Alcaraz and Raducanu IMPRESS on Day 1 as Venus Williams suffers TOUGH loss | Australian Open 2026

Australian Open Day 1 is in the books, and it didn’t take long for the first big storylines to arrive at Tennis Weekly HQ. Carlos Alcaraz launched his bid to complete a Career Grand Slam in style, cruising past Adam Walton with a composed and confident performance to open his Melbourne campaign.

It was also a very good day for British tennis fans. Emma Raducanu, Cameron Norrie and Arthur Fery all booked their spots in round two. Raducanu’s win keeps alive the possibility of a mouth-watering rematch with Aryna Sabalenka who had a few early nerves of her own but quickly settled, powering through her opener in front of tennis royalty as Roger Federer and Rod Laver watched on from the stands.

Venus Williams was involved in one of the matches of the day, pushing Olga Danilovic to the limit in an epic contest before falling just short. The performance raised plenty of questions — and plenty of admiration — as Joel and Chris debated what’s next for the American legend.

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00:00 - Intro
01:14 - AD AO Travel & Experiences
02:45 - Carlos Alcaraz through to Round 2
07:11 - Alcaraz Nike Kit
07:55 - Zverev and Bublik through
09:20 - Arthur Fery defeats Flavio Cobolli
14:13 - Cam Norrie through in 5 sets
16:40 - Sunday start verdict?
19:02 - Aryna Sabalenka
23:30 - Emma Raducanu straight sets win
30:08 - Venus Williams 3 set loss
34:47 - Marta Kostyuk out in R1
38:27 - Maria Sakkari shot of the year
39:11 - Day 2 Preview