The Australian Open begins on January 17 for the majority of the top-ranked tennis players, and they hope that it will run through potentially February 1. That is the date of the men's final, while the women's final will take place on January 31. But some tennis players won't make it.
A few players had already announced they would not be making the trek to Melbourne, mostly due to long-term injuries. ATP No. 42 Arthur Fils hasn't been right since the French Open because of a back injury, and he won't play. He would rather come back "100 percent healthy" than risk further injury.
That, of course, makes more sense. Why take a gamble on doing well in the first Grand Slam of the year only to get hurt again and miss much of the year? There are too many other important tournaments to take a chance on.
Several players have already withdrawn from the 2026 Australian Open
Fils is far from the only player who will miss the Australian Open, however. Holger Rune, currently ranked No. 16, tore his Achilles tendon in October and will probably be out for a long time to come. Those types of injuries can take 9-12 months to fully recover from, but hopefully Rune can return more quickly.
No. 11 Jack Draper has been dealing with an arm injury for some time, and he stated in December that he wouldn't be in Melbourne. The shame is that Draper was seemingly trending toward making a real breakthrough in 2025, and potentially consistently challenging to be a top-five player for the foreseeable future.
The WTA side is just as hard hit. Fan-favorite Ons Jabeur is out while on maternity leave with no timeline for return. Daniel Collins, another fan-favorite who is not afraid to speak her mind, is out simply to focus on her ongoing health concerns.
Zheng Qinwen, who was a runner-up at the Australian Open in 2024 (she lost to Aryna Sabalenka), has had an elbow issue for months, and she won't be in Melbourne. When fully healthy, she is capable of being a top-five player. That time will need to wait for a while.
No. 31 Veronika Kudermetova is sitting out the Aussie Open because of personal reasons. Hopefully, everything is OK with her.
Lois Boisson, who made a fantastic run at her home major, the French Open, in 2025, hasn't yet played the Australian Open, and she won't in 2026, either. She has hand and forearm issues.