Australian Open 2026 live: Maya Joint up first on day three, Jannik Sinner starts grand slam defence on Rod Laver Arena

Thirtieth seed Maya Joint and wildcard Taylah Preston are both on court in the first batch of matches today, starting in a couple of minutes.

Joint is up against world number 54 Tereza Valentova on John Cain Arena:

And 20-year-old Preston faces world number 75 Shuai Zhang on Kia Arena:

Both players are looking for their first main draw win at their home grand slam.

Norwegian 12th seed Casper Ruud took down Mattia Bellucci last night, but the moment the match ended his mind was elsewhere.

His partner, Maria, is back home heavily pregnant and Ruud flagged he may have to hop an early flight out of Melbourne if he gets the call.

"Except when I'm playing a match, the ringer's on all hours of the day just in case.

"If she calls, if she goes into labour I probably won't be here the next day. There's more to life than just tennis. I'm gonna be here for as long as I can and as long as Maria lets me."

didn't Gael Monfils retire from the Aus Open last year? And if not, how old is he now?

- Leon

We saw 2014 winner Stan Wawrinka keep his Australian Open career going a little longer yesterday, and today French fan favourite Gael Monfils is up on court.

Monfils announced in October that 2026 would be his final season on the tour:

He takes on Aussie qualifier Dane Sweeny this afternoon on Kia Arena.

Rod Laver Arena is playing host to no fewer than five former Australian Open titles' worth of experience.

Up first is reigning women's champion Madison Keys, the ninth seed up against Ukraine's Oleksandra Oliynykova.

Then her countryman, Ben Shelton, hits the court against Frenchman Ugo Humbert. No champions in there.

But then the night session is back to back former champs, with two-time defending champion Jannik Sinner taking on Hugo Gaston, before 2019 and 2021 winner Naomi Osaka plays Croatian Antonia Ruzic.

And just like that, we're wrapping up the first round of singles on day three at Melbourne Park.

We've got eight locals and a couple of former AO champions kicking off their grand slam season today.

Our team is all set to bring you the action, so let's get straight into it.

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