings valuable experience to the team.

This year we will not see Mirra Andreeva in doubles. After competing in all majors in 2025 with Diana Shnaider, Andreeva is now focusing on the singles draw. Shnaider, however, will have her chance in doubles alongside another top Russian, Liudmila Samsonova, with whom she occupies the 10th-seed spot in the tournament.

Wildcards bring exciting new partnerships

After the wildcard announcements, Venus Williams will partner with Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova, currently No. 11 in singles and No. 48 in doubles. Alexandrova brings experience in both singles and doubles and will support Williams as they aim for a strong campaign, debuting against Emiliana Arango and Elsa Jacquemot.

For Leylah Fernandez, the former French Open doubles runner-up, she has joined forces with Hungarian Timea Babos. This is an interesting partnership: Babos, 32, won four doubles titles in 2025 alongside Luisa Stefani and has four Grand Slam doubles titles, including the 2018 and 2020 Australian Open (both with Kristina Mladenovic). They will face the 9th seeds, Cristina Bucsa and Nicole Melichar-Martinez, in their first match.

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Another name to watch is former Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova, previously top-40 in doubles but with limited competition in recent years. She will team up with teenager Tereza Valentova, creating an intriguing veteran/rookie pairing.

We will also see former doubles World No. 1 Jessica Pegula alongside her compatriot McCartney Kessler, another pair to watch, although they face a tough opening against Gabriela Dabrowski and Luisa Stefani (5th seeds).

Other singles stars joining the doubles draw include teenagers Iva Jovic with Victoria Mboko, Clara Tauson with Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, and Alexandra Eala alongside doubles specialist Ingrid Gamarra Martins.

Some singles stars joining the doubles draw include: