The 16 players competing in Friday’s WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz third-round matches from the top half of the draw will be feeling the heat.
The forecast at Melbourne Park is for a sizzling 40 degrees Celsius — 104 degrees Fahrenheit. But there’s the palpable pressure, too, of attempting to advance to the second week of a Grand Slam.
It’s a milestone for many players, like qualifier Zeynep Sonmez of Turkey. This is the sixth career major for the No. 112-ranked player, and she’s never gotten past the third round. Same for No. 79 Elena-Gabriela Ruse, playing her 15th career Grand Slam. This is Hailey Baptiste’s seventh season of playing Slams and it would mean the world to her if she could replicate last year’s fourth-round appearance at Roland Garros.
For the top seeds, it’s a borderline professional necessity. No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, No. 3 Coco Gauff, No. 7 Jasmine Paolini and No. 8 Mirra Andreeva all expect to win.
Let’s break down those eight matches, the first card of this Australian Open that features seeded players on opposite sides of the court.
No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka vs. Anastasia Potapova
Head-to-head: 2-0 Sabalenka, 2023 Stuttgart SF (6-1, 6-2), 2025 Rome Rd2 (6-2, 6-2).
This is a meeting of good friends, but it’s hard to ignore the roll Sabalenka’s on here. She’s won 45 of her past 50 sets — numbers that put her in the exalted company of players named Graf, Hingis, Seles and Serena.
“That sounds crazy and surreal, to be honest,” Sabalenka told reporters. “Just never thought that people will compare me to these names, even though I’m really far away from their achievements.
“It motivates me to keep doing my thing. It just means for me that I’m on the right way.”
Sabalenka, a two-time champion in Melbourne and aiming for her fourth straight final, has dropped only nine games in two previous matches.
Potapova, 24 and now representing Austria, handled Emma Raducanu 7-6 (3), 6-2 in the second round. She’s played on the court at Rod Laver Arena twice before, losing to Serena Williams both times.
“I have nothing to lose,” Potapova said. “I tried my best. I have a broken finger. I’m still enjoying tennis. Yeah, will just try to go there and make the best out of it.”
No. 3 Coco Gauff vs. Hailey Baptiste
Head-to-head: 1-0 Gauff, 2023 Washington, D.C.
Another friendly matchup between these fellow Americans.
“I’m really excited to play her,” Gauff said. “I have known her for so long. It’s always great to see people you come up with do well on the tour and be able to face them in these big matches. Last time I played her was a while ago. We have both gotten better since then, so it will be a different matchup.
Gauff has won five of six matches to start the year and, like Sabalenka, has dropped only nine games. Baptiste dispatched Aussie favorite Storm Hunter 6-2, 6-1 to get here.
“Obviously she’s at the top of the game right now,” Baptiste said of Gauff. “It’s really exciting for me to be able to play somebody like that and take my shot.
“I feel like I’ve been able to just control my nerves a bit better the last year or so I’ve gotten to the second week of a Slam, so now I’m trying to just push beyond that every time I get into these events.”
No. 7 Jasmine Paolini vs. No. 29 Iva Jovic
Head-to-head: 2-0 Paolini, 2025 Indian Wells, 2025 US Open
One year ago, ranked at No. 191, Jovic lost in the second round here to Elena Rybakina. The 18-year-old is seeded for the first time in a Grand Slam.
“It’s really nice just to achieve the goal,” Jovic said. “It’s really nice to not have to be so nervous when the draw’s coming out. You’re like, `Oh my God, I could kind of just played the 1 seed first round.’
“For this one I was like, `I’ll see it later, it’s OK, it’s not going to be horrifying either way.”
After routine wins over Katie Volynets and wildcard Priscilla Hon (eight games dropped), Jovic faces the uncomfortable prospect of playing Paolini. Paolini’s lost only eight games, too, and enjoys that head-to-head advantage.
No. 8 Mirra Andreeva vs. Elena-Gabriela Ruse
Head-to-head: 0-0
Andreeva, also 18, played a terrific second-round match, beating Maria Sakkari 6-0, 6-4 before a raucous pro-Greek crowd.
“Obviously they were loud,” said Andreeva, now 8-1 in 2026. “When she won those three games in a row, I think she won 11 or 12 points in a row, they really went for it. I really tried to keep all my focus into the match, not thinking about how loud they are cheering.
“Now as I’m learning that this is going to happen almost every tournament that I’m going to go, there are going to be a lot of fans cheering for one or the other player, it’s something that I have to learn how to deal with.”
Ruse has been impressive, upsetting No. 24 seed Dayana Yastremska and Aussie Ajla Tomljanovic.
No. 12 Elina Svitolina vs. No. 23 Diana Shnaider
Head-to-head: 0-0
Svitolina wrapped up her 2025 season in September and she’s seeing the benefits with a 7-0 start to the new year.
“For me, it was important to just step back,” Svitolina explained. “Of course, I was sad that I didn’t give myself a chance to get maybe in the Finals or maybe get back in Top 10, but this was the right choice.
“I can see now that I’m more refreshed.”
Shnaider, meanwhile, saved three match points against fired-up Australian wild card Talia Gibson (and her fans), overcoming a 2-0 deficit in the third set.
No. 17 Victoria Mboko vs. No. 14 Clara Tauson
Head-to-head: 0-0
In terms of seeding, this is the closest match — and, appropriately, these two employ gripping power games and have traced similar early trajectories.
Tauson was a teenage champion in 2021, taking titles in Lyon and Luxembourg. Mboko made a huge splash last year, winning the WTA 1000 in Montreal and, later, taking the title in Hong Kong.
Mboko took out Caty McNally 6-4, 6-3 in the second round, while Tauson was extended to three sets by qualifier Polina Kudermetova.
No. 19 Karolina Muchova vs. Magda Linette
Head-to-head: 3-1 Muchova, having won the past three — 2024 Eastbourne, 2020 Doha and 2019 Seoul
Muchova’s won five of six matches to start the year, but was pressed while beating Alycia Parks 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.
“Karolina obviously so talented,” Linette said. “Can do everything at all times. You never know really what to expect. She can be a player that can really lead the game, but on the other side, she can also get a little bit more nervous.
“So for me it will be crucial to stay calm and keep pressing her.”
Linette upset No. 15 seed Emma Navarro in the first round and took out Ann Li in the second.
Yulia Putintseva vs. Zeynep Sonmez
Head-to-head: 0-0
Sonmez, a 23-year-old from Turkey, has already won, including qualifying, five matches here.
“It definitely helped me to play three matches in qualies, because I got used to courts, weather and everything,” she said. “As I played, I started to feel better on the court with my shots and everything. I don’t feel tired. I feel like I’m getting used to it more and more.”
Sonmez, enjoying great support from Turkish fans, defeated Anna Bondar 6-2, 6-4.
“I know that it’s a new thing in Turkey, but I don’t want to stop here. I want to keep going. I want to do better things.”
Putintseva, 31, representing Kazakhstan, has been a Top 100 player since 2014. She dispatched Elsa Jacquemot 6-1, 6-2.
Australian Open Day 6 order of play
Rod Laver Arena
11:30 a.m. local
— Aryna Sabalenka [1] vs Anastasia Potapova (AUT)
Followed by
Not before 1:30 p.m.
— Carlos Alcaraz (ESP) [1] vs Corentin Moutet (FRA) [32]
7 p.m. local
— Frances Tiafoe (USA) [29] vs Alex de Minaur (AUS) [6]
— Elena-Gabriela Ruse (ROU) vs Mirra Andreeva [8]
Margaret Court Arena
11:30 a.m. local
— Daniil Medvedev [11] vs Fabian Marozsan (HUN)
Followed by
Not before 2 p.m.
— Coco Gauff (USA) [3] vs Hailey Baptiste (USA)
7 p.m. local
— Elina Svitolina (UKR) [12] vs Diana Shnaider [23]
— Alexander Bublik (KAZ) [10] vs Tomas Martin Etcheverry (ARG)
John Cain Arena
11 a.m. local
— Victoria Mboko (CAN) [17] vs Clara Tauson (DEN) [14]
— Tommy Paul (USA) [19] vs Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (ESP) [14]
5 p.m. local
— Iva Jovic (USA) [29] vs Jasmine Paolini (ITA) [7]
Followed by
Not before 6:30 p.m.
— Alexander Zverev (GER) [3] vs Cameron Norrie (GBR) [26]
KIA Arena
11 a.m. local
— Learner Tien (USA) [25] vs Nuno Borges (POR)
— Zeynep Sonmez (TUR) vs Yulia Putintseva (KAZ)
— Karolina Muchova (CZE) [19] vs Magda Linette (POL)
— Francisco Cerundolo (ARG) [18] vs Andrey Rublev [13]
1573 Arena
11 a.m. local
— Robert Cash (USA) / JJ Tracy (USA) [14] vs Marcelo Demoliner (BRA) / Jean-Julien Rojer (NED)
— Lizette Cabrera (AUS) / Taylah Preston (AUS) vs Ena Shibahara (JPN) / Vera Zvonareva
Not before 2 p.m.
— Matthew Ebden (AUS) / Rajeev Ram (USA) vs Tallon Griekspoor (NED) / Botic van de Zandschulp (NED)
— Taylah Preston (AUS) / Cruz Hewitt (AUS) vs Luisa Stefani (BRA) / Marcelo Arevalo (ESA) [2]
ANZ Arena
11 a.m. local
— Julian Cash (GBR) / Lloyd Glasspool (GBR) [1] vs James McCabe (AUS) / Li Tu (AUS)
— Francisco Cabral (POR) / Lucas Miedler (AUT) [9] vs Adam Pavlasek (CZE) / John-Patrick Smith (AUS)
— Maddison Inglis (AUS) / Jason Kubler (AUS) vs Tereza Mihalikova (SVK) / Lloyd Glasspool (GBR) [8]
— Alexandra Panova / David Pel (NED) vs Katerina Siniakova (CZE) / Sem Verbeek (NED)
Not before 5 p.m.
— Desirae Krawczyk (USA) / Neal Skupski (GBR) vs Leylah Fernandez (CAN) / Nick Kyrgios (AUS)
Court 6
11 a.m. local
— Cristina Bucsa (ESP) / Nicole Melichar-Martinez (USA) [9] vs Giuliana Olmos (MEX) / Aldila Sutjiadi (INA)
— Katerina Siniakova (CZE) / Taylor Townsend (USA) [1] vs Yifan Xu (CHN) / Zhaoxuan Yang (CHN)
— Daria Kasatkina (AUS) / Arina Rodionova (AUS) vs Anna Danilina (KAZ) / Aleksandra Krunic (SRB) [7]
— Taylor Townsend (USA) / Nikola Mektic (CRO) [4] vs Fanny Stollar (HUN) / Kevin Krawietz (GER)
Court 7
11 a.m. local
— Emiliana Arango (COL) / Elsa Jacquemot (FRA) vs Gabriela Dabrowski (CAN) / Luisa Stefani (BRA) [5]
— Ellen Perez (AUS) / Demi Schuurs (NED) [8] vs Nadiia Kichenok (UKR) / Makoto Ninomiya (JPN) or Emerson Jones (AUS) / Astra Sharma (AUS)
Not before 2 p.m.
— Marie Bouzkova (CZE) / Andreja Klepac (SLO) vs Suzan Lamens (NED) / Eva Lys (GER)
— Storm Hunter (AUS) / Hugo Nys (MON) vs Ellen Perez (AUS) / Francisco Cabral (POR)
Court 8
11 a.m. local
— Jesika Maleckova (CZE) / Miriam Skoch (CZE) vs Viktorija Golubic (SUI) / Ann Li (USA) or Miyu Kato (JPN) / Fanny Stollar (HUN) [15]
— Maximo Gonzalez (ARG) / Andres Molteni (ARG) [13] vs Petr Nouza (CZE) / Patrik Rikl (CZE)
— Sara Errani (ITA) / Andrea Vavassori (ITA) [1] vs Laura Siegemund (GER) / Edouard Roger-Vasselin (FRA)
— Su-Wei Hsieh (TPE) / Jelena Ostapenko (LAT) [3] vs Olga Danilovic (SRB) / Anastasia Potapova (AUT)
Court 13
11 a.m. local
— Kevin Krawietz (GER) / Tim Puetz (GER) [5] vs Orlando Luz (BRA) / Rafael Matos (BRA)
— Mariia Kozyreva / Sabrina Santamaria (USA) vs Eri Hozumi (JPN) / Fang-Hsien Wu (TPE) or Irina Khromacheva / Alexandra Panova [11]
Not before 3 p.m.
— Christian Harrison (USA) / Neal Skupski (GBR) [6] vs Pedro Martinez (ESP) / Jaume Munar (ESP)
— Luke Johnson (GBR) / Jan Zielinski (POL) vs Ray Ho (TPE) / Hendrik Jebens (GER)
