Australian Open 2026: Day One's Biggest Moments & Talking Points

From incredible shots to oversized water bottles, there was plenty to talk about on day one of the main draw at the 2026 Australian Open. For the thousands of fans who journeyed to Melbourne Park there were queues hours long just to get in to see the action. Here are the quick hits from the first day of the Australian Open. 1. Thousands stuck outside Melbourne Park After smashing crowd records for the "Opening Week" featuring only qualifying matches, Australian Open organisers were no doubt expecting more massive numbers for day one of the main draw. That's exactly what happened as ground passes for day one were sold out and enormous lines formed before the gates opened. Unfortunately, those lines remained gargantuan for hours even after play started at 11am AEDT, with thousands still outside even two hours after the first serve was struck. There was no cloud cover to speak of and the sun was beating down as fans were stuck outside and could hear crowds roaring beyond the gates. 2. Sakkari channels Roger Maria Sakkari has called it early, nominating herself for "one of the best shots of the tournament" on day one at Melbourne Park. Leading 4-2 in the second set against Frenchwoman Leolia Jeanjean, the Greek former world number three was dragged wide by a curling serve to start the seventh game. She reached and at full stretch on the run cut under a squash-style shot, sending a winner around the net post, into play and into the back wall for a stunning winner. "I could never imagine that I could actually hit that kind of return," she said on court. "You see when Roger [Federer] hits it, Carlos [Alcaraz] and then myself. I'm pretty sure it's gonna [be] one of the best shots of the tournament." 3. New player gates stump Zverev Alexander Zverev is no stranger to centre court at the Australian Open, having played in the final last year. But organisers have pulled a swifty on him and the rest of the Rod Laver Arena entrants, changing the players' tunnel before they come onto the court. Rather than walking out one after the other through the same tunnel, players now enter from opposite ends of the court for added drama. Zverev seemed baffled by the process before his first-round match against Gabriel Diallo, peering around with a confused look on his face and pointing any which way as a steward tried to tell him where to go. Eventually he figured it out as Diallo cruised past to his entrance at the far end, but maybe he was still rattled once he hit the court because he surrendered the first set in a tiebreak. 4. Tiafoe told off for his water bottle American Frances Tiafoe defeated Australian Jason Kubler on Sunday afternoon, however he had to persevere through an ongoing argument with the umpire, about a water bottle. That's right, a water bottle. During the first set, the umpire and Tiafoe had a discussion about his incredibly large metal bottle. The 29th seed was visibly frustrated during the conversation with the umpire, and shortly after it he covered the comically sized bottle with a towel. He then had some plastic water bottles delivered courtside. It seems as though the umpire asked him to cover the brand logo on his water bottle as the Australian Open has a water sponsor. For those wondering why Tiafoe has a huge canister as a bottle, it is a habit he picked up after doing a health and fitness challenge last year where he had to drink a gallon of water a day. He said he had an "emotional attachment" to the bottle now. 5. Sönmez helps ball kid after scary collapse Zeynep Sönmez earned a place in fans' hearts as well as the second round when the Turkish qualifier rushed to the aid of a ball girl who had fainted. Sönmez was taking on 11th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in the second set when the girl, who was positioned beside the chair umpire, suddenly wobbled and fell on her back. After getting back up, the girl stumbled again shortly after and it was then when Sönmez ran towards her. She put the girl's arm over her shoulder and guided her to a seat so medical staff could provide treatment. "I went to grab her and said 'sit down and drink something, you're not fine'," Sönmez said post match. "It was just my instinct to help her and everyone would do the same. I'm happy I got to help." Australian Open officials said the girl had received treatment and returned home.