Boos, cramps, queues and an Australian fairytale feature in the A to Z of this year’s event

G: This is for Australia’s back-to-back mixed doubles champion Olivia Gadecki and John Peers, who has long been one of the best doubles players on the market. They had to do it the hard way, beating Frenchmen Kristina Mladenovic and Manuel Guinard in the final, 4-6, 6-3. [10-8] in a tiebreaker match to secure the title.

H: The weather in Melbourne was as fickle as ever and the tournament ended on a chilly note, but there were also some serious problems. hot for days — none more so than Tuesday of the second week, when the temperature in the city reached 42.7 degrees.

The AO’s five-level heat stress scale came into force, meaning matches on outdoor courts were stopped for hours and the courts were roofed.

I: World No.168 Maddison English was the fairytale Australian story of this year; He surprised everyone, including himself, by storming from the qualifying rounds to the fourth round. She accumulated match points to survive the first round knockout match, then won epic triple passes against close friend Kim Birrell and veteran German Laura Siegemund. Inglis then took advantage of Naomi Osaka advancing to the last 16 and Swiatek knocked her out. But it earned him a $480,000 payday. Inglis’ fiancé Jason Kubler also advanced to the men’s doubles final with fellow Australian Marc Polmans.

J: Stars are often born at the Australian Open, and this year’s event may be remembered for the performance of 18-year-old American Iva. Jovic‘s first big leap. Jovic had a great summer; He reached the semi-finals in Auckland, then the final in Hobart and then the quarters in Melbourne. The sky is the limit for this genius.

K: Special Ks – Nick Kyrgyzstan and Thanasi Kokkinakis – both opted not to play singles and their doubles participation ended up in the first round to eventual finalists Jason Kubler and Marc Polmans. The future is uncertain for Kyrgios and Kokkinakis, who are dealing with several injuries requiring surgery, including a revolutionary chest cadaver graft.

L: American Student Tien backed up his fourth-round run last year with a quarter-final performance; This includes eliminating Daniil Medvedev again, this time comfortably. Tien took a set from Zverev in the last eight and the good judges believe he is already one of the best baseliners on the tour. The new generation looks promising; Former top junior players Rafael Jodar and Rei Sakamoto are also showing this by getting ranked and then playing a marathon five-set match against each other in the first round.

M: Italian Lorenzo Musetti He is the newest member of the top five but has failed to advance past the third round at Melbourne Park in his four previous visits. The 23-year-old significantly improved that record with an impressive run into the quarters; where he won the first two sets against Djokovic and retired with what he believed to be an adductor or hip flexor tear. It was cruel luck for one of the tour’s best talents.

N: Novak Djokovic cemented his remarkable legacy somewhat with a strong five-set semifinal success against two-time defending champion Sinner that ended around 2 a.m. It’s been an eventful fortnight for the 10-time champion. Musetti was down two sets to Djokovic before withdrawing from injury in the quarter-finals. Should Tennis Australia erect a statue of Djokovic to commemorate his unparalleled achievements at Melbourne Park?

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HE: Women’s doubles champion Naomi osaka He only played two matches in this year’s AO but made as many headlines as anyone. It all started with her bold entrance into Rod Laver Arena in a jellyfish-inspired outfit, complete with white hat, veil and umbrella. She then faced Sorana Cirstea one round later, and the Romanian did not allow the Japanese superstar to accelerate between her opponent’s serves. Osaka withdrew before her third round match against Inglis due to a persistent abdominal injury.

P: American Coco Gauff followed up her error-filled quarter-final exit at the hands of Elina Svitolina with a racket-destroying rampage caught on camera in the bowels of Melbourne Park. When the moment went viral, Gauff was unimpressed and questioned whether the actors were enough. privacy.

Q: Epic tails The opening rounds of the Open were marred by organizers’ underestimation of the cult-like following of Filipino Alexandra Eala. Even the sale of ground passes has been temporarily paused while tournament boss Craig Tiley opens a new entrance near Richmond station to help ease congestion. This sparked a debate about the event’s obsession with record crowds and whether the fan experience was being compromised.

R: Another participation was made in the Australian Open, which sees itself as much more than a tennis event record This year, the three-week total reached 1,311,112 as of Saturday night. This easily surpassed last year’s record of 1,218,831. Organizers may aim to surpass the 1.5 million mark next year.

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Q: Aryna Sabalenka Following her loss to the red-hot Elena Rybakina on Saturday night, she suffered back-to-back defeats in the Australian Open finals and has now shared her eight major finals. The world No. 1 continues to reach the final stages of the slams but has won just once last year.

T: 21 and tournament director Craig? TileWho has served in this position since 2006? Tennis Australia’s CEO is thought to be involved in his move to the United States Tennis Association, but Tiley is remaining tight-lipped about the situation. On the eve of the tournament, he told this imprint: “I’ve read the speculations, I’ve seen the speculations and I’m not going to go there much.” It will become clear soon, but the jungle drums suggest he is on his way to the US after turning the Melbourne major into a giant in tennis and entertainment.

You: Tennis became synonymous with Russia’s invasion and ongoing war: Ukrainian. Skip handshakes continue when Russian or Belarusian players face Ukrainians; So much so that before the semi-final between Aryna Sabalenka and Elina Svitolina, an announcement was made to the crowd informing them that such a thing would not happen. Ukrainian Oleksandra Oliynykova targeted Sabalenka and her partners, saying they should be banned from the competition.

V: The tournament needed something new bad guy American Danielle Collins, who last year teased Australian fans about her vast riches, after announcing she was skipping the 2026 event due to a back injury and will complete her egg-freezing journey. Yulia Putintseva danced admirably and put her hand to her ear as jeers rose in the pro-Turkish crowd after beating Zeynep Sönmez.

W: Who else but “Stanimal”, Stan wawrinka? Unlike wildcard Venus Williams, whose participation as a part-time player at best remains controversial, the retirement-bound 40-year-old Wawrinka earned her gift with a stunning lead in the United Cup. The 2014 champion managed to make it to the 32nd round by winning a four and a half hour fight against Frenchman Arthur Gea, who is 19 years younger than him. We will miss you, Stan.

X: China’s Wang xinyu She eliminated seeded rivals Jelena Ostapenko and Linda Noskova as she reached the last 16 in the women’s singles and matched her career-best grand slam efforts at Wimbledon (2024) and the US Open (2023). When the rankings are updated, she will be the No. 2 Chinese woman.

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A: Nike didn’t do Sinner any favors with his mustard-colored outfit, which is officially listed as olive rind, and it’s universally known as “disgustingThe latest joke was that this final outfit, completing the Sinner’s Sauce Slam, was based on colors she’s worn in the majors over the years, matching the Heinz flavors.

Z: Alexander the German Zverev Melbourne can’t shake off the title of best active player without a grand slam singles title. The world No. 3 came close to a semi-final victory against Carlos Alcaraz from two sets down, but collapsed while leading 5-3 in the final set. Zverev was surprisingly upbeat afterwards, but he must have been hurting after nearly five and a half hours of fighting.

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